- Battle of the Pips
The Battle of the Pips refers to an incident that occurred on July 27, 1943, as part of the Aleutian campaign of
World War II . In preparation for the attack on the island of Kiska planned for that coming August, theUS Navy formed TG 16.22clarifyme under command of Rear Admiral Griffinclarifyme, which was then centered on the battleships USS Mississippi and USS Idaho.On July 27, 80 miles west of
Kiska , TG 16.22 began to pick up a series of unknownradar contacts. The order was given to open fire, and 518 14” shells from both battleships were expended, but there were no hits.Radar was still a new and unreliable technology at that time, and weather conditions around theAleutians were characteristically bad. Visibility was atrocious, as is normal for the area. NoImperial Japanese Navy warships were actually within 200 miles.References
1. Stern, Robert C. "US Battleships in Action Part 1. Vol. 1". Carrollton, Texas: Squadron/Signal Publications, Inc., 1980. 10-11.
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