Ironbottom sound

Ironbottom sound
Connects waters	New Georgia Sound
with water	Indispensable Strait
Separates land mass	Guadalcanal
of land mass	Florida Islands
Data
Geographical location	9 ° 15 ′  S , 160 ° 4 ′  E Coordinates: 9 ° 15 ′  S , 160 ° 4 ′  E
length	60 km
Smallest width	25 km
Islands	Savo Island
Ironbottom sound with ship positions

Ironbottom Sound (German Eisensund , literally translated "Eisengrund-Sund") is the name of the sea in the Solomon Islands archipelago between the islands of Guadalcanal in the south, Savo Island in the west and the Florida Islands in the north. It's officially called Savo Sound .

The name is based on the almost 50 ships of the Allies and Japanese that sank here during the Pacific War or ran aground on the coasts . The Iron Bottom Sound represented the south station of the Tokyo Express , with which the Japanese tried to support their troops on Guadalcanal. Before the war, the area was known as Sealark Sound .

Some of the wrecks lying on or near the coast are very popular with wreck divers today .

Butcher

• Battle of Savo Island , August 9, 1942
• Battle of Cape Esperance , October 12, 1942
• Naval Battle of Guadalcanal , November 13-15 , 1942
• Battle of Tassafaronga , November 30, 1942

Shipwrecks

Ships sunken in Ironbottom Sound during the Pacific War

Surname	Armed force	Ship type	Declined on	comment
Aaron Ward	USN	Destroyer of Gleaves class	0Apr 7, 1943	near the beach (550 m) of Florida Island (see map)
Akatsuki	IJN	Destroyer Akatsuki class	Nov 13, 1942
Astoria	USN	Heavy cruiser of the New Orleans class	0Aug 9, 1942
Atlanta	USN	Light cruiser of the Atlanta class	Nov 13, 1942	in front of Lunga Point on Guadalcanal (see map)
Ayanami	IJN	Destroyers Fubuki class	Nov 15, 1942
Azumasan Maru	IJN	Troopship	Oct 15, 1942	near the beach on Guadalcanal (see map)
Barton	USN	Destroyer of Benson class	Nov 13, 1942	see map
Blue	USN	Destroyer Bagley class	22 Aug 1942
Canberra	RAN	Heavy cruiser of the Kent class	0Aug 9, 1942	see map
Colhoun	USN	Wickes- class fast attack transport ship	Aug 30, 1942
Cushing	USN	Destroyer Mahan class	Nov 13, 1942	see map
De Haven	USN	Destroyers of the Fletcher class	0Feb. 1, 1943	see map
Duncan	USN	Destroyer of Gleaves class	Oct 12, 1942
Fubuki	IJN	Destroyers Fubuki class	Oct 11, 1942
Furutaka	IJN	Furutaka- class heavy cruiser	Oct 12, 1942
George F. Elliot	USN	Cargo ship of Heywood class	0Aug 8, 1942
Gregory	USN	Wickes- class fast attack transport ship	05th Sep 1942
Here	IJN	Battleship the Kongō class	Nov 13, 1942
Hirokawa Maru	IJN	Troopship	Dec 14, 1942	near the beach of Guadalcanal (see map)
Jarvis	USN	Destroyer of Gridley class	0Aug 9, 1942
John Penn	USN	Rapid Assault Transport Ship (ex: SS Excambion )	Aug 13, 1943	near the beach on Guadalcanal (see map)
Juneau	USN	Atlanta- class light cruiser	Nov 13, 1942
Kasi Maru	IJN	Troopship	?
Kanawha	USN	Supply tankers of Kanawha / Cuyama class	0Apr 8, 1943	in the port entrance of Tulagi
Kinugawa Maru	IJN	Troopship	Nov 14, 1942	near the beach on Guadalcanal (see map)
Kirishima	IJN	Battleship the Kongō class	Nov 15, 1942	see map
Laffey	USN	Destroyer of Benson class	Nov 13, 1942	see map
Makigumo	IJN	Destroyer of Yugumo class	0Feb. 1, 1943
Minneapolis	USN	Heavy cruiser of the New Orleans class	0Aug 9, 1942	only their bow damaged by torpedo hits in the port of Tulagi
Moa	RNZN	Corvette of Kiwi class	Apr. 1943	in the port of Tulagi
Monssen	USN	Destroyer of Gleaves class	Nov 13, 1942	see map
Northampton	USN	Northampton- class heavy cruiser	Nov 30, 1942	see map
Preston	USN	Destroyer Mahan class	Nov 14, 1942
PT-37	USN	PT speed boat	0Feb. 1, 1943
PT-44	USN	PT speed boat	Dec 12, 1942
PT-111	USN	PT speed boat	0Feb. 1, 1943
PT-112	USN	PT speed boat	Jan. 11, 1943
PT-123	USN	PT speed boat	0Feb. 1, 1943
Quincy	USN	Heavy cruiser of the New Orleans class	0Aug 9, 1942	see map
Seminole	USN	Ocean-going tugs the Navajo class	Oct 25, 1942	see map
Serpens	USN	Crater- class cargo ship	Jan. 29, 1945
Takanami	IJN	Destroyer of Yugumo class	Nov 30, 1942
Teruzuki	IJN	Destroyer Akizuki class	Jan 15, 1943
Toa Maru	IJN	Troopship	?
Vincennes	USN	Heavy cruiser of the New Orleans class	0Aug 9, 1942
Walke	USN	Destroyer Sims class	Nov 15, 1942
YP-284	USN	Naval sector patrol vehicle	Oct 25, 1942
Yūdachi	IJN	Destroyer of Shiratsuyu class	0Aug 9, 1942	see map

literature

• Robert D. Ballard, Rick Archbold: Sunk in the Pacific - Guadalcanal ship cemetery . Ullstein Verlag, 1999, ISBN 3-548-24605-2 .

Web links

• Ship losses by the US Navy and the US Coast Guard during World War II (December 7, 1941 to October 1, 1945 )