Battle of Cape St. George
| date | November 26, 1943 |
|---|---|
| place | off Buka near Bougainville , Solomon Islands , Pacific |
| output | American victory |
| Parties to the conflict | |
|---|---|
| Commander | |
| Troop strength | |
| 5 destroyers | 5 destroyers |
| losses | |
|
no |
3 destroyers, 647 dead |
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The Battle of Cape St. George was a naval battle between the United States of America and the Japanese during the Pacific War . It took place on November 26, 1943 near Cape St. George on Buka Island, north of Bougainville . It was the last sea battle that took place in the Solomon Islands.
prehistory
The Japanese saw the landing of the Americans on November 1st in Empress Elisabeth Bay on Bougainville as a threat to their base on Buka Island. They sent a Tokyo Express from Rabaul there to bring 900 reinforcements to the island. The convoy consisted of the transport destroyers Amagiri , Yugiri and Uzuki and the destroyers Onami and Makinami under the command of Captain Kiyoto Kagawa .
The Americans, who became aware of this transport, sent the five destroyers Charles Ausburne , Claxton , Dyson , Converse and Spence under the command of Captain Arleigh Burke to intercept them.
The battle
The Japanese, who had already unloaded their troops and goods, were discovered by the Americans at 1:40 a.m. on their way back. This allowed Burke to launch a torpedo attack at 1:55 a.m., before the Japanese discovered him. The Onami was hit by some torpedoes and sank immediately. The Makinami was incapacitated by a torpedo and then sunk by artillery fire. The rest of the Japanese flotilla tried to escape in different directions. Burke chased the Yuguri and at 3:05 a.m. was able to put their machines out of service with shell fire. The Japanese ship shot down its remaining torpedoes, which hit no target, and was sunk by heavy artillery fire at 3:30 a.m. 178 crew members were rescued by a Japanese submarine.
Result
This battle marked the end of the Tokyo Express and the Japanese resistance in the Solomon Islands.
Web links
- Battle description by Vincent O'Hara ( English )