Battle of the Kula Gulf
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Helena and St. Louis , photographed from the Honolulu
| date | July 6, 1943 |
|---|---|
| place | off Kolombangara , Solomon Islands , Pacific |
| output |
| Parties to the conflict | |
|---|---|
| Commander | |
| Troop strength | |
| 3 cruisers , 4 destroyers |
10 destroyers |
| losses | |
|
1 cruiser sunk |
2 destroyers sunk, |
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The sea battle in the Kula Gulf was a battle between the United States of America and the Japanese during the Pacific War . It took place on the night of July 5-6, 1943 near New Georgia in the Solomon Islands archipelago .
prehistory
On July 5, Task Group 36.1, under the command of Rear Admiral Walden L. Ainsworth, received the message that another Tokyo Express was heading northwest near New Georgia. The task group consisted of the light cruisers USS Helena , USS Honolulu , and USS St. Louis and the destroyers USS Jenkins , USS Nicholas , USS O'Bannon , and USS Radford .
The Japanese convoy consisted of the destroyers Niizuki , Tanikaze and Suzukaze , who were responsible for escorting them, as well as two transport groups (Group 1: Hamakaze , Mikazuki , Mochitsuki ; Group 2: Amagiri , Hatsuyuki , Nagatsuki , Satsuki ). He was under the command of Admiral Teruo Akiyama on the flagship Niizuki and was supposed to bring reinforcement troops of the Japanese army to Vila on Kolombangara . These troops were then to be brought to Munda , New Georgia , to reinforce the garrison there. They met an American task force that was shooting at Vila.
The battle
The Niizuki had the first radar contact at 00:15. The Japanese fired a volley of torpedoes , none of which hit, and turned north. The first transport group separated from the convoy and was able to successfully bring their troops to their destination. At 1:43 a.m., Rear Admiral Akiyama ordered the second transport group to turn south and bring their troops to Vila as he continued north. Within a short time he realized that his remaining group was too weak to confront the Americans. So he brought the second transport group back.
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The Americans didn't make their first contact until 01:06 a.m. They opened fire just before 2 a.m. The destroyer Niizuki , which was in front , was quickly sunk, and Admiral Akiyama was also killed. The Japanese countered with a torpedo attack and sank the Helena .
Now the second group came back and the Americans immediately opened fire. The Amagiri received four hits. She fired some torpedoes, fogged herself up, and turned back south. The Hatsuyuki , the next ship in the Japanese line, was badly damaged and also turned away. The others also wanted to withdraw, with the Nagatsuki running aground.
Both adversaries withdrew except for a Japanese and two American destroyers, which remained for rescue operations. At 5 a.m. the Amagiri and the Nicholas fought each other with torpedoes, with the Amagiri being damaged and retreating.
Result
Nagatsuki , abandoned by her crew, was sunk by American bombers. The Radford and the Nicholas were able to save 750 survivors of the Helena . Of the 2,600 Japanese reinforcement troops, only 850 of the first group could be brought to their destination. The Americans lost one light cruiser in the battle, while the Japanese lost two destroyers. Other ships were damaged.
