Battle of Blackett Strait

After the American victory in the Guadalcanal campaign in early 1943, operations in the Solomon Islands shifted to the west, where the Japanese maintained a substantial garrison on Kolombangara. Airbases had been established at Munda on the western coast of New Georgia and at Vila on the southern coast of Kolombangara. Allied efforts to reduce these airbases initially focused on air strikes but later included naval bombardment in preparation for a ground campaign to capture New Georgia that would eventually commence in late June and early July 1943. Meanwhile, the Japanese continued to build up these bases as part of their efforts to reinforce the southern defenses to their main base around Rabaul. On the night of 5 March 1943, the Japanese destroyers and took supplies to the Japanese base at Vila. Together, these ships formed part of the 2nd Fleet's Destroyer Squadron 4, which was under the command of Captain Masao Tachibana. Their passage to Vila was undertaken through the Vella Gulf and Blackett Strait, while they decided to return to the Shortland Islands via the shorter route through the Kula Gulf. ==Order of Battle==

's light cruisers at Efate ==Battle==

As the Japanese ships withdrew through the Kula Gulf after landing their cargo, they encountered Task Force 68 (TF 68), consisting of three light cruisers (, , and ) and three destroyers (, , and ) commanded by Rear Admiral Aaron S. Merrill. This force was en route to commence bombarding Japanese positions at Vila. Two submarines, and , had been assigned to support Merrill's force and were stationed along likely Japanese withdrawal routes out of the Kula Gulf. Merrill's attack on Vila was timed to coincide with another attack on Munda by four destroyers under Captain Robert Briscoe. In a short battle, both Japanese destroyers were sunk. The U.S. force was proceeding in a southwesterly direction about off the New Georgia coast, cruising at about . Meanwhile, the Japanese ships were sailing in the opposite direction along the east coast of Kolombangara, northeast from Sasamboki Island, roughly offshore from Stanmore. First contact was established by the U.S. radar operators around 00:57 on 6 March and firing commenced at 01:01. The U.S. cruisers engaged to starboard with their 6-inch guns at a range of around . Radar-controlled gunnery was in its infancy as a technique and there was a tendency for the initial barrage to fall on the same, usually nearest, target. In earlier naval battles in the Pacific, this tactical deficiency had allowed the Japanese to successfully engage attacking U.S. ships with torpedoes and had resulted in several losses for U.S. forces previously. In this case, the entire opening salvo straddled Murasame. As Minegumos captain began passing orders to his crew, Murasame was hit by the sixth salvo of American gunfire, which was followed shortly afterwards by a salvo of five torpedoes that had been fired by the destroyer Waller. At around 01:15, one of these torpedoes hit Murasame, which exploded, caught fire and eventually sank. The explosion was reportedly heard by Briscoe's force about away around Munda. The U.S. cruisers then rapidly shifted target, doing so before Minegumo could release any torpedoes. Meanwhile, Minegumo attempted to return fire, aiming for the flashes of the U.S. gun batteries off their starboard bow. After a few minutes, though, the second Japanese destroyer was also hit and began sinking in short order. As the surviving Japanese crew abandoned ship, firing ceased at 01:14. After the engagement, the U.S. vessels completed a turn to starboard when they were roughly due east of the Blackett Strait and north of Tunguirili Point. At 01:24, they commenced a northerly bombardment run off the Kolombangara coast, having been delayed by only 16 minutes. Under the direction of a reconnaissance aircraft flying overhead, the U.S. gunners targeted "supply dumps, runways, bivouacs and dispersed aircraft", according to Samuel Morison. The bombardment was reportedly very destructive and accurate. Several Japanese shore batteries responded by firing on the bombarding ships but were knocked out quickly with counter-battery fire. After completing their task at 01:40, Merrill's force withdrew through the New Georgia Sound. ==Aftermath==

A total of 174 Japanese sailors lost their lives during the battle on 6 March; 128 of these were from Murasame, while the rest were from Minegumo. The survivors swam to shore on Kolombangara. Fifty-three survivors from Murasame and 122 from Minegumo managed to reach Japanese lines. Two other survivors from Minegumo were later captured by U.S. forces. Mining operations On 20 March, the Allies began mining operations in the central Solomons using U.S. Navy and Marine Corps torpedo bombers to sow mines throughout the northern Solomons. Patrolling just after the section leader had departed for home, PT-109 was run down on a dark moonless night by the , returning from the supply mission. The PT boat had her engines at idle to hide her wake from seaplanes. Conflicting statements have been made as to whether the destroyer captain spotted and steered towards the boat. Members of the destroyer crew believed the collision was not an accident, though other reports suggest Amagiris captain had not intentionally rammed PT-109. Kennedy's crew was assumed lost by the U.S. Navy but were found later by Solomon Islander scouts Biuku Gasa and Eroni Kumana. ==Notes==