Battle of the course Saint-George

The battles of the Cape Saint-Georges is a naval Bataille of the Guerre in the Pacific during the Second world war, which took place the November 26th 1943 between the Japanese imperial Marine and the American marine . The battle, which fits within the framework of the Bataille of Bougainville, was the last maritime engagement of the Campagne of the Solomon Islands and proceeded between the Cape Saint-Georges (southern point of the New Ireland, New Guinea) and Buka (island in the north of Bougainville, Solomon).

Battle

Whereas the Navy had taken foot on Bougainville, in bay of the Augusta Empress, within the framework of what was going to become the Bataille of Bougainville, this operation represented a potential threat for the Japanese base of Buka, in the west of Bougainville. The destroyers of transport Amagiri , Yugiri and Uzuki took on board 900 Japanese soldiers and, escorted destroyers Onami Makinami , travelled towards Buka under the orders of the captain Kiyoto Kagawa.

The American navy was informed of the convoy and sent 5 Destroyer S ( US Charles Ausburne (DD-570), US Claxton (DD-571), US Dyson (DD-572), US Converses (DD-509) and US Spence (DD-512)) under the orders of the captain Arleigh Burke to intercept it.

The Japanese destroyers had unloaded the soldiers and of the material, and had re-embarked an equivalent number of sailors who had formed the garrison, and had taken again the road of Rabaul when they were located by the radars of the American ships towards 01:40. Whereas the Japanese had not located the American ships yet, those launched their torpedes. The Onami was struck by several torpedes and ran immediately. The Makinami was put out of combat by a torpedo and fur cast following a cannonade. The destroyers of transport fled then in different directions. Burke continued the Yugiri and ran it towards 03:30.

This battle was the last battle between surface vessels in water of Solomon. It thus marked the end of the Tokyo Express and Japanese resistance in the Solomon Islands. It marked as the success of the radar, as the Americans had thus finally succeeded in transforming into effective night a combat tool able to beat the Japanese with a night play where they had been the best during almost all the countryside of Solomon.

Next engagements between surface vessels in the Pacific was going to take place in June 1944, within the framework of the Opération Forager. The first engagement would be the Bataille of the sea of Philippines, and it would show once for very which had the control of the seas.

Sources

See too

External bonds

Battle order

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