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Location The Battle of Vella Gulf during the night of August 6, 1943 to August 7, 1943 between U.S. Navy and Imperial Japanese Navy destroyers in Vella Gulf between Vella Lavella and Kolombangara in Western Province in the Solomon Islands. Wartime History On August 6, 1943 an Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) force of four destroyers Hagikaze, Arashi, Kawakaze and Shigure with soldiers and supplies embarked were on an overnight "Tokyo Express" troop transport run bound for Vila on Kolombangara. Meanwhile, U.S. Navy (USN) Task Group 31.2 (TG 31.2) of six destroyers USS Dunlap ((DD–384), USS Craven (DD-382), USS Maury (DD-401), USS Lang (DD-399), USS Sterett (DD-407) and USS Stack (DD-406) were warned of the Japanese reinforcement operation and sortied to intercept them. This was the first time American destroyers were allowed to operate independently of the cruiser force during the Pacific War. At 11:33pm, the U.S. destroyers made radar contact with the Japanese destroyers and divided into two divisions. Destroyer Division 12: Dunlap, Craven and Maury launch 24 torpedoes in the span of only 63 seconds then withdraw at high speed while Destroyer Division 15: Lang, Sterett, and Stack turned and opened fire once the torpedoes began to detonate. The spread of torpedoes hit all four Japanese destroyers. Hagikaze, Arashi, and Kawakaze caught fire and quickly sank. Shigure was hit by a dud that passed through her rudder without detonating and fired eight torpedoes while withdrawing but all missed. Outcome The Battle of Vella Gulf was a U.S. Navy victory with no losses or damage to their own force. For their actions, Lieutenant Commander Clifton Iverson captain of USS Dunlap and Lieutenant Commander Frank Gardner Gould captain of USS Sterett earned the Navy Cross for their actions during the battle. This engagement was the first time the Japanese Navy was defeated in a night destroyer engagement. As a result, Kolombangara could no longer be reinforced. About 300 Japanese manage to reach Vella Lavella but over 1,500 are lost and the Japanese abandon plans for a counterattack on New Georgia. References Japanese Monograph 99 (Southeast Area Naval Operations) Naval History and Heritage Command (NHHC) H-022-5: Battle of Vella Lavella—The Last Japanese Victory, 6–7 October 1943 by Samuel J. Cox October 2018 Contribute
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