Naval Battle of Vella Lavella

The Battle of Vella Lavella (第二次ベララベラ海戦, Dainiji Berarabera kaisen) was a naval battle of the Pacific campaign of World War II fought on the night of 6 October 1943, near the island of Vella Lavella in the Solomon Islands.

Background

After their defeats on New Georgia and in the Battle of Vella Gulf, the Japanese had evacuated their garrisons in the central Solomons. A staging post had been established at Horaniu on the north tip of Vella Lavella for the evacuation barges. In October 1943, 600 soldiers remained, and a force of three older destroyer-transports - Fumizuki, Matsukaze, and Yūnagi - escorted by six modern fully combat-ready destroyers — Akigumo, Isokaze, Kazagumo, Yūgumo, Shigure, and Samidare — was dispatched under Rear Admiral Matsuji Ijuin to rescue them.

Battle

At 22:30, they spotted a U.S. force of three destroyers—Selfridge, Chevalier, and O'Bannon, commanded by Captain Frank R. Walker—approaching from Vella Gulf. A second division of three U.S. destroyers—Ralph Talbot, Taylor, and La Vallette— had been detatched from convoy duty further South in the Solomons with orders to join up with Walker. These three additional ships were making speed up the west coast of Vella Lavella towards his division. Walker did not wait for his other three destroyers to come up, however, but attacked immediately. Both sides launched torpedoes and opened fire at about 23:00.

Yūgumo, first in the Japanese line, was hit several times, knocking out her steering, and she was finished off by a torpedo and sunk at about 23:10. However, one of her torpedoes hit Chevalier, detonating the forward magazine. O'Bannon then collided with the crippled Chevalier, and for some time the two ships were locked together. Selfridge attacked alone and was hit by a torpedo at 23:06 and disabled. All three ships were severely damaged, and reinforcements were still 15 minutes away. However, the rest of the Japanese turned away, having perhaps misidentified the three approaching destroyers as cruisers.

Aftermath

Shigure and Samidare off Bougainville just hours before the battle.

Chevalier could not be saved and was sunk around 03:00. The Japanese completed their evacuation mission, ending the second phase of Operation Cartwheel with the Allied capture of the central Solomons after a three-month campaign that cost the Allies six ships; the Japanese lost sixteen.

External links

• Description by Vincent O'Hara
• Order of battle
• WW2DB: Solomons Campaign
• -Article and analysis of the battle.