BATTLE OF THE KAMANDORSKI ISLANDS This small engagement, like the many sea battles fought at Guadalcanal, was the result of naval forces of one side attempting to interdict the enemy’s efforts to supply and reinforce ground troops. In this case, a Japanese convoy was destined for the western Aleutian islands of Kiska and Attu, which Japanese forces seized as part of the Midway operation in 1942. From Wikipedia: “The Battle of the Komandorski Islands was one of the most unusual engagements of World War II that took place on March 27th, 1943 in the North Pacific near the Komandorski Islands. “When the United States became aware of Japanese plans to send a supply convoy to garrisons on the Aleutian Islands, U.S. Navy ships commanded by Rear Admiral Charles McMorris were dispatched to intercept. The U.S. fleet consisted of the heavy cruiser Salt Lake City, the old light cruiser Richmond, and the destroyers Coghlan, Bailey, Dale, and Monaghan. “Unknown to the Americans, the Japanese had chosen to escort their convoy with two heavy cruisers, two light cruisers, and four destroyers commanded by Vice Admiral Boshiro Hosogaya. On the morning of the 27th, the Japanese convoy was intercepted by the U.S. picket line and combat ensued. Due to the remote location of the battle and chance encounter on open ocean, neither fleet had air or submarine assistance, making this the only engagement exclusively between surface ships in the Pacific Theatre, and the last pure gunnery duel in naval history. “Mistakenly believing that easy pickings were in store, the American warships formed up and closed the range. Two transports fled for safety as the Japanese warships turned to engage. The American group was outgunned and outnumbered, but pressed on and made a course change in hopes of getting a shot at the transports before their escorts could intervene. There was also a possibility that the Japanese would split their force and that Salt Lake City and Richmond could tackle a portion of them on more equal terms. “The opposing cruisers simultaneously opened fire at a range of nearly ten miles (16 km). The ensuing battle was a retiring action on the part of the Americans, for the Japanese foiled their attempt to get to the auxiliaries. Salt Lake City received most of the attention and soon received two hits, one of them amidships, mortally wounding two men, but she responded with very accurate fire. Her rudder stops were carried away, limiting her to 10 degree course changes. Another hit soon flooded forward compartments. Under cover of a thick smoke screen and aggressive torpedo attacks by the destroyers, the American cruisers were able to make an evasive turn, which for a while allowed the range to open. Salt Lake City soon began taking hits again and her boiler fires died one by one. Salt water had entered the fuel oil feed lines. There was now cause for grave concern; she lay dead in the water, and the Japanese ships were closing fast. Luckily, she was hidden in the smoke, and the enemy was not aware of her plight. “The destroyers charged the Japanese cruisers and began to draw the fire away from the cruiser. They took extreme punishment before launching a spread of torpedoes. In the meantime, Salt Lake City engineers purged the fuel lines and fired the boilers. With fresh oil supplying the fires, she built up steam and gained headway. Suddenly, the Japanese began to withdraw, for they were fast exhausting their ammunition. They never suspected that the Americans were in far worse shape in terms of both ammunition and fuel.” My comments: Actually, the battle was fought on March 26th, not 27th. Hosogaya’s excuses of imminent attack by American aircraft and depleted supplies of ammunition and fuel to justify his disengagement fell on deaf ears in Tokyo. He was sacked and transferred to the Naval Reserve. Whatever his reasons, his decision that it was time to get out of Dodge was a fortunate one for McMorris’s inferior force. As a daylight duel, gunboat to gunboat, it was certainly the kind of fight envisioned by American naval planners in the years preceding the war. Can anyone verify the statement “last pure gunnery duel in naval history?” Helmut Pemsel, in A History of War at Sea, terms it “the last old-fashioned naval battle, line against line.” In Eagle Against the Sun, Ronald Spector characterizes the battle as “one of the few daylight engagements between surface forces of the Pacific War.” For a more detailed account: http://www.microworks.net/PACIFIC/battles/kommandorski_islands.htm Photos: Map of the North Pacific. Map of the battle. Photograph of Salt Lake City, temporarily stalled in a smoke screen. JT Well, the battle map is much larger than it is showing here. I don't know why it's coming out so small.
Helmut Pemsel, in A History of War at Sea, terms it “the last old-fashioned naval battle, line against line.” The battle of Surigao Straight in Oct 1944 was ship vs ship.
