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Battle of Kula Gulf...
Battle of Kula Gulf...
Item # 562068
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July 07, 1943
THE NEW YORK TIMES, New York, July 7, 1943
* Battle of Kula Gulf - Solomon Islands
* World War II naval battle - WWII
* United States Navy - Japanese Imperial
This 40 page newspaper has a nice two line banner headline on the front page: "6 JAPANESE WARSHIPS BELIEVED SUNK IN FIGHT, 4 DAMAGED; U. S. LOSES CRUISER AND DESTROYER" with subheads and related map. (see) Tells of the battle of Kula Gulf.
Other news of the day throughout with much on World War II. Light browning with minor spine wear, otherwise nice.
wikipedia notes: The naval Battle of Kula Gulf took place in the early hours of 6 July 1943 during World War II and was between United States and Japanese ships off the coast of Kolombangara in the Solomon Islands.
At 01:06 off Kolombangara, the task group came into contact with a Japanese reinforcement group commanded by Admiral Teruo Akiyama which consisted of ten destroyers loaded with 2,600 combat troops, bound for Vila, which they used as a staging point for movement into Munda. The Japanese were divided into two forces, and a formation of three escorts trailing the main column first came under attack.
The U.S. ships opened fire at 01:57, fired 612 shells in 21 minutes and six seconds, and quickly sank the destroyer Niizuki and killed Admiral Akiyama. However the Helena had expended all of her flashless powder the previous night, and was thus forced to use merely smokeless powder, therely illuminating herself to the Japanese ships with every salvo. Two of the Japanese destroyers launched their Long Lance torpedoes and hit the USS Helena, fatally damaging her. The main Japanese force, which had countermarched away from Vila with the first contact, then broke away having landed only 850 of the 2,600 troops. The Japanese destroyer Nagatsuki ran aground, while the Hatsuyuki was damaged.
Both forces began to withdraw from the area, but one Japanese and two American destroyers remained in the area to rescue survivors and, at about 05:00, the Japanese destroyer Amagiri and the USS Nicholas (DD-449) exchanged torpedoes and gunfire. The Amagiri was hit and retired. The beached IJN Nagatsuki was abandoned by her crew in the morning, and she was bombed and sunk by American warplanes.
Category: The 20th Century
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