Part of the Pacific Theater of Operations of World War II
USS Montpelier was Admiral Merrill's flag****p
Date 6 March 1943
Location Blackett Strait, Solomon Islands
Result U.S. victory
Belligerents
United States / Empire of Japan
Commanders
Aaron S. Merrill / Y=F4ji Tanega****ma
Strength
3 cruisers,
3 destroyers 2 destroyers
Casualties and losses
None 2 destroyers sunk,
174 killed [1]
Solomon Islands campaign
1st Tulagi - Guadalcanal - Blackett Strait - Cartwheel - Operation
Vengeance - New Georgia - Kula Gulf - Kolombangara - Vella Gulf -
Horaniu - Vella Lavella - Naval Vella Lavella - Treasury Is. -
Choiseul - Bougainville - Rabaul air raids - Cape St. George - Green
Is.
The Battle of Blackett Strait ( Japanese : was a naval battle of the
Pacific campaign of World War II ) fought on 6 March 1943 in the
Blackett Strait, between Kolombangara Island and Arundel Island in the
Solomon Islands.
Background
After the American victory in the Guadalcanal campaign, operations in
the Solomon Islands ****fted to the west, where the Japanese maintained
a substantial garrison on Kolombangara. On the night of 5 March 1943
the Japanese destroyers Murasame and Minegumo, commanded by Lieutenant
Commander Y=F4ji Tanega****ma took supplies to the Japanese base at Vila,
on Kolombangara.
Battle
As they withdrew after landing their cargo, the two ****ps encountered
the American Task Force 68 of three cruisers (USS Montpelier,
Cleveland, and Denver) and three destroyers (Conway, Cony, and Waller)
commanded by Rear Admiral Aaron S. Merrill, that had been bombarding
Japanese positions at Vila.
In a short battle, both Japanese destroyers were sunk. Fifty-three
survivors from Murasame and 122 survivors from Minegumo managed to
reach Japanese lines. Two other survivors from Minegumo were later
captured by U.S. forces.[1]
Aftermath
On 7 May 1943, minelayers USS Gamble, Breese, and Preble laid mines
across Blackett Strait in an attempt to interdict Japanese ****p
movements traveling through the strait. The next day, Japanese
destroyers Oya****o, Kagero, and Kuro****o all hit mines in that area.
Kuro****o sank immediately. Kagero and Oya****o sank later that day
after being attacked and further damaged by U.S. aircraft from
Henderson Field.
PT-109
Another engagement occurred in Blackett Strait when 15 PT boats were
sent to intercept the Tokyo Express destroyer supply convoy on 2
August 1943. The PT boats fired many torpedoes but observed only a few
explosions. On the return trip the Japanese destroyer Amagiri struck
the American patrol torpedo boat PT-109.
Incident :
While in Blackett Straights PT-109 was being spotted by a Japanese
destroyer and was warned by radio from a adjacent PT boat that it was
bearing down on him hard .
Steering at slow speed broadside to the enemy , JFK apparently wasn't
interested enough during training to learn you need to point the PT
boat at the enemy in order to launch torpedoes and those torpedoes
when launched take time to arm themselves when they hit the water .
JFK had no one manning the radio so the call went unheeded until the
last moment when he panicked and turned his boat to launch torpedoes
thus hastening the demise of his craft .
As a commander of a patrol boat PT-109** , he managed through simply,
and unbelievable incompetence to get it run over by a Japanese
destroyer; the only time in the entire Pacific Campaign of WWII that a
enemy destroyer was able to do this to a USN PT boat .
His men called him "Shafty" and complained he spent more time chasing
women than Japanese. This impressed his father so much that he went
to the high brass in the navy and convinced them of the following :
"Look fella's we're losing the war and we don't need a Court Marshall
of my incompetent son to prove it . What we need are hero's".
They agreed * and gave JFK one medal for each crew member he had
killed in one of the best kept conspiracy coverups of WWII .
* They agreed or faced being cut off from their free wiskey allotment
that had been going on since the days of prohibition when USN and
Coast Guard vessels were on the take to turn a blind eye to his
smuggling operations . Naturally they were more than willing to
oblige .
The captain of PT-109 was future U.S. President John F. Kennedy. His
crew was assumed lost by the U.S. Navy but found by islander scouts
Biuku Gasa and Eroni Kumana in a dugout canoe.
Blackett Strait
Notes
^ a b Nevitt, Combinedfleet.com. Murasame & Minegumo.
References
Brown, David (1990). War****p Losses of World War Two. Naval Institute
Press. ISBN 1-55750-914-X.
Crenshaw, Russell Sydnor (1998). South Pacific Destroyer: The Battle
for the Solomons from Savo Island to Vella Gulf. Naval Institute
Press. ISBN 1-55750-136-X.
D'Albas, Andrieu (1965). Death of a Navy: Japanese Naval Action in
World War II. Devin-Adair Pub. ISBN 0-8159-5302-X.
Dull, Paul S. (1978). A Battle History of the Imperial Japanese Navy,
1941-1945. Naval Institute Press. ISBN 0-87021-097-1.
Hara, Tameichi (1961). Japanese Destroyer Captain. New York & Toronto:
Ballantine Books. ISBN 0-345-27894-1.
Kilpatrick, C. W. (1987). Naval Night Battles of the Solomons.
Exposition Press. ISBN 0-682-40333-4.
Morison, Samuel Eliot (1958). Breaking the Bismarcks Barrier, vol. 6
of History of United States Naval Operations in World War II. Castle
Books. 0785813071.
Roscoe, Theodore (1953). United States Destroyer Operations in World
War Two. Naval Institute Press. 0870217267.
Hove, Duane T. (2003). American Warriors: Five Presidents in the
Pacific Theater of World War II [1]. Burd Street Press. ISBN
1-57249-260-0.
External links
Order of battle
Article at CombinedFleet.com about the sinking of Oya****o, Kagero, and
Kuro****o.
**Complete Motor Torpedo Boat (PT) Losses In WWII :
PT-22 scrapped after being badly damaged in a storm at Dora Harbor,
Alaska, 11 June 1943.
PT-28 damaged beyond repair in a storm at Dora Harbor, Alaska, 12
January 1943.
PT-31 grounded in enemy waters and destroyed to prevent capture, Subic
Bay, Luzon, Philippine Islands, 19 January 1942.
PT-32 destroyed to prevent capture, Tagauayan Island, Philippine
Islands, 13 March 1942.
PT-33 grounded in enemy waters, 15 December 1941, and destroyed to
prevent capture, Cape Santiago, Luzon, Philippine Islands, 26 December
1941.
PT-34 sunk by Japanese aircraft strafing attack off Cauit Island,
Cebu, Philippine Islands, 9 April 1942.
PT-35 destroyed to prevent capture, Cebu City, Cebu, Philippine
Islands, 12 April 1942.
PT-37 sunk by Japanese destroyer Kawakaze off Cape Esperance,
Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands, 1 February 1943.
PT-41 destroyed to prevent capture on road to Lake Lanao, Mindanao,
Philippine Islands, 15 April 1942.
PT-43 damaged by Japanese war****ps, beached, and destroyed to prevent
capture on Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands, 11 January 1943.
PT-44 destroyed by Japanese war****ps off Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands,
12 December 1942.
PT-63 destroyed by accidental fire while refueling in ****t, Hamburg
Bay, Emirau Island, 18 June 1944.
PT-67 destroyed by accidental fire while refueling in ****t, Tufi, New
Guinea, 17 March 1943.
PT-68 grounded in enemy waters and destroyed to prevent capture near
Vincke Point, New Guinea, 1 October 1943.
PT-73 grounded in enemy waters and destroyed to prevent capture,
Baliquias Bay, Mindoro, Philippine Islands, 15 January 1945.
PT-77 sunk in error by the USS Conyngham (DD-371) and USS Lough
(DE-586) near Talin Point, Luzon, Philippine Islands, 1 February 1945.
PT-79 sunk in error by the USS Conyngham (DD-371) and USS Lough
(DE-586) near Talin Point, Luzon, Philippine Islands, 1 February 1945.
PT-107 destroyed by accidental fire while refueling in ****t, Hamburg
Bay, Emirau Island, 18 June 1944.
** PT-109 sunk after being rammed by Japanese destroyer Amigiri off
Kolombangara Island, Blackett Strait, Solomon Islands, 2 August 1943.
PT-110 sunk after collision in Ablingi Harbor, New Britain, 26 January
1944.
PT-111 destroyed by Japanese war****ps off Guadalcanal, Solomon
Islands, 1 February 1943.
PT-112 destroyed by Japanese war****ps off Guadalcanal, Solomon
Islands, 11 January 1943.
PT-113 destroyed as a result of grounding, not in enemy waters, Veale
Reef, near Tufi, New Guinea, 8 August 1943.
PT-117 destroyed by Japanese aircraft bombing, Rendova Harbor, Solomon
Islands,
1 August 1943.
PT-118 grounded in enemy waters and destroyed to prevent capture, off
Vella Lavella, Solomon Islands, 7 September 1943.
PT-119 destroyed by fire in ****t, Tufi, New Guinea, 17 March 1943.
PT-121 destroyed by Australian aircraft, mistaken identification,
Bangula Bay, New Britain, 27 March 1944.
PT-123 destroyed by Japanese aircraft bombing, off Guadalcanal,
Solomon Islands,
1 February 1943.
PT-133 destroyed by Japanese shore batteries, near Cape Pus, New
Guinea, 15 July 1944.
PT-135 grounded in enemy waters and destroyed to prevent capture, near
Crater Point, New Britain, 12 April 1944.
PT-136 grounded in enemy waters and destroyed to prevent capture,
Malai Island, Vitiaz Strait, New Guinea, 17 September 1943.
PT-145 grounded in enemy waters and destroyed to prevent capture,
Mindiri, New Guinea, 4 January 1944.
PT-147 grounded in enemy waters and destroyed to prevent capture,
Teliata Point, New Guinea, 20 November 1943.
PT-153 grounded in enemy waters and destroyed to prevent capture, near
Munda Point, New Georgia, 4 July 1943.
PT-158 grounded in enemy waters and destroyed to prevent capture, near
Munda Point, New Georgia, 5 July 1943.
PT-164 destroyed by Japanese aircraft bombing, Rendova Harbor, Solomon
Islands,
1 August 1943.
PT-165 lost in transit, tanker torpedoed by Japanese submarine I-17,
100 miles south of Noumea, New Caledonia, 24 May 1943.
PT-166 destroyed in error by US Army Air Force B-25 bombers, mistaken
identification, off New Georgia, 20 July 1943.
PT-172 grounded in enemy waters and destroyed to prevent capture, off
Vella Lavella, Solomon Islands, 7 September 1943.
PT-173 lost in transit, tanker torpedoed by Japanese submarine I-17,
100 miles south of Noumea, New Caledonia, 24 May 1943.
PT-193 grounded in enemy waters and destroyed to prevent capture,
Noemfoor Island, New Guinea, 25 June 1944.
PT-200 lost after collision, 22 February 1944, off New****t, Rhode
Island, and sank
23 February 1944.
PT-202 destroyed by enemy mine, off Point Aygulf, France,
Mediterranean Sea, 16 August 1944.
PT-218 destroyed by enemy mine, off Point Aygulf, France,
Mediterranean Sea, 16 August 1944.
PT-219 damaged in storm and scrapped, near Attu, Aleutian Islands, 14
September 1943.
PT-239 destroyed by fire in ****t, Lambu Lambu, Vella Lavella, Solomon
Islands,
14 December 1943.
PT-247 destroyed by Japanese shore batteries, off Bougainville,
Solomon Islands, 5 May 1944.
PT-251 destroyed by Japanese shore batteries, off Bougainville,
Solomon Islands,
26 February 1944.
PT-279 lost in collision, off Bougainville, Solomon Islands, 11
February 1944.
PT-283 damaged by Japanese shore batteries or wild shot from U.S.
war****p, 18 March 1944, and sank off Bougainville, Solomon Islands, 19
March 1944.
PT-300 destroyed by Kamikaze attack, Mindoro, Philippine Islands, 18
December 1944.
PT-301 damaged by explosion in ****t and scrapped, Mios Woendi, New
Guinea,
7 November 1944.
PT-311 destroyed by enemy mine, Ligurian Sea, Mediterranean Sea, 18
November 1944.
PT-320 destroyed by Japanese aircraft bombing, Leyte Gulf, Philippine
Islands,
5 November 1944.
PT-321 grounded in enemy waters and destroyed to prevent capture, San
Isidro Bay, Leyte, Philippine Islands, 11 November 1944.
PT-322 grounded in enemy waters and destroyed to prevent capture, near
Hardenberg Point, New Guinea, 23 November 1943.
PT-323 destroyed by Kamikaze attack, Leyte Gulf, Philippine Islands,
10 December 1944.
PT-337 destroyed by Japanese shore batteries, Hansa Bay, New Guinea, 7
March 1944.
PT-338 grounded, 27 January 1945, and destroyed as a result of
grounding, not in enemy waters, Semirara Island, Philippine Islands,
31 January 1945.
PT-339 grounded in enemy waters and destroyed to prevent capture, near
Pur Pur, New Guinea, 27 May 1944.
PT-346 destroyed by U.S. Navy aircraft, mistaken identification, near
Cape Pomas, New Britain Island, 29 April 1944.
PT-347 destroyed by U.S. Navy aircraft, mistaken identification, near
Cape Pomas, New Britain Island, 29 April 1944.
PT-353 destroyed by Australian aircraft, mistaken identification,
Bangula Bay, New Britain Island, 27 March 1944.
PT-363 destroyed by Japanese shore batteries in Knoe Bay, Halmahera,
Netherlands East Indies, 25 November 1944.
PT-368 grounded in enemy waters and destroyed to prevent capture, near
Cape Salimoedi, Halmahera, Netherlands East Indies, 11 October 1944.
PT-371 grounded in enemy waters and destroyed to prevent capture, near
Tagalasa, Halmahera, Netherlands East Indies, 19 September 1944.
PT-493 destroyed by Japanese war****ps, Surigao Strait, Philippine
Islands, 25 October 1944.
PT-509 destroyed by ramming of a German minesweeper in the English
Channel, 9 August 1944.
PT-555 damaged by a German mine off Cape Couronne, Mediterranean Sea,
24 August 1944, and sunk by US gunfire, 8 September 1944..
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