1943-11-02
Battle of Empress Augusta Bay
Empress Augusta Bay, Bougainville
On the night of 1-2 November 1943 Rear Admiral Sentaro Omori came down from Rabaul to break up the landings at Cape Torokina. His flag was in the heavy cruiser Myoko, with Haguro. The light cruiser Sendai, Rear Admiral Matsuji Ijuin's flag, had Shigure, Samidare, and Shiratsuyu. The light cruiser Agano had Naganami, Hatsukaze, and Wakatsuki. Rear Admiral Aaron S. Merrill met them in Montpelier, with Cleveland, Columbia, and Denver, and eight destroyers. Captain Arleigh Burke had Charles Ausburne, Dyson, Stanly, and Claxton in the van. Commander Bernard Austin had Spence, Thatcher, Converse, and Foote astern. The American cruisers sank Sendai. That fire is not credited to one of them. Myoko, cutting through the other column, collided with Hatsukaze and cut off her bow. American destroyers then finished Hatsukaze. That fire is not credited to one of them. Samidare and Shiratsuyu collided and left damaged. Shigure was not hit. The usual account is that a torpedo from Sendai's spread wrecked Foote. She was not sunk. Spence was hit and was not sunk. The transports Omori had been sent to cover were not in the fight, and the landing ships in the bay were not in the gun line.
A diagram of how this fight went will go here.
