1943-03-02
Battle of the Bismarck Sea
Bismarck Sea, on the way from Rabaul to Lae
Eight transports and eight destroyers left Rabaul for Lae. Allied aircraft, American and Australian, sank every transport and four destroyers: Shirayuki, Arashio, Asashio, and Tokitsukaze. Yukikaze, Asagumo, Shikinami, and Uranami got away with survivors. No Allied warship was in the daylight fight. Eight motor torpedo boats attacked the wrecks after dark. The sinking is credited to the aircraft, not to one plane or one boat.
A diagram of how this fight went will go here.
