1943-08-06
Battle of Vella Gulf
Vella Gulf, between Vella Lavella and Kolombangara
Six US destroyers ambushed four Japanese destroyers running troops to Kolombangara. Three of the Japanese ships were sunk. Shigure got away after a dud torpedo went through her rudder.
Sunk in this fight
3 ships.
Vella Gulf, night of 6-7 August 1943. North is up. Not to scale, and not a surveyed track. Moosbrugger's three, Dunlap, Craven, and Maury, fired torpedoes first. Simpson's three, Lang, Sterett, and Stack, crossed the bow. Hagikaze, Arashi, and Kawakaze were sunk. That credit is the group, not one ship. A dud torpedo holed Shigure's rudder and she got out. Her eight torpedoes missed. No American ship was hit. The ship Sugiura stood on is not marked.
