1943-10-06
Battle of Vella Lavella
Northwest of Vella Lavella
Shigure and Samidare were covering the evacuation of the last Japanese troops on Vella Lavella. Three American destroyers attacked before their second division arrived. Yugumo was sunk. One of her torpedoes wrecked Chevalier, and O'Bannon then collided with Chevalier. Selfridge, firing at Shigure and Samidare, lost her bow to a torpedo. The record does not name the ship that fired it. The evacuation still got away.
Sunk in this fight
2 ships.
Chart: Battle of Vella Lavella, 6-7 October 1943, facing page 60 in Solomon Islands Campaign: XI, Kolombangara and Vella Lavella, 6 August-7 October 1943, Combat Narratives, Office of Naval Intelligence. Public domain. The chart plots the night action: the two Japanese groups and Yugumo, the tracks of O'Bannon, Chevalier, and Selfridge, the tracks of Ralph Talbot, Taylor, and LaVallette, and the radar contacts. The north end of Vella Lavella is in the corner. The sinkings are not credited to one ship.
Chart: New Georgia Group, in Solomon Islands Campaign: XI, Combat Narratives, Office of Naval Intelligence. Public domain. A map of the place, not of the battle. It shows Vella Lavella, Gizo Strait, Vella Gulf, Kolombangara, Kula Gulf, and New Georgia.
