Posted on 03/30/2009 1:19:34 PM PDT by GATOR NAVY
The Vella Gulf, a Norfolk-based ship that until recently led America's offensive on piracy off the Horn of Africa, traces its name to a World War II battle in which the Navy pursued tactics a pirate would admire.
Labeled "a little classic of naval warfare " by famed Adm. Chester Nimitz, the Battle of Vella Gulf was fought and won in about an hour on the night of Aug. 6-7, 1943. The engagement was a pivotal moment in the long and bloody campaign to dislodge the Japanese from the Solomons, a chain of islands northeast of Australia.
The fight's American heroes were six destroyers, divided into two attacking squadrons, that quietly navigated a narrow strait to enter Vella Gulf and surprise an advancing group of Japanese destroyers and cruisers, loaded with troops and equipment. The imperial troops were bound for a Japanese garrison in another part of the Solomons.
(Excerpt) Read more at hamptonroads.com ...
From the American side, there is South Pacific Destroyer by Russel Crenshaw of Crenshaw's Naval Shiphandling fame. Crenshaw was the Gunnery Officer and later XO onboard USS MAURY (DD-401), one of the destroyers of the US force at Vella Gulf.
From the Japanese side, there is Japanese Destroyer Captain by Tameichi Hara, CO of the destroyer SHIGURE, the only Japanese ship lucky enough to escape destruction at the ambush. How lucky was SHIGURE? After the battle it was discovered an American torpedo had passed through her rudder without exploding, leaving behind a substantial hole.
Both books are published by the US Naval Institute Press. Amazon shows Japanese Destroyer Captain as out of print and unavailable. I don't why because the USNI Press edition is new and available at the USNI site.
It could get a little out of hand, though. You wouldn't think anyone in a DE would be crazy enough to get into a toe-to-toe slugging match with a battleship. Then you read about Taffy 3 and your jaw drops. Those were men.
W/O a doubt.....best day in history for the ‘Tin Can’. Destroyers then and now can ‘sting’ a battle group into a coma.
James HornFischer’s “Last Stand of the Tin Can Sailors” is an excellent account of the Battle off Samar and Taffy 3.
It’s a nice combination of traditional naval history and Ambrose-like personal narrative.
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