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Battle Of Kolombangara
The Battle of Kolombangara (Japanese: コロンバンガラ島沖海戦) (also known as the Second Battle of Kula Gulf) was a naval battle of the Pacific campaign of World War II, fought on the night of 12/13 July 1943, off the northeastern coast of Kolombangara in the Solomon Islands. The battle took place during the early stages of the New Georgia campaign when an Imperial Japanese Navy force, carrying reinforcements south to Vila, Solomon Islands, was intercepted by a task force of U.S. and New Zealand light cruisers and destroyers. In the ensuing action, the Japanese sank one Allied destroyer and damaged three cruisers. They were also able to successfully land 1,200 ground troops on the western coast of Kolombangara but lost one light cruiser sunk in the process. Background The Allied campaign in New Georgia had begun on 30 June as part of their advance through the central Solomon Islands towards Rabaul under the guise of Operation Cartwheel. In the initial phase of the ope ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pacific War
The Pacific War, sometimes called the Asia–Pacific War, was the theater of World War II that was fought in Asia, the Pacific Ocean, the Indian Ocean, and Oceania. It was geographically the largest theater of the war, including the vast Pacific Ocean theater, the South West Pacific theater, the Second Sino-Japanese War, and the Soviet–Japanese War. The Second Sino-Japanese War between the Empire of Japan and the Republic of China had been in progress since 7 July 1937, with hostilities dating back as far as 19 September 1931 with the Japanese invasion of Manchuria. However, it is more widely accepted that the Pacific War itself began on 7 December (8 December Japanese time) 1941, when the Japanese simultaneously invaded Thailand, attacked the British colonies of Malaya, Singapore, and Hong Kong as well as the United States military and naval bases in Hawaii, Wake Island, Guam, and the Philippines. The Pacific War saw the Allies pitted against Japan, the latter ai ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
New Georgia
New Georgia, with an area of , is the largest of the islands in Western Province, Solomon Islands, and the 200th-largest island in the world. Geography New Georgia island is located in the New Georgia Group, an archipelago including most of the other larger islands in the province. The island measures approximately long by wide. New Georgia forms part of the southern boundary of the New Georgia Sound. Kolombangara lies across the Kula Gulf to the west, Choiseul to the northeast, Vangunu is to the southeast, and Rendova to the southwest, across the Blanche Channel. New Georgia is a volcanic island, surrounded in some places by a coral reef. The highest point is Mount Masse, with an elevation of . The climate is wet and tropical, and the island is subject to frequent cyclones. New Georgia is covered with dense vegetation, in the marshy areas mangroves are located. Population The population of the island was 19,312 in 1999. Most of the population resides on the south coa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
United States Navy
The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage of its active battle fleet alone exceeding the next 13 navies combined, including 11 allies or partner nations of the United States as of 2015. It has the highest combined battle fleet tonnage (4,635,628 tonnes as of 2019) and the world's largest aircraft carrier fleet, with eleven in service, two new carriers under construction, and five other carriers planned. With 336,978 personnel on active duty and 101,583 in the Ready Reserve, the United States Navy is the third largest of the United States military service branches in terms of personnel. It has 290 deployable combat vessels and more than 2,623 operational aircraft . The United States Navy traces its origins to the Continental Navy, which was established during the American Revo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
William Halsey
William Frederick "Bull" Halsey Jr. (October 30, 1882 – August 16, 1959) was an American United States Navy, Navy admiral during World War II. He is one of four officers to have attained the rank of five-star Fleet admiral (United States), fleet admiral of the United States Navy, the others being William D. Leahy, William Leahy, Ernest King, and Chester W. Nimitz. Born in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Halsey graduated from the United States Naval Academy in 1904. He served in the Great White Fleet and, during World War I, commanded the destroyer . He took command of the aircraft carrier in 1935 after completing a course in naval aviation, and was promoted to the rank of rear admiral in 1938. At the start of the Pacific War, War in the Pacific (1941–1945), Halsey commanded the task force centered on the carrier in a series of raids against Japanese-held targets. Halsey was made commander of the South Pacific Area, and led the Allied forces over the course of the Guadalcanal Camp ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Coastwatchers
The Coastwatchers, also known as the Coast Watch Organisation, Combined Field Intelligence Service or Section C, Allied Intelligence Bureau, were Allied military intelligence operatives stationed on remote Pacific islands during World War II to observe enemy movements and rescue stranded Allied personnel. They played a significant role in the Pacific Ocean theatre and South West Pacific theatre, particularly as an early warning network during the Guadalcanal campaign. Overview Captain Chapman James Clare, district naval officer of Western Australia, proposed a coastwatching programme in 1919. In 1922, the Australian Commonwealth Naval Board directed the Naval Intelligence Division of the Royal Australian Navy to organise a coastwatching service. Walter Brooksbank, a civil assistant to the Director of Naval Intelligence, worked in the 1920s and 1930s to organise a skeleton service of plantation owners and managers whose properties were in strategic locations in northern Austra ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Allies Of World War II
The Allies, formally referred to as the United Nations from 1942, were an international military coalition formed during the Second World War (1939–1945) to oppose the Axis powers, led by Nazi Germany, Imperial Japan, and Fascist Italy. Its principal members by 1941 were the United Kingdom, United States, Soviet Union, and China. Membership in the Allies varied during the course of the war. When the conflict broke out on 1 September 1939, the Allied coalition consisted of the United Kingdom, France, and Poland, as well as their respective dependencies, such as British India. They were soon joined by the independent dominions of the British Commonwealth: Canada, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. Consequently, the initial alliance resembled that of the First World War. As Axis forces began invading northern Europe and the Balkans, the Allies added the Netherlands, Belgium, Norway, Greece, and Yugoslavia. The Soviet Union, which initially had a nonaggression pa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Destroyer Transport
High-speed transports were converted destroyers and destroyer escorts used in US Navy Amphibious warfare, amphibious operations in World War II and afterward. They received the US Hull classification symbol APD; "AP" for transport and "D" for destroyer. In 1969, the remaining ships were reclassified as "Fast Amphibious Transports", hull symbol LPR. APDs were intended to deliver small units such as Marine Raiders, Underwater Demolition Teams, and United States Army Rangers#World War II, United States Army Rangers onto hostile shores. An APD could carry up to 200 troops - a Company (military unit), company-size unit - and approximately 40 tons of cargo. It could also provide Naval gunfire support, gunfire support if needed. was officially designated the Navy's first high-speed transport on 2 August 1940 when she became APD-1. Development Before the United States entered World War II, as newer and more modern destroyers joined the fleet, some older destroyers were refitted for o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rear Admiral
Rear admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, equivalent to a major general and air vice marshal and above that of a commodore and captain, but below that of a vice admiral. It is regarded as a two star "admiral" rank. It is often regarded as a two-star rank with a NATO code of OF-7. The term originated in the days of naval sailing squadrons and can trace its origins to the Royal Navy. Each naval squadron was assigned an admiral as its head, who commanded from the centre vessel and directed the squadron's activities. The admiral would in turn be assisted by a vice admiral, who commanded the lead ships that bore the brunt of a battle. In the rear of the squadron, a third admiral commanded the remaining ships and, as this section was considered to be in the least danger, the admiral in command of it was typically the most junior. This has continued into the modern age, with rear admiral the most junior admiralty of many navies. In most European navies, the equivalent rank i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kula Gulf
Kula Gulf is a waterway in the Western Province of the Solomon Islands. It lies between the islands of Kolombangara to the west, Arundel Island (Kohinggo) to the southwest, and New Georgia to the south and east. To the north, it opens into New Georgia Sound ("the Slot"). To the southwest, it connects via Blackett Strait to Vella Gulf and the Solomon Sea. During the Solomon Islands campaign in World War II, two minor naval battles between the Imperial Japanese Navy and the United States Navy were fought here in July, 1943. The first was the Battle of Kula Gulf fought on the night of 5–6 July 1943. In that engagement, the cruiser was sunk. The second battle was the Battle of Kolombangara The Battle of Kolombangara (Japanese: コロンバンガラ島沖海戦) (also known as the Second Battle of Kula Gulf) was a naval battle of the Pacific campaign of World War II, fought on the night of 12/13 July 1943, off the northeastern coas ... fought on the night of 12–13 July 1943. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
New Georgia Sound
New Georgia Sound is the sound in the New Georgia Islands region that runs approximately southeast–northwest through the middle of the Solomon Islands archipelago in the Southern Pacific Ocean and Melanesia.Map of the Solomon Islands archipelago (a better map). Geography The sound is bounded by , , and to the north, and by |
Tokyo Express
The Tokyo Express was the name given by Allied forces to the use of Imperial Japanese Navy ships at night to deliver personnel, supplies, and equipment to Japanese forces operating in and around New Guinea and the Solomon Islands during the Pacific campaign of World War II. The operation involved loading personnel or supplies aboard fast warships (mainly destroyers), later submarines, and using the warships' speed to deliver the personnel or supplies to the desired location and return to the originating base all within one night so Allied aircraft could not intercept them by day. Name The original name of the resupply missions was "The Cactus Express", coined by Allied forces on Guadalcanal, who used the code name "Cactus" for the island. After the U.S. press began referring to it as the "Tokyo Express," apparently in order to preserve operational security for the code word, Allied forces also began to use the phrase. The Japanese themselves called the night resupply missions ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
_underway_on_31_October_1944.gif "Click for more on -> Destroyer Transport")
