Battle of Blackett Strait

Battle of Blackett Strait
Part of the Pacific Theater of World War II
Admiral Merrill's light cruisers at Efate
Date 6 March 1943 Location Blackett Strait, Solomon Islands Result U.S. victory
Belligerents
United States	Japan
Commanders and leaders
Aaron S. Merrill	Masao Tachibana
Strength
3 cruisers, 3 destroyers	2 destroyers
Casualties and losses
None	2 destroyers sunk, 326 killed

The Battle of Blackett Strait (Japanese: ビラ・スタンモーア夜戦 Battle of Vila-Stanmore) was a naval battle of the Pacific campaign of World War II, fought on 6 March 1943 in the Blackett Strait, between Kolombangara islands and Arundel Island in the Solomon Islands.

After the American victory in the Guadalcanal campaign, operations in the Solomon Islands shifted to the west, where the Japanese maintained a substantial garrison on Kolombangara. On the night of 5 March 1943, the Japanese destroyers Murasame and Minegumo—commanded by Sho-sa (Lieutenant Commander) Yōji Tanegashima—took supplies to the Japanese base at Vila, on Kolombangara.

As they withdrew after landing their cargo, the two Japanese ships encountered Task Force 68 (TF 68), consisting of three light cruisers (USS Montpelier, Cleveland, and Denver) and three destroyers (USS Conway, Cony, and Waller) commanded by Rear Admiral Aaron S. Merrill, that had been bombarding Japanese positions at Vila.

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