Battle of Blackett Strait

Battle of Blackett Strait
Part of the Pacific Theater of World War II
Track chart of the battle
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, 174 killed [1] 2 captured

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 and Arundel Island in the Solomon Islands. The battle was a chance encounter between two Japanese destroyers that had been undertaking a resupply run to Vila and a U.S. Navy force of three light cruisers and three destroyers that had been tasked with bombarding the Japanese shore facilities around Vila. The two forces clashed as the Japanese destroyers were withdrawing through the Kula Gulf. In the short battle that followed the two Japanese destroyers were sunk, after which the U.S. ships completed their bombardment of Vila before returning to their base.