Battle of Kula Gulf

[john whitman]

Good evening fontessa:

I have a question about the soldiers carried by destroyers during the Battle of Kula Gulf, 6 July 1943.

Ten destroyers sortied from the Shortlands the night of 5 July. Seven of the destroyers carried 2,400 Army soldiers and 180 tons of supplies destined for Vila on Kolombangara. Three modern destroyers served as support. The Battle of Kula Gulf cost the Japanese two destroyers sunk and seven suffering minor to moderate hurts. The transport mission was only partly successful. Sixteen hundred men and ninety tons got ashore.

Do you know what Army forces were aboard these destroyers and how they might have been loaded? I am not interested in the naval battle, just the movement of the Army units. It looks like each destroyer-transport carried over 300 men.

Thanks for your help.

John

[flakbait]

Am not cetain of the IJA units involved, but by this period of the war the Japanese were using the Dahishu landing craft as well as floating 55 gallon drums, many times tied together in strings that could be rapidly pushed over the sides of destroyers and either towed by small craft or be allowed to (hopefully) wash ashore to awaiting units...

[john whitman]

Supplies are a possibility. The TROMs at combinedfleetr.com say troop movements.

John

[Carl Schwamberger]

The soldiers embarked for Vila were probablly on the way to Munda. The history of the Japanese units on New Britain would probablly have some clues about the unit ID you are looking for.

[fontessa]

Good morning John,

Seven of the destroyers carried 2,400 Army soldiers and 180 tons of supplies destined for Vila on Kolombangara.

Senshi Sosho says the same things as the above. It doesn't mention the unit names which were transported.

The history of the Japanese units on New Britain would probably have some clues about the unit ID you are looking for.

I checked Unit Brief Histories of the units which have stationed in New Georgia. But these histories don’t describe the movement to the island.

And I checked the war diary of DesRon3, but it also doesn’t say about the unit names. As I have posted earlier, it is rare that the war diary of Navy ships described the Army unit names which they transported.

fontessa

[john whitman]

Good evening fontessa:

Thank you for checking.

The 4-5 July 1943 movement by four destroyers carried elements of the 13th Infantry (possibly 2nd Battalion) and elements of the 229th Infantry (possibly 3rd Battalion).

The next movement, 5-6 July that resulted in the Battle of Kula Gulf, probably carried the same men and additional soldiers. Two destroyers from the 4-5 July movement, Satsuki and Nagatsuki, were also in the 5-6 July movement. They had failed to land their men during the first effort, so those same men were probably still aboard during the Battle of Kula Gulf.

John