Battle of the Komandorski Islands

The heavy cruiser Salt Lake City, damaged by Japanese cruiser gunfire, starts losing speed prior to going dead in the water during the battle under a smoke screen laid by accompanying destroyers.

Date	27 March 1943
Location	off Komandorski Islands
Result	Tactically inconclusive Strategic United States victory

Belligerents

United States

Empire of Japan

Commanders and leaders

Charles McMorris

Boshiro Hosogaya

Strength

1 heavy cruiser,
1 light cruiser,
4 destroyers

2 heavy cruisers,
2 light cruisers,
4 destroyers

Casualties and losses

1 heavy cruiser severely damaged,
2 destroyers slightly damaged,
7 killed,
20 wounded

1 heavy cruiser moderately damaged,
1 heavy cruiser slightly damaged,
14 killed,
26 wounded

The Battle of the Komandorski Islands was a naval battle between American and Japanese forces which took place on 27 March 1943 in the North Pacific, south of the Soviet Komandorski Islands. The battle was a daylight surface engagement in which air support played a negligible role and in which the inferior force escaped complete destruction mostly by luck.

When the United States became aware of Japanese plans to send a supply convoy to their forces on the Aleutian Islands of Alaska, U.S. Navy ships commanded by Rear Admiral Charles McMorris were sent to prevent this. The fleet consisted of the heavy cruiser Salt Lake City, the light cruiser Richmond and the destroyers Coghlan, Bailey, Dale and Monaghan.

American intelligence estimated that the Japanese escort consisted of one heavy cruiser, one light cruiser, and four destroyers. However, the Japanese 5th fleet had been reinforced by two more cruisers, so that the Japanese escort force actually consisted of the heavy cruisers Nachi and Maya, the light cruisers Tama and Abukuma, and the destroyers Wakaba, Hatsushimo, Ikazuchi, and Inazuma, commanded by Vice Admiral Boshiro Hosogaya. On the early morning of 26 March, the Japanese convoy was intercepted by the American picket line some 100 miles south of the Komandorski islands and 180 miles west of Kiska, just to the west of the International Date Line. Because of the remote location of the battle and chance encounter on open ocean, neither fleet had air or submarine assistance, making this one of the few engagements exclusively between surface ships in the Pacific Theater and one of the last pure gunnery duels between fleets in naval history.

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