Battle of Rennell Island

Battle of Rennell Island
	Part of the Guadalcanal campaign of the Pacific Theater of World War II
	; USS Chicago low in the water on the morning of 30 January 1943, from torpedo damage inflicted the night before
Date	29–30 January 1943
Location	Rennell Island, Solomon Islands, Pacific Ocean
Result	Japanese victory
Belligerents
United States	Japan
Commanders and leaders
William Halsey Jr.; Robert C. Giffen	Jinichi Kusaka; Rinosuke Ichimaru; Seigō Yamagata
Strength
1 aircraft carrier; 2 escort carriers; 3 heavy cruisers; 3 light cruisers; 8 destroyers; 14 fighters	43 medium bombers
Casualties and losses
1 heavy cruiser sunk; 1 destroyer heavily damaged; 85 killed	12 medium bombers destroyed; 60–84 killed

The Battle of Rennell Island (Japanese: レンネル島沖海戦, Hepburn: Renneru-shima oki kaisen) took place on 29–30 January 1943. It was the last major naval engagement between the United States Navy and the Imperial Japanese Navy during the Guadalcanal campaign of World War II. It occurred in the South Pacific between Rennell Island and Guadalcanal in the southern Solomon Islands.

In the battle, Japanese land-based torpedo bombers, seeking to provide protection for the impending evacuation of Japanese forces from Guadalcanal, made several attacks over two days on U.S. warships operating as a task force south of Rennell Island. In addition to approaching Guadalcanal with the objective of engaging any Japanese ships that might come into range, the U.S. task force was protecting an Allied transport ship convoy carrying replacement troops there.

As a result of the Japanese air attacks on the task force, the heavy cruiser USS Chicago was sunk, the destroyer USS La Vallette was heavily damaged, and the rest of the U.S. task force was forced to retreat from the southern Solomons area. Partly because they turned back the U.S. task force in this battle, the Japanese successfully evacuated their remaining troops from Guadalcanal by 7 February 1943, leaving it in the hands of the Allies and ending the battle for the island.

^ Frank, Guadalcanal, p. 288. Kusaka commanded the 11th Air Fleet, headquartered at Rabaul, which included the 701, 705 and 751 Air Groups that participated in this battle.
^ Morison, Struggle for Guadalcanal, pp. 353, 361. Although the three U.S. carriers together carried considerably more fighter aircraft than 14, this was the number that actually participated in the battle.
^ Frank, Guadalcanal, p. 578.
^ Frank, Guadalcanal, pp. 581, 641. Breakdown of deaths by ship: Chicago: 62, La Vallette: 22, and Montpelier: 1. The Japanese bombers strafed the U.S. ships during both attacks on 29 and 30 January which may have resulted in the one death on Montpelier (Morison, Struggle for Guadalcanal, p. 355).
^ Frank, Guadalcanal, p. 581; Tagaya, pp. 66–67. Japanese personnel losses estimated by multiplying the 12 aircraft destroyed by the five to seven-man crew that Mitsubishi G4M and Mitsubishi G3M bombers usually carried.

[1] Frank, Guadalcanal, p. 288. Kusaka commanded the 11th Air Fleet, headquartered at Rabaul, which included the 701, 705 and 751 Air Groups that participated in this battle.

[2] Morison, Struggle for Guadalcanal, pp. 353, 361. Although the three U.S. carriers together carried considerably more fighter aircraft than 14, this was the number that actually participated in the battle.

[guadalcanal578-3] Frank, Guadalcanal, p. 578.

[4] Frank, Guadalcanal, pp. 581, 641. Breakdown of deaths by ship: Chicago: 62, La Vallette: 22, and Montpelier: 1. The Japanese bombers strafed the U.S. ships during both attacks on 29 and 30 January which may have resulted in the one death on Montpelier (Morison, Struggle for Guadalcanal, p. 355).

[5] Frank, Guadalcanal, p. 581; Tagaya, pp. 66–67. Japanese personnel losses estimated by multiplying the 12 aircraft destroyed by the five to seven-man crew that Mitsubishi G4M and Mitsubishi G3M bombers usually carried.

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