Hampton Roads Naval Museum

OTD, 6 July 1943, the United States Navy clashed with the Imperial Japanese Navy at the Battle of Kula Gulf. After the victory at Guadalcanal, the U.S. continued offensive operations in the Pacific and conducted an amphibious landing on the island of New Georgia on June 30, 1943. The Japanese aimed to land supplies along with reinforcements on New Georgia. Standing in their way was U.S. Navy Task Group 36.1 under the command of Rear Admiral Walden L. Ainsworth. Ainsworth’s force of three light cruisers and four destroyers would be up against ten Japanese destroyers under the command of Rear Admiral Teruo Akiyama.

Ainsworth believed that he could detect the incoming Japanese force with radar before his ships were spotted, then engage the enemy with the guns of his cruisers at long range. The Brooklyn Class cruisers in Ainsworth’s task force, USS Honolulu (CL 48), USS St. Louis (CL 49), and the USS Helena (CL 50) were armed with 6-inch guns that had a maximum range of 15 miles. If Ainsworth’s plan was successful, he would be able to fire at the Japanese ships before they were in range to launch their torpedoes.

At 0157, the Honolulu opened fire on a radar reported contact. While the U.S. cruisers opened fire, Admiral Akiyama ordered three of the ten Japanese destroyers to move closer and fire multiple torpedoes. While Ainsworth’s cruisers continued to fire, in a matter of minutes, the Helena was hit simultaneously by three torpedoes. The hits taken by the Helena were so powerful the ship broke apart into three separate sections, and went down with 170 Sailors.

The Honolulu and the St. Louis continued firing, sinking the Japanese flag ship destroyer Niizuki. The steady rate of fire from the Honolulu and St. Louis also severely damaged the destroyer Nagatsuki which was forced to run aground.

At 0612 the Battle of Kula Gulf was over. The U.S. Navy lost the Helena, and the Japanese lost three hundred men aboard the Niizuki, including Admiral Akiyama. While the Imperial Japanese Navy was able to land approximately 1600 troops on shore, the U.S. Navy forces under Ainsworth were able to delay and disrupt a major resupply effort. The Battle of Kula Gulf was not a decisive victory, but it did establish the shift in momentum to the Allied side in the Pacific Theater.

Photo credits:

Sailors covered in oil from the sunken USS Helena (CL 50) are rescued by the destroyer USS Nicholas (DD 449)

USS Helena (CL 50) and the USS St. Louis (CL 49) open fire as seen from the USS Honolulu (CL 48)

Map of the New Georgia Island Group

Photos from the National Archives

OTD, June 30, 1815, the final naval engagement of the War of 1812 occurred.

Master Commandant Lewis Warrington and his ship, USS Peacock, were sailing in the Sunda Straits off Java, capturing prizes in the spring of 1815. When he sighted the East India Company brig Nautilus, he ordered his men to take it.

Nautilus’ captain, Lieutenant Charles Boyce, had just been given official word that the war had ended six months earlier in December 1814. When he spotted the Peacock, Boyce sent a man over in a small boat to inform the other vessel’s crew. Warrington, uncertain of the veracity of the claim, drew alongside the Nautilus and ordered the ship to surrender. Boyce refused and Peacock opened fire.

Boyce and his second in command were wounded, and the Nautilus badly damaged. The Peacock ceased firing after the first or second volley, and Warrington realized the war truly was over. He released the Nautilus the next day.

Following the war, the Peacock was taken to New York in 1827, decommissioned and almost entirely rebuilt to be outfitted for use in the United States Exploring Expedition. It was relaunched in 1828, still under the name of USS Peacock.

Photo credit: USS Peacock capturing British Brig Nautilus, NHHC.