The Battle of Rennell Island

Pilots!

The battle of Rennell Island (January 29-30, 1943) was a clash between Japanese aircraft and a US Navy task force escorting reinforcements to Guadalcanal, which ended as a clear Japanese victory after they sank the heavy cruiser USS Chicago (CA-29).

The Japanese aircraft involved came from the land-based 701st and 705th Kokutai. They found the American escort ships to the north of Rennell Island (120 miles to the south of Guadalcanal). The first attack came on the evening of January 29. A number of Japanese aircraft were shot down, but two of them crashed into the sea behind USS Chicago, and she was silhouetted against the flames.

Mitsubishi G4M-l 'Betty' Bombers from the 701st Kokutai hit Chicago with two torpedoes. The first hit, at 19:45, stopped three of the cruiser's four drive shafts, while the second damaged the forward engine room. Chicago was left dead in the water, although her damage control parties were able to bring her back onto the level.

Soon after this, the Japanese attack ended. USS Louisville was able to take her damaged sister in tow, and the task force began a slow retreat towards Espiritu Santo.

The Japanese didn't renew their attack until the afternoon of January 30, by which time the Chicago was 30 miles to the east of Rennell Island, being towed by the tug Navajo (AT-64) and the destroyer La Vallette (DD-448). At 14:45, 12 'Betties' were detected to the south of New Georgia heading for the damaged cruiser.

A combat air patrol of F4Fs from VF 10 on USS Enterprise intercepted the Japanese bombers, but were only able to shoot down three of the 12. Anti-aircraft fire from Task Force 18 claimed seven more, but the remaining two aircraft scored two more torpedo hits on the Chicago. This time the damage was too severe to be repaired, and the Chicago had to be abandoned, sinking stern-first at 16:44.

The La Vallette (DD-448) was also hit by a torpedo which killed 22, and meant that she, too, had to be towed away from the damage area. This ended the battle. 

In rememberance of this battle, we offer the special event below.

Start Date: Monday, January 27, 21:30 PST (00:30 EST)

End Date: Thursday, January 30, 21:30 PST (00:30 EST)