Warships in the Komandorski Islands 1943: The USN and IJN Fight the Last Pure Surface Battle

48 pages

RAdm R G Melly

Mark Lardas is the author of more than 50 books on aspects of military, naval and maritime history, including many for Osprey. In this short, soft-backed book, he has teamed up with a renowned illustrator, Paul Wright, who provides the line drawings of the combatants which complement the text.

The author describes the conduct of an action between forces of the United States Navy and the Imperial Japanese Navy. The confrontation took place on 27 March 1943, south of the Soviet Komandorski Islands, when the out-gunned Americans attempted to interdict a fast convoy seeking to resupply the foothold gained by the Japanese in the Aleutian Islands.

The ensuing battle was deemed to be a strategic victory for the Americans, in as much as the convoy turned back, albeit the Japanese had the upper hand for much of the engagement. However, the Japanese Admiral in command, fearing the arrival of American aircraft, failed to press his advantage and withdrew his forces, resulting in accusations of cowardice and incompetence. During the action, the Americans benefitted from radar, better damage control and the skilful use of smokescreens, whilst the Japanese had superior torpedoes and a larger force; both sides suffered from disturbing engineering mishaps and poor gunnery. Over a period of 222 minutes, some 5,600 shells of all calibres were fired by both sides, resulting in just 11 hits; the 48 torpedoes fired all missed their targets. No ships were sunk, and casualties were mercifully low. This action is deemed to be the last engagement between surface ships in which neither submarines nor aircraft played a significant role, primarily due to the remote location in which it was fought.

Amply furnished with photographs, drawings and illustrations, the book includes chapters providing details of the ships present, their weaponry, machinery and damage control arrangements, and the conduct of the engagement. The result is a highly readable and informative account of this little-known battle.