The Battle of Rennell Island

The Battle of Rennell Island was a naval battle that took place on the 29-30 January 1943 between a United States task force and land-based Japanese bombers, near Rennell Island south of Guadalcanal. The Americans lost the heavy cruiser Chicago in the battle.

At the end of January 1943, the Japanese were preparing to evacuate Guadalcanal, but the Americans misinterpreted the increased ship traffic as preparation for another offensive. Admiral William Halsey decided to send in no less than five task forces to cover the relief of the US 2nd Marine Division. Task Force 18, under Rear Admiral Robert C. Giffen, and consisting of two escort carriers, three heavy cruisers, three light cruisers, and eight destroyers was ordered to provide air support for the relief transports.

However, the escort carriers were too slow (18 knots max) to make a scheduled rendezvous, so Giffen left them behind and pushed on at 24 knots, expecting to get air cover from planes at Henderson Field on Guadalcanal once he made the rendezvous. But he was being tracked by Japanese submarines, who passed on TF 18′s position to “Betty” torpedo bombers stationed at Munda and Buka.

At about 1900 hours, the bombers made a first pass, launching several torpedos, none of which hit, and strafing the ships. They then dropped flares to mark the position and course of the task force, and at 1930 another run started, this time scoring a crippling hit on Chicago. Giffen changed course at 2000 and took measures to keep the ships from presenting lit-up targets, and by 2015 the bombers were mostly gone.

Louisville (CA-28) took Chicago in tow, the escort carriers moved up to provide combat air patrol, and aircraft of the nearby Enterprise also joined in. The CAP caught most of a flight of 12 “Bettys” going after Chicago on the afternoon of the 30th, but several got through and launched the torpedos that would sink the cruiser. A final flight of Japanese aircraft failed to find any targets, and the battle was over.

About Rennel Island

Rennell Island, locally known as Mungava, is the main island of two inhabited islands that make up the Rennell and Bellona Province in the Solomon Islands. Rennell Island has a land area of 660 square kilometres (250 sq mi) that is about 80 kilometres (50 mi) long and 14 kilometres (8.7 mi)wide. It is the second largest upraised coral atoll in the world[1] with the largest lake in the insular Pacific (Lake Tegano)[2] that is listed as a World Heritage Site. Rennell Island has a population of about 3000 persons of Polynesian descent who primarily speak Renbelian, Pigin and some English. Rennell and Bellona Islands are the only islands in the Melanesian Solomon Island archipelago classified Polynesian.

The population of Renbel dates before 1400 AD when clansmen left Uvea (now Wallis Island) and crossed the Pacific ocean to settle on the islands. Captain Butler of HMS Walpole discovered the islands in 1801, after discovering and naming Walpole Island in New Caledonia. In 1933 the Templeton Crocker Expedition discovered several endemic species on the islands. During the Pacific campaign of World War II Japanese Nakajima A6M2-N Rufe floatplanes operated from Lake Tegano until American PBY Catalinas used the lake as a base after 1943. The Battle of Rennell Island was the last major naval battle of the Guadacanal Campaign which occurred between 29 January 1943 and 30 January 1943. At the end of the war, eight Catalinas were scuttled in the lake and can be seen from the lake surface.