History Help (October 7, 1943) | Forums

[WernherVonTrapp]

I'm currently playing TMO 2.0/RSRDC. It's October 7, 1943 and I'm heading toward the IJN base at Rabaul to conduct a harbor raid. At about 09:00 hours, I pick up a number of sonar contacts behind me. I'm just south of Cape St. George heading NW at the mouth of the St. George's Channel. The sonar contacts turn out to be, no less than 2 IJN destroyer squadrons (9 total) made up (mostly) of Asashio and Fubuki class with a few others mixed in. I managed to sink one Asashio and was saved by a distraction caused by F6F Hellcats and a couple of Spitfires. They didn't attack the DDs but they did manage to distract their attention. Then again, maybe they thought the Asashio was sunk by a plane rather than my torp. Their AA guns sprang into action at the instant my torp impacted the ship. Anyway, I'm getting off the subject here.
I've searched quite a bit to try and track IJN ship movements during WWII but have found no correlation to these DDs I encountered. The only thing I can surmise is that these ships were part of an evacuation force from the Solomons. Anyone with any ideas?

[MWolfe1963]

RSRD had probably 100 small DD battles in 43 down through there.

From what I can tell you caught the return group
from the battle of Kolombangaro II, 7 DD's. The left Rabaul 9/28/43 did a small battle, came back to Rabual, went back out again, return to Rabaul 10/11.

The Battle of Vella Lavalla II...4DD's 10/6/43
so that could be it. Another group was right behind it with 4 more DD's...maybe that one.

You have a few DD groups headed to the Cape in Nov, so something to look for. Also a CA TF leaves Rabaul 10/31, maybe 10/30 and a larger one the next day, 11/1


Lurker has so many small battles during 43 hard to read them all. You actually have several US invasion forces hitting the area, even large groups of landing craft going to shore, PT boat attack groups, ect..

Also many small DD groups heading through Bismark going to different ports in Oct.

Can say from Oct to end of 43 a lot of traffic coming out of Rabaul, some to battle towards the Solomons, lot relocating to Truk.

Truk gets hit by serious mass airraids starting Nov,43.