Solomon Islands picture gallery

Today we open a picture gallery for the Solomon Islands Campaign starting with six new maps.

Battle of Viru (30 June-1 July 1943)

The battle of Viru (30 June-1 July 1943) was an early success for the US troops invading New Georgia, the first major US offensive in the Solomon Islands after the end of the fighting on Guadalcanal.

Invasion of Rendova Island (30 June 1943)

The invasion of Rendova Island (30 June 1943) was the first major step in the US invasion of the New Georgia group and was carried out in order to establish a base for the attack on the Japanese base at Munda on the main island.

Douglas BT-2

The Douglas BT-2 was a basic trainer originally produced by converting O-32 observation aircraft but that was later produced from new.

Douglas BT-1

The Douglas BT-1 was one of the first basic trainers produced for the USAAC and was a modified version of the Douglas O-2K observation aircraft.

Douglas OD-1

The Douglas OD-1 was the designation given to two O-2C observation aircraft that were ordered by the US Navy.

Douglas XA-2

The Douglas XA-2 was a ground attack aircraft that was based on the O-2 biplane observation aircraft.

Douglas O-38

The Douglas O-38 was numerically the most important in the family of biplane observation aircraft that began with the Douglas O-2.

Images of War: Hitler's Boy Soldiers, The Hitlerjugend Story, Hans Seidler.

Images of War: Hitler's Boy Soldiers, The Hitlerjugend Story, Hans Seidler.

A photographic history of the Hitlerjugend's role in the German war machine, from pre-war training to the raising and virtual destruction of the 12.SS Panzer Division 'Hitlerjugend', finishing with the German use of Hitlerjugend as child soldiers in the last battles of the war. A good collection of interesting pictures, although with some flaws in the captions.
[read full review]

British Cruisers of the Victorian Era, Norman Friedman.

British Cruisers of the Victorian Era, Norman Friedman.

Looks at the evolution of the British cruiser during a period of massive technological change. We start with ships that were effectively Napoleonic frigates but with auxiliary steam engines, and end with the fast turret armed turbine powered cruisers of the First World War (the last generation of ships before the battlecruisers). A splendid book that focuses on the design process as much as on the physical details of the ships, asking why a particular type of ship was built and looking at the many compromises that produced each design.
[read full review]

Battle of Arundel Island (27 August-20 September 1943)

The battle of Arundel Island (27 August-20 September 1943) was both part of the mopping up operations after the fall of Munda on New Georgia, and of the operations to isolate the remaining Japanese base on Kolombangara.

Battle of Baanga Island (12-22 August 1943)

The battle of Baanga Island (12-22 August 1943) saw the Americans occupy a small island near Munda after unexpectedly fierce Japanese resistance.

Battle of Munda (2 July-5 August 1943)

The battle of Munda (2 July-5 August 1943) was the most important and most costly part of the wider American assault on New Georgia and saw them capture the main Japanese base and airfield on the island after a hard-fought month long campaign.

Douglas YO-34

The Douglas YO-34 was a single experimental aircraft similar to the earlier O-22 but with a Curtiss Conqueror engine.

Douglas O-32

The Douglas O-32 was an unarmed staff transport that was very quickly turned into a basic trainer as the BT-2.

Douglas O-29

The Douglas O-29 was an unarmed staff transport similar to the O-2K, and based on the O-2H observation aircraft.

Douglas O-25

The Douglas O-25 was developed from the O-2H observation biplane, and had the Liberty engine of the original aircraft replaced by a Curtiss Conqueror.

Douglas O-22

The Douglas O-22 was an experimental version of the O-2H observation aircraft, with a swept back upper wing and a radial engine.

Douglas XO-14

The Douglas XO-14 was a single example of a scaled down version of the O-2H observation aircraft.

Douglas O-9

The Douglas O-9 was a single aircraft based on the O-2 observation aircraft, but powered by a geared Packard engine in place of the Liberty engine of the original.

Douglas O-8

The Douglas O-8 was a single aircraft based on the O-2 but powered by a Curtiss radial engine in place of the Liberty engine of the original.

Battle of Vella Gulf (6 August 1943)

The battle of Vella Gulf (6 August 1943) was a clear American victory that crushed one of the last attempts by the 'Tokyo Express' to get reinforcements to the remaining Japanese garrisons in the New Georgia Islands.

Battle of Kolombangara (13 July 1943)

The battle of Kolombangara (13 July 1943) was fought in an unsuccessful attempt to prevent the Japanese getting more reinforcements from their main base at Rabaul to Vila, on the south-eastern shore of Kolombangara Island.

307th Bombardment Group

The 307th Bombardment Group was a heavy bomber unit that took part in early raids on Wake Island before moving to the South West Pacific, where it spent the rest of the war operating over Japanese held island chains and the Philippines.

304th Bombardment Group

The 304th Bombardment Group was formed as a standard bombardment unit, but briefly served as an antisubmarine warfare unit in November and December 1942 before being inactivated at the end of December.

302nd Bombardment Group

The 302nd Bombardment Group was a bomber training unit that served in the United States from 1942-1944.

Battle of Kula Gulf (6 July 1943)

The battle of Kula Gulf (6 July 1943) was an inconclusive naval clash between American and Japanese forces transporting troops to the New Georgia theatre in which both sides lost ships and the Japanese achieved their main aim of landing reinforcements on Kolombangara.

Operation 'I' or 'I-Go' (7-16 April 1943)

Operation 'I' or 'I-Go' (7-16 April 1943) was the Japanese Navy's attempt to compensate for the loss of Guadalcanal by launching a series of massive aerial assaults on the American's new advanced bases.

Action of Kula Gulf (6 March 1943)

The action of Kula Gulf (6 March 1943) was a minor American naval victory that was triggered by a change encounter between two Japanese destroyers attempting to bring supplies to their base at Vila on Kolombangara and an American task force that was bombarding the same base.

Operation Cleanslate

Operation Cleanslate - the unopposed occupation of the Russell Islands on 21 February 1943 - was one of the first steps in the Allied advance along the Solomon Islands and the long campaign to isolate the major Japanese base at Rabaul.

Douglas O-7

The Douglas O-7 was a version of the Douglas O-2 observation aircraft that was powered by a Packard engine in place of the original Liberty engine.

Douglas O-2

The Douglas O-2 was the first in a long series of observation biplanes that with nearly 900 produced were amongst the most important American military aircraft of their era.