Purvis Bay is located in the Nggela Islands, part of the Solomon Islands. Purvis Bay is the sheltered area to the south of the island Nggela Sule (referred to as Florida Island during World War II), [1] including and trending southeast from the neighbouring Tulagi islet.
Purvis Bay and the Nggela Islands lie across "Ironbottom Sound" from Guadalcanal. [1] The bay was the site of Port Purvis, maintained by the United States Navy, for use by the Allied navies in the Pacific Ocean theater of World War II. [2] [3]
USS Honolulu (CL-48) of the United States Navy was a Brooklyn-class light cruiser active in the Pacific War. Honolulu was launched in 1937 and commissioned in 1938. The ship served in the Battle of Tassafaronga, the Battle of Kula Gulf, the Battle of Kolombangara and the Battle of Peleliu. She was taken out of action by serious torpedo damage just before the Battle of Leyte Gulf. She was repaired, but not in time to rejoin the war. She was decommissioned in 1947 and was held in reserve until she was scrapped in 1959.
USS Columbia (CL-56) was one of 27 United States Navy Cleveland-class light cruisers completed during or shortly after World War II. The ship, the sixth US Navy ship to bear the name, was named for the city of Columbia, South Carolina. Columbia was commissioned in July 1942, and saw service in several campaigns in the Pacific. Like almost all her sister ships, she was decommissioned shortly after the end of the war, and never saw active service again. Columbia was scrapped in the early 1960s. A memorial to the ship and men who served on her exists in Columbia, SC.
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USS Arided (AK-73), a Crater-class cargo ship, is the only ship of the US Navy to have this name. She was named after Arided, the other name of Deneb, the alpha star of constellation Cygnus.
The Nggela Islands, also known as the Florida Islands, are a small island group in the Central Province of Solomon Islands, a sovereign state in the southwest Pacific Ocean.
USS Conway (DD/DDE-507), a Fletcher-class destroyer, was the second ship of the United States Navy to be named for William Conway, who distinguished himself during the Civil War.
USS Spangler (DE-696) was a Buckley-class destroyer escort of the United States Navy.
USS Carina (AK-74) was a Crater-class cargo ship, and the only ship of the US Navy to have this name. She was named for the southern constellation Carina, with most of her sister ships being named for constellations or stars.
USS Serpens (AK-97) was a Crater-class cargo ship commissioned by the United States Navy for service in World War II. She was the first ship of the US Navy to have this name: she is named after Serpens, a constellation in the northern hemisphere. Serpens was crewed by United States Coast Guard personnel and was responsible for delivering troops, goods and equipment to locations in the Asiatic-Pacific Theater.
USS Celeno (AK-76) was a Crater-class cargo ship in the service of the US Navy in World War II. Named with a variant spelling of the star Celaeno in the constellation Pleiades, it was the only ship of the Navy to bear this name.
The Battle of Tulagi and Gavutu–Tanambogo was a land battle of the Pacific campaign of World War II, between the forces of the Imperial Japanese Navy and Allied ground forces. It took place from 7–9 August 1942 on the Solomon Islands, during the initial Allied landings in the Guadalcanal campaign.
USS Crouter (DE-11) was an Evarts-class destroyer escort of the United States Navy in commission from 1943 to 1945. The ship was named after Mark Hanna Crouter (1897–1942), U.S. Navy officer and Navy Cross recipient.
USS Rotanin (AK-108) was a Crater-class cargo ship commissioned by the United States Navy for service in World War II. Rotanin, which is a misspelling of the name "Rotanen", was named after the star Beta Delphini, a star located in the constellation Delphinus. She was responsible for delivering troops, goods and equipment to locations in the Asiatic-Pacific Theater.
USS Briareus was originally the cargo ship SS Hawaiian Planter laid down as a Maritime Commission type C3 Mod. at Newport News, Virginia, by the Newport News Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Company for the Matson Line and delivered 15 May 1941. After a brief pre-war commercial service and allocation to the Army for transport the ship was purchased by the United States Navy in February 1943 and converted to a repair ship.
USS Damon M. Cummings (DE-643) was a Buckley-class destroyer escort in service with the United States Navy from 1944 to 1947. She was scrapped in 1973.
USS President Monroe (AP-104) was a President Jackson-class attack transport. that served with the US Navy during World War II.
USS Majaba (AG-43/IX-102) was the Design 1049 cargo ship Meriden built in 1919 by the Albina Engine & Machine Works, Portland, Oregon. All the ships were requisitioned by the United States Shipping Board (USSB) for World War I service. The ship was bought by the E. K. Wood Lumber Co., of San Francisco, California in 1923 and renamed El Capitan. The ship was chartered by the U.S. Navy through the War Shipping Administration (WSA) in April 1942 and commissioned as Majaba.
USS LST-342 was an LST-1-class tank landing ship built for the United States Navy during World War II. LST-342 was laid down on 21 August 1942 by the Norfolk Navy Yard; launched on 8 November 1942; sponsored by Mrs. Philip H. Ryan; and commissioned on 31 December 1942.
The Keijo Maru was an auxiliary gunboat of the Imperial Japanese Navy during World War II.
I-72, later I-172, was a Kaidai-class cruiser submarine of the KD6 sub-class built for the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) during the 1930s. She served in the early months of World War II, supporting the attack on Pearl Harbor, patrolling in Hawaiian waters in early 1942, and taking part in the Guadalcanal campaign before she was sunk in November 1942.
Coordinates: 9°09′S160°15′E / 9.150°S 160.250°E