Ambush at Vella Gulf: The Destroyer Battle That Changed the Course of World War II in the Pacific - Hardcover

On the night of August 6-7, 1943, six American destroyers steamed into Vella Gulf two hundred miles northwest of Guadalcanal and laid an ambush for the Japanese destroyers that nightly ferried reinforcements into the Solomon Islands. Within thirty-five minutes, three enemy ships were on their way to the bottom of the gulf, a fourth limped away, and the U.S. Navy's tin cans scored what was hailed as "an attack that every destroyer sailor dreams about," "a little classic of naval warfare," "a perfect American victory." From the admirals at their charts to the sailors on deck, from the devastating torpedo strikes to the blazing gun salvoes, The Perfect Victory reconstructs this turning point of World War II in the Pacific.