Kula Gulf is a waterway in the Western Province of the

Solomon Islands Solomon Islands is an island country consisting of six major islands and over 900 smaller islands in Oceania, to the east of Papua New Guinea and north-west of Vanuatu. It has a land area of , and a population of approx. 700,000. Its capit ...

. It lies between the islands of

Kolombangara Kolombangara (sometimes spelled ''Kulambangara'') is an island in the New Georgia Islands group of the nation state of Solomon Islands in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. The name is from a local language, a rough translation of its meaning is ...

to the west,

Arundel Island Arundel Island is an island of the New Georgia Islands archipelago in the Western Province of Solomon Islands. Its indigenous names are ''Kohinggo'' and ''Ndokulu''. Geography Arundel Island is located between Kolombangara and New Georgia N ...

(Kohinggo) to the southwest, and

New Georgia New Georgia, with an area of , is the largest of the islands in Western Province, Solomon Islands, and the 200th-largest island in the world. Geography New Georgia island is located in the New Georgia Group, an archipelago including most ...

to the south and east. To the north, it opens into New Georgia Sound ("the Slot"). To the southwest, it connects via

Blackett Strait Blackett Strait is a waterway in the Western Province of the Solomon Islands. It lies between the islands of Kolombangara to the north, and Arundel Island (Kohinggo) to the south. It connects Vella Gulf to the west with Kula Gulf to the east. B ...

to Vella Gulf and the

Solomon Sea The Solomon Sea is a sea located within the Pacific Ocean. It lies between Papua New Guinea and Solomon Islands. Many major battles were fought there during World War II. Extent The International Hydrographic Organization defines the limit ...

. During the

Solomon Islands campaign The Solomon Islands campaign was a major campaign of the Pacific War of World War II. The campaign began with Japanese landings and occupation of several areas in the British Solomon Islands and Bougainville, in the Territory of New Guinea, ...

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, two minor naval battles between the

Imperial Japanese Navy The Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN; Kyūjitai: Shinjitai: ' 'Navy of the Greater Japanese Empire', or ''Nippon Kaigun'', 'Japanese Navy') was the navy of the Empire of Japan from 1868 to 1945, when it was dissolved following Japan's surrender ...

and the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

were fought here in July, 1943. The first was the Battle of Kula Gulf fought on the night of 5–6 July 1943. In that engagement, the cruiser was sunk. The second battle was the Battle of Kolombangara fought on the night of 12–13 July 1943. In that engagement, the destroyer and the were sunk.

References

* * * * Bodies of water of the Solomon Islands Gulfs of Oceania Western Province (Solomon Islands) {{Solomons-geo-stub