THE BATTLE OF THE KOMANDORSKI ISLANDS

For six months USS BAILEY, flagship for Destroyer Squadron 14, operated as a component of task group assemblages patrolling the rugged waters of the Aleutian Islands. On 12 January 1943 BAILEY and TG 18.6 provided cover for Army troops landing on the beaches of Amchitka during the first attempt to eradicate enemy forces from Alaskan soil. The Amchitka landings presented no enemy opposition and patrols were generally uneventful until the morning of 26 March 1943. Early that morning while on patrol with TG 16.6 to the south of the Russian owned Komandorski Islands contact was made with a numerically superior Japanese force making a supply run to Attu. In the ensuing battle BAILEY would distinguish herself by delivering a close range, high speed torpedo attack and highly accurate 5” rifle fire in a battle that lasted almost four hours and is considered to be the last traditional gun battle in United States naval history, The Battle of the Komandorski Islands.