Battle of Kula Gulf
War duty was tense and demanded the best of men and their ships. In-port time was minimal; a few hours to fuel and reprovision, and the ships were off again. "O'Bannon" fought in many surface actions. The Battle of Kula Gulf (6 July), in which "O'Bannon" fought with three cruisers and three other destroyers against ten Japanese destroyers, swept the enemy from the area, though an American cruiser was lost. A week later, the Battle of Kolombangara had to be fought in the same waters against a Japanese cruiser, five destroyers and four destroyer escorts. The same American force sank the and turned the smaller ships away, losing one destroyer themselves and having three cruisers damaged.