Tulagi is a small island in the Solomon chain in the South Pacific Ocean. Before World War II, it was under British administration. After the war began, it was assaulted and occupied by the Japanese in May 1942, and was used as a floatplane base. On August 7, 1942, it was taken by US Marines, the same day as the landing on Guadalcanal. Japanese resistance was stiff, but the island was secured within two days. It became an important achorage for the US Navy, and some of the Navy-built facilities are still in use today.
On April 7, 1943, Tulagi was the target of a major Japanese air raid which sank three Allied ships. (See also: James Swett)
- Tulagi Island
- The Oxford Guide to World War II, ed. by I.C.B. Dear, Oxford University Press, 1995