''Niizuki'' was an

destroyer In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast, manoeuvrable, long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against powerful short range attackers. They were originally developed in ...

of the Imperial Japanese Navy.

Design and description

The ''Akizuki''-class ships were originally designed as anti-aircraft escorts for carrier battle groups, but were modified with torpedo tubes and

depth charge A depth charge is an anti-submarine warfare (ASW) weapon. It is intended to destroy a submarine by being dropped into the water nearby and detonating, subjecting the target to a powerful and destructive Shock factor, hydraulic shock. Most depth ...

s to meet the need for more general-purpose destroyer. Her crew numbered 300 officers and enlisted men. The ships measured overall, with a beam of and a draft of . They displaced at standard load and at deep load. The ship had two Kampon geared

steam turbine A steam turbine is a machine that extracts thermal energy from pressurized steam and uses it to do mechanical work on a rotating output shaft. Its modern manifestation was invented by Charles Parsons in 1884. Fabrication of a modern steam turbin ...

s, each driving one propeller shaft, using steam provided by three Kampon water-tube boilers. The turbines were rated at a total of for a designed speed of . The ship carried up to of

fuel oil Fuel oil is any of various fractions obtained from the distillation of petroleum (crude oil). Such oils include distillates (the lighter fractions) and residues (the heavier fractions). Fuel oils include heavy fuel oil, marine fuel oil (MFO), bun ...

which gave them a range of at a speed of . The main armament of the ''Akizuki'' class consisted of eight Type 98 dual purpose guns in four twin- gun turrets, two

superfiring Superfiring armament is a naval military building technique in which two (or more) turrets are located in a line, one behind the other, with the second turret located above ("super") the one in front so that the second turret can fire over the ...

pairs fore and aft of the

superstructure A superstructure is an upward extension of an existing structure above a baseline. This term is applied to various kinds of physical structures such as buildings, bridges, or ships. Aboard ships and large boats On water craft, the superstruct ...

. They carried four Type 96

anti-aircraft gun Anti-aircraft warfare, counter-air or air defence forces is the battlespace response to aerial warfare, defined by NATO as "all measures designed to nullify or reduce the effectiveness of hostile air action".AAP-6 It includes surface based, ...

s in two twin-gun mounts. The ships were also armed with four torpedo tubes in a single quadruple traversing mount; one reload was carried for each tube. Their anti-submarine weapons comprised six

throwers for which 72 depth charges were carried.Whitley, pp. 204–05

Construction and career

On the night of 4–5 July 1943, ''Niizuki'' led a troop transport run to Kolombangara. With her radar she detected U.S. ships in Kula Gulf, and she, along with the destroyers and , fired a salvo of torpedoes, which sank the destroyer . The attack, from a distance of 11 nautical miles (20 km), is believed to be longest-range successful torpedo attack in history. On the night of 5–6 July 1943, ''Niizuki'' led another troop transport run to Kolombangara. In the Battle of Kula Gulf, she was sunk by gunfire from a U.S.

cruiser A cruiser is a type of warship. Modern cruisers are generally the largest ships in a fleet after aircraft carriers and amphibious assault ships, and can usually perform several roles. The term "cruiser", which has been in use for several hu ...

-destroyer group, east of Kolombangara (). All 290 people including the captain, the crew, and the command of 3rd Destroyer squadron were killed.

Wreck

''Niizukis wreck was discovered by RV ''Petrel'' in January 2019. She sits upright in 745 meters (2,444 feet) of water and is heavily damaged. Surprisingly, her mast is still attached and completely upright. The wreck's discovery is noteworthy in that no photos of ''Niizuki'' in service are known to exist.

Notes

References

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External links

CombinedFleet.com: ''Akizuki''-class destroyers
{{DEFAULTSORT:Niizuki Akizuki-class destroyers (1942) World War II destroyers of Japan Shipwrecks in the Solomon Sea 1942 ships Maritime incidents in July 1943 Ships lost with all hands Shipwreck discoveries by Paul Allen World War II shipwrecks in the Pacific Ocean 2019 archaeological discoveries