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 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 ...

Design and description

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

torpedo tube A torpedo tube is a cylindrical device for launching torpedoes. There are two main types of torpedo tube: underwater tubes fitted to submarines and some surface ships, and deck-mounted units (also referred to as torpedo launchers) installed aboa ...

s 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 Beam may refer to: Streams of particles or energy *Light beam, or beam of light, a directional projection of light energy **Laser beam *Particle beam, a stream of charged or neutral particles **Charged particle beam, a spatially localized grou ...

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 boiler A high pressure watertube boiler (also spelled water-tube and water tube) is a type of boiler in which water circulates in tubes heated externally by the fire. Fuel is burned inside the furnace, creating hot gas which boils water in the steam-gene ...

s. 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 turret A gun turret (or simply turret) is a mounting platform from which weapons can be fired that affords protection, visibility and ability to turn and aim. A modern gun turret is generally a rotatable weapon mount that houses the crew or mechani ...

s, 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

s 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

During the Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands, Teruzuki escorts the Carrier Strike Force. 7 of her crew are killed and minor damaged sustained from a Catalina bomb strike. On 12–13 November 1942, ''Teruzuki'' was part of the Bombardment Force commanded by Rear Admiral

Hiroaki Abe was an admiral in the Imperial Japanese Navy during World War II. Biography Early career Abe was born in Yonezawa city in Yamagata prefecture in northern Japan. He graduated from the 39th class of the Imperial Japanese Naval Academy in 1911, ...

. In the

First Naval Battle of Guadalcanal The Naval Battle of Guadalcanal, sometimes referred to as the Third and Fourth Battles of Savo Island, the Battle of the Solomons, the Battle of Friday the 13th, or, in Japanese sources, the , took place from 12 to 15 November 1942, and was t ...

, she claimed hits on seven U.S. ships, including one sinking. The following morning, she assisted the crippled

battleship A battleship is a large armored warship with a main battery consisting of large caliber guns. It dominated naval warfare in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The term ''battleship'' came into use in the late 1880s to describe a type of ...

. On 14–15 November, she joined the Emergency Bombardment Force commanded by Admiral Nobutake Kondō. In the

Second Naval Battle of Guadalcanal The Naval Battle of Guadalcanal, sometimes referred to as the Third and Fourth Battles of Savo Island, the Battle of the Solomons, the Battle of Friday the 13th, or, in Japanese sources, the , took place from 12 to 15 November 1942, and was t ...

, she and the destroyer provided close cover to the heavy ships. Afterwards, she assisted the crippled battleship and helped remove survivors. On the night of 11–12 December 1942, ''Teruzuki'' led a transport run to

Guadalcanal Guadalcanal (; indigenous name: ''Isatabu'') is the principal island in Guadalcanal Province of Solomon Islands, located in the south-western Pacific, northeast of Australia. It is the largest island in the Solomon Islands by area, and the seco ...

. While patrolling close to shore at low speed, she was attacked by

patrol torpedo boat A PT boat (short for patrol torpedo boat) was a motor torpedo boat used by the United States Navy in World War II. It was small, fast, and inexpensive to build, valued for its maneuverability and speed but hampered at the beginning of the wa ...

s and ,

torpedo A modern torpedo is an underwater ranged weapon launched above or below the water surface, self-propelled towards a target, and with an explosive warhead designed to detonate either on contact with or in proximity to the target. Historically, su ...

ed and left dead in the water. Fires spread over the next three hours until reaching

s, resulting in explosions sinking the ship.

Notes

References

* * *

External links

CombinedFleet.com: ''Akizuki''-class destroyers

{{DEFAULTSORT:Teruzuki Akizuki-class destroyers (1942) World War II destroyers of Japan Shipwrecks in the Solomon Sea 1941 ships Maritime incidents in December 1942 Ships built by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries