Japanese destroyer Niizuki

Sister ship Fuyutsuki, 23 May 1944
History
Empire of Japan
Name	Niizuki
Builder	Mitsubishi Nagasaki Shipyard
Laid down	8 December 1941
Launched	29 June 1942
Completed	31 March 1943
Commissioned	31 March 1943
Stricken	10 September 1943
Fate	Sunk, Battle of Kula Gulf, 6 July 1943
General characteristics
Class and type	Akizuki-class destroyer
Displacement	2,701 long tons (2,744 t) (standard)
Length	134.2 m (440 ft 3 in)
Beam	11.6 m (38 ft 1 in)
Draft	4.15 m (13 ft 7 in)
Installed power	3 × water-tube boilers 52,000 shp (38,776 kW)
Propulsion	2 × shafts; 2 × geared steam turbines
Speed	33 knots (61 km/h; 38 mph)
Range	8,300 nmi (15,400 km; 9,600 mi) at 18 knots (33 km/h; 21 mph)
Complement	300
Sensors and processing systems	Type 21 early-warning radar
Armament	4 × twin 100 mm (3.9 in) DP guns 4 × triple 25 mm (1 in) AA guns 1 × quadruple 610 mm (24 in) torpedo tubes 2 × depth charge throwers; 54 × depth charges

Niizuki (新月, "New Moon") was an Akizuki-class destroyer built for the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) during World War II. Completed in early 1943, she was sunk later three months later in the Battle of Kula Gulf.

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 charges to meet the need for more general-purpose destroyers. The ships measured 134.2 meters (440 ft 3 in) overall, with beams of 11.6 meters (38 ft 1 in) and drafts of 4.15 meters (13 ft 7 in). They displaced 2,701 long tons (2,744 t) at standard load and 3,420 long tons (3,470 t) at deep load. Their crews numbered 300 officers and enlisted men.

Each ship had two Kampon geared steam turbines, each driving one propeller shaft using steam provided by three Kampon water-tube boilers. The turbines were rated at a total of 52,000 shaft horsepower (38,776 kW) for a designed speed of 33 knots (61 km/h; 38 mph). The ships carried enough fuel oil to give them ranges of 8,300 nautical miles (15,400 km; 9,600 mi) at speeds of 18 knots (33 km/h; 21 mph).

The main armament of the Akizuki class consisted of eight 100-millimeter (3.9 in) Type 98 dual-purpose guns in four twin-gun turrets, two superfiring pairs fore and aft of the superstructure. They each carried a dozen 25-millimeter (1 in) Type 96 anti-aircraft (AA) guns in four triple-gun mounts. The ships were also each armed with four 610-millimeter (24 in) torpedo tubes in a single quadruple rotating mount amidships; one reload was carried for each tube. The first batch of ships were each equipped with two depth charge throwers for which 54 depth charges were carried. Niizuki was equipped with a Type 21 early-warning radar on her foremast.

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 Yūnagi and Nagatsuki, fired a salvo of torpedoes, which sank the destroyer USS Strong. 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-destroyer group, 5 nautical miles (9.3 km; 5.8 mi) east of Kolombangara (7°57′S 157°12′E). All 290 people including the captain, the crew, and the command of 3rd Destroyer squadron were killed.

Wreck

Niizuki's 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.

References

• Ahlberg, Lars & Nevitt, Allyn D. (1986). "Question 10/84". Warship International. XXIII (3): 317–318. ISSN 0043-0374.
• Jentschura, Hansgeorg; Jung, Dieter & Mickel, Peter (1977). Warships of the Imperial Japanese Navy, 1869–1945. Annapolis, Maryland: United States Naval Institute. ISBN 0-87021-893-X.
• O'Hara, Vincent P. (2007). The U.S. Navy Against the Axis: Surface Combat, 1941–1945. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 978-1-59114-650-6.
• Rohwer, Jürgen (2005). Chronology of the War at Sea 1939–1945: The Naval History of World War Two (Third Revised ed.). Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 1-59114-119-2.
• Stille, Mark (2013). Imperial Japanese Navy Destroyers 1919–45 (2): Asahio to Tachibana Classes. Botley, UK: Osprey Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84908-987-6.
• Sturton, Ian (1980). "Japan". In Chesneau, Roger (ed.). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1922–1946. Greenwich, UK: Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 0-85177-146-7.
• Todaka, Kazushige, ed. (2020). Destroyers: Selected Photos from the Archives of the Kure Maritime Museum; the Best from the Collection of Shizuo Fukui's Photos of Japanese Warships. Japanese Naval Warship Photo Album. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 978-1-59114-630-8.
• Whitley, M. J. (2000). Destroyers of World War Two: An International Encyclopedia. London: Cassell & Co. ISBN 1-85409-521-8.

External links

• CombinedFleet.com: Akizuki-class destroyers
• CombinedFleet.com: Niizuki history
• CombinedFleet.com: Niizuki's last mission