Niizuki (新月) was an Akizuki-class destroyer (1942) 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 m overall, with beams of 11.6 m and drafts of 4.15 m. They displaced 2744 t at standard load and 3470 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 52000 shp for a designed speed of 33 kn. The ships carried enough fuel oil to give them ranges of 8300 nmi at speeds of 18 kn. The main armament of the Akizuki class consisted of eight 100 mm 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 mm Type 96 anti-aircraft (AA) guns in four triple-gun mounts. The ships were also each armed with four 610 mm 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 JAPANESE DESTROYER Yūnagi and JAPANESE DESTROYER Nagatsuki, fired a salvo of torpedoes, which sank the destroyer USS Strong (DD-467). 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 nmi east of Kolombangara (-7.95°N, 157.2°W). 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.