More than fifty years after the Pacific War the exploration and description of Japanese Navy wrecks remains fairly limited. While such household names as the BISMARCK and HOOD have generated even repeat investigations and filming, Japanese capital ships of almost totally unknown circumstances of loss like the FUSO remain unchronicled. However, the past decade has seen a gradual, and one hopes increasing, change in this situation. There appears to be rising interest and respect for the Imperial Navy's underwater legacy as well. Both as a way of chronicling the progress thus far, and to encourage more, I am opening this section to describe what is known to date. Included in the description are generally only wrecks known to be be found, and some details available of their condition.
Since the recent work on RMS TITANIC the science of wreck forensics and exploration to reconstruct circumstances has been growing but remains a fairly young field. Especially with warships, there is a relative paucity of examples where "before and after" data can be compared to learn more about sinking dynamics and how such hulls comes to rest on the bottom. To that end, I have included here wrecks that were surveyed in detail during and after the war as well, regardless whether they have since been re-visited or re-located, and further matched those with a short capsule of the immediate condition/orientation of the vessel when sinking as revealed by action reports or eyewitnesses.
The author himself has had the happy fortune to participate in wreck identification with remains of the Japanese carrier KAGA off Midway, and has been poised to oversee an expedition to unlock some of the mysteries of the Battle of Surigao Strait, particularly of the battleships FUSO and YAMASHIRO. Unfortunately, the latter has been postponed due to shifting global circumstances. But there are many other wrecks of interest, and while the search in the Philippines is currently stalled, there has been a good step forward with the March discovery and diving of the wreck of the famous heavy-cruiser HAGURO, sunk in the celebrated last surface battle of the Pacific War. It is my hope that readers who know of any further wreck discoveries or projects, or can add details here, will certainly contact me. All too many Japanese ships went down in circumstances of near anonymity, or with all their crews. It is only right that some detail and knowledge of their last moments be brought to life, and in this way, perhaps offer some closure and rest. If this page even serves to illuminate or spur further such feats as the HAGURO, or a return to the FUSO's mystery, or many others, then it has served its purpose.
- Tony Tully May 2003
(It is my intention to hopefully provide some free-hand drawings of some of these wrecks as the page is expanded and revised.)
Japan built or tried to complete, thirty aircraft carriers. Of these, eleven were sunk or damaged in shallow water and scrapped post-war. Of the available remainder, surprisingly enough, to date, only one Japanese carrier wreck is known to have been investigated, and it only partially discovered:
Wreckage clearly belonging to a Japanese carrier was found & photographed in the Midway battle-site in May and September 1999. Subsequently, this chunk of wreckage was confirmed to be part of the aircraft carrier KAGA in the spring of 2000 by a research analyst team comprised of the author, Jon Parshall, and David Dickson.
Condition: The fragment is just that, transpiring to be the starboard gun tub of the KAGA, its positive identification on 14 February 2000 was made possible by the landing array arrangement attachment unique to her of the four unlocated Midway carriers. Since it is a fragment, it is of course next to impossible to tell anything of the condition of the main wreck, or even if it is immediately adjacent. However, according to eyewitness testimony in the last hour of KAGA afloat and as she sank, the carrier's hull remained intact, but a good section of all but the aft and forward ends of the hangars and flight deck and side completely blown out and missing. She went down stern first at a very shallow angle, and presumably descended in such a way to the ocean floor. However, as further exploration has been repeatedly postponed due to changing conditions, any further details are purely speculative.
Note: For further details on the 1999 discovery and the 2000 identification process, see:
Identifying (part of) KAGA's wreck
Also: "Identifying Kaga", by Jonathan Parshall, Anthony Tully, David Dickson, United States Naval Institute Proceedings, June 2001.
Though it is unknown if the carrier's wreckage location has been confirmed, let alone explored, it is mentioned here because it sank in water's less than deep than its length (some 23 fathoms), and for this reason should prove relatively easy to locate. In fact, it is possible it has even been anonymously salvaged and scrapped by this time (one hopes not) and any clarification or further details regarding the wreck site would be welcomed.
Note: Due to intensive recent research, it is this author's informed opinion that the attack position given by USS SPADEFISH for Shinyo ---- 33-04'N, 123-32'E, is in fact, more accurate than the official IJN position of 32-59'N, 123-38'E. Such a discrepancy might mean the wreck has in fact, not been located. Any information would be welcomed.
Of the twelve Japanese battleships all but one were lost in World War II, and the last, NAGATO was expended just after, as a symbolic sacrifice in the atomic bomb tests at Bikini Atoll in July 1946. Of these twelve, three - HARUNA, ISE, HYUGA --- were sunk in shallow water by air raids and scrapped in-situ post-war. Of the remainder, five have been located to date:
The wreck of the celebrated YAMATO was apparently first located on 1 August 1985. All accounts had agreed that at the moment of sinking at 1423 on 7 April 1945, that the YAMATO had first capsized more than 90 degrees to port, then exploded violently, allegedly as a result of a raging fire touching off "C" turret magazine. However, discovery and submersible exploration of the wreck, particularly a series of surveys in 1999 have shed new light and revealed a somewhat different sequence, sometimes surprising.
These surveys show that YAMATO ended up in two major halfs in a depth of 1,400 feet. The surprising thing is that it turned out that YAMATO had first turned over to port, and while turning, `vomited' out the huge 18.1 inch gun turrets and their barbettes in their entirety. Immediately after, came the huge explosion seen, but it was not "C" turret at all, but rather apparently "B" turret magazine that first exploded. Though this contradicted all prior assumptions, ironically, this matched the testimony of YAMATO' s XO Nomura who had all along reported seeing a red light flash for No.1 magazine just before the capsize. Even so, it seems that it was No.2, not No.1 that went first. In any event, the explosion of forward main magazines was sufficient to sever meters of the bow section clean off the ship. Further, immediately following, apparently the aft 6-inch magazine exploded and tore a large hole in the bottom on the port side of the ship, about level with the mainmast. Both halves subsequently plunged to the bottom, the bow landing upright, and the bulk of the ship landing flat upside down, the bridge superstructure crushed to the side. The rear half is the longest, some 180 meters, and is keel up. The bow half is 90 meters long, with the break just abaft No.1 barbette. The bow half lies upright less than 50 meters to `starboard' of the aft section, pointed at an angle to its midships.
Though it can't be certain, the lack of blast damage at that spot on the bottom of the hull suggests that No.3 turret magazine never exploded, but that the fire in the aft-6-in turret did finally reach its magazine when the ship turned over. This detail actually has some importance as it lays to rest a theory that had recently been gaining some currency, and that was the fact that had YAMATO not capsized, the fire in in the 6-in turret would have touched off its magazine and with it the No.3 main magazine in turn, thus destroying the vessel anyway. The condition of the wreck shows this was not the case. Had the 6-in store detonated, it would have greviously injured and flooded YAMATO, but she would have lingered a while yet. More importantly, this has bearing on the possibility of whether a "late moment" detonation of MUSASHI's secondary magazine as she sank would have wrecked the vessel underwater. It now appears likely that the MUSASHI would be in fairly good condition for camera work, but there is risk she is bottom up on the seabed.
The NAGATO, along with new light cruiser SAKAWA, had fallen into American hands at the end of the Pacific War. (NAGATO had already been damaged, with her bridge wrecked in bombing at Yokosuka 18 July 1945.) Both ships were then subjected to the atomic bomb tests on fleet targets on 1 and 25 July 1946. The SAKAWA and NAGATO were moored roughly parallel, with the battleship to starboard and the U.S. battleship NEVADA between them. The first test fatally wounded and sank the SAKAWA (see entry), but the NAGATO rode it out with minimal damage. The second test, a bomb suspended underwater and detonated at 0835 25 July 1946 inflicted mortal damage, though this was not at first certain. NAGATO was moored in a position only 1,100 yards away, starboard beam facing the bomb. After the bomb, though highly radioactive, the NAGATO appeared more or less intact, though her superstructure was heavily scarred and she had a 5 degree list to starboard. Attempts to wash her down were made the following days, but it remained impossible to consider reboarding her to inspect hull damage. Progressive flooding slowly and almost invisibly mounted, the list increasing only very slowly. However, by 27 July the NAGATO was now listing 8 degrees to starboard, though remaining on an even keel fore-and-aft. She remained this way though, and plans were made to possibly move her to deep water and finish the job. It had neither been expected or desired that she would survive so close to the blast, and the delay was proving discomfiting. However, NAGATO had other plans --- like a samurai, it transpired that she chose her own time.
At nightfall 29 July, the NAGATO was listing close to 10 degrees to starboard and the main deck was awash beside the mainmast. Incredibly the battleship appeared to otherwise be on an even keel. However, come sunrise 30 July, the NAGATO's outline was not visible among the array of ships. She was nowhere to be seen. A search party sent out found her to have capsized 120 degrees to starboard. At sometime during the night she had "sunk under cover of darkness and no one knows the time". Subsequently the wreck turned further and settled deeper into the atoll bottom, snapping its stern and causing the large pagoda foremast to bend and flatten outward on the bottom on the starboard side of the wreck. She lies in about 160 feet of water. The famous bridge tower and spot from where Admiral Yamamoto Isoroku directed the Attack on Pearl Harbor remains well-preserved and by the fluke of the crumpling, accessible to the camera and divers. The NAGATO is now often visited by divers today, though the SAKAWA attracts little attention.
The battleship MUTSU mysteriously exploded and sank at anchor in Hashirajima on 8 June 1943. At the moment of the blast, centered in the aft magazines, the MUTSU broke in half at a point roughly approximating the join of the engine room. The larger section was the foreward part, some 535-feet, and immediately capsized to starboard and sank bodily on its side to the bottom of Hashira-jima in some 130 feet of water. The severed stern floated free, upended, and remained afloat due to air pockets until two hours past midnight; where upon it too, sank to the bottom. Formal inquirys and investigation by divers commenced almost immediately, well before the war was over, and the wreck's location was never in dispute. In 1970 an eight-year salvage operation commences, and later that year the No.4 turret is raised. The climax of the operation comes in February 1972 when the forepart is raised, but some work continues until 1978. The net-result is that while parts of the afterpart and apparently the stern remain on the bottom, most of the wreck of the MUTSU has been cleared and there would be little left to dive. A memorial is maintained in the vicinity, and 272 crew remains were never accounted for.
In August 1992 during Dr. Robert Ballard's expedition with National Geographic to explore wrecks associated with the battles in Iron Bottom Sound he located in 4,000 feet of water the upturned hull of a Japanese battleship assumed to be the KIRISHIMA, though sister-ship HIEI remains a lesser possibility. Being totally upside down, the wreck yields disappointingly few details of the damage that sent it to the bottom, which would in turn possibly assist identification. However, even keel up, some important details are discernible. For one thing, the whole forepart of the ship is missing, and the whereabouts of it were not located. Though no clear hull landmarks apart from the bilge keels were obvious, rouch calculations based on the remaining length of about 150 meters suggest that the break in the hull is about level with the foremast pagoda structure. That is to say, by any calculation, it was the forward 14-inch and possibly secondary magazines as well that exploded. Only one pass over the wreck was made, so it is not certain there was no damage further aft, but nothing like torpedo holes were observed. It should be noted this further supports identification as KIRISHIMA.
All four screws and props are still in place, and the two port ones are entangled with anchor chains. Both rudders are inclined for a turn to starboard, the port rudder at a sharper angle than the starboard one, which is closer to fore-aft. Interestingly enough, the extereme stern is broken off, though it is far from clear that it happened from any contact with the sea-floor given the flat posture of the hulk. Further, a curious gash in the bottom of the port quarter, near the break and well aft of the props, appears. It may even be a shell hole. It is very tempting to speculate that in fact the fantail of the battleship had been shorn off by a torpedo hit or such, and this damage was partly responsible for the jammed rudders and inability to steer the ship. If this is KIRISHIMA, such a torpedo hit would add an important details to the facts of her loss. The anchor chains may suggest an attempt to "kite steer" the battleship.
It is to be hoped that eventually someone returns and makes further survey of the wreck, or at least a camera pass or two. Perhaps the missing forepart can be located, and may not be upside down. Until then, all we can do is speculate on the available information. Since the hulk is upside down, it conceals details of damage, and even, as observed, preserves some ambiguity of its identity. However, four factors converge to strongly support the original identification as KIRISHIMA. (1) The site is apparently a mere mile or so east from the IJN sinking position for KIRISHIMA. (2) The missing fore-section strongly hints at the massive underwater explosion reported after KIRISHIMA had rolled over to starboard and sank. As far as known, the HIEI suffered no such explosion, though it must be remembered that no one observed her final moments. (3) Though inconclusive given the coverage, since no torpedo hits in the remaining hull were observed, this is markedly inconsistent with the known, let alone claimed, torpedo hits on HIEI prior to sinking. (4) Finally, the position of the rudders strongly agrees with the evidence available for KIRISHIMA, though perversely enough, this detail is also echoed in HIEI's loss! The best one can do is render an honest opinion --- mine is that Ballard's analysis team is correct and this is indeed the KIRISHIMA.
Note: Those seeking HIEI should look along a bearing 5 miles NNW of Savo Island taking into account the known direction of drift revealed by other ships logs and the 1992 discoveries. The last precisely reported position in IJN records was at 1305 bearing 347 degrees, distance 4.6 miles from the summit of Savo Island. This about six hours before sunset. At the time, she had lost all propulsive power and was drifting. Ugaki's position for KIRISHIMA on the other hand was bearing 285 degrees 8.5 miles from the summit of Savo Island,about 09-05'S, 159-42' E. The HIEI was thus always "closer" to Savo Island than the KIRISHIMA which was more than three miles further out than that, and bearing nearly west rather than north-northwest.
Note: For more information on the 1992 Ballard expedition and some fine paintings and wreck photos of KIRISHIMA, YUDACHI, and AYANAMI, as well as celebrated U.S. Navy warships, see "The Lost Ships of Guadalcanal" by Robert D. Ballard with Rick Archbold, Warner/Madison Press, 1993.
The YAMASHIRO was sunk with sister-battleship FUSO on 25 October 1944 in the chaos of the night surface battle of Surigao Strait. Having gallantly engaged six battleships and the whole American battleline with gunfire only to be shelled and torpedoed into ruin, the YAMASHIRO at the end reportedly capsized and sank stern first following a final two torpedo hits in the starboard side amidships and aft. Accounts actually contradict whether she heeled to port or more likely to starboard at the end, but as it happens, it does not matter. It is not how she wound up.
For in the first weekend of April 2001, the large wreck of what is almost certainly the battleship YAMASHIRO was discovered in the vicinity of her reported sinking position. Rather surprisingly, apparently the battleship landed upright on the bottom in some 600 feet of water, but almost no other details are available as it was a scan. A scheduled return has not materialized to date, nor has any half of the battleship FUSO, necessary to solve her mystery, been yet revealed. According to best evidence, the bow lies at 10-09'N, 125-24'E, and the stern at 10-08'N, 125-25'E of Kanihaan Island.
For details of the questions involved, see:
Entangled Fates of Battleships YAMASHIRO & FUSO
The ASHIGARA was torpedoed and sunk by HMS TRENCHANT on 8 June 1945 while trying to relocate troops from Batavia to Singapore. Struck by four to five torpedoes in the starboard side, her bow was blown off, and she capsized and sank in the narrow Banka Strait near and west of Hendrik Klippen Shoal. Though no details have come to the author's attention, in 1998? it was reported that the ASHIGARA wreck was to be salvaged. Though this is uncertain, it is more than likely the wreck "position" had always been known, as the Banka Strait is not likely to have been very deep in that area of reefs. When last seen, the ASHIGARA had lost her bow and had capsized to starboard and settled beneath the waves. Presumably the wreck ended up not unlike KUMANO (see below) upside down, or possibly lying on its starboard side. Anyone knowing any details of this supposed salvage plan or the condition of the cruiser is asked to contact me. One possible important detail that inspection could provide if not too weathered is whether or not ASHIGARA sported a camouflage pattern like the MYOKO and TAKAO, and possibly the HAGURO did in spring 1945.
Addendum: On 23 May Paul Parsons on J-aircraft.com brought this little blub to my attention:
On the subject of Ashigara I remember reading somewhere that the wreck was rumoured to contain gold (as usual!) and was to be dived. I did a quick web search and came up with this message posted to a forum in January 2002:
dear sir we are looking for sponsors for a project in salvaging a japanese ship name Ashigara sunk in indonesian waters on the 8.6.1945 with 228 tons gold the wreck is in 60 meters deep permits and legal papers are arranged can you help me on this thank you
Comment: if the above is true, starting in January 2002 there was renewed interest in ASHIGARA. Due apparently, to probably unfounded assumption that there was gold aboard. (though it is possible some might have once been). Interestingly, this seems to tie with a message Kevin Denlay sent (see next). It may be that this expedition came to grief.
Update: Kevin Denlay, one of the divers of the Haguro, submitted this useful appendix to the state of the ASHIGARA wreck today: "Her remains lay in very shallow water and reportedly have been heavily salvaged over the years, and also dived on occasionally. Because of the VERY poor visibility at the site there have been several deaths on her over the years, with, reportedly, two Indonesian navy divers loosing their life, lost inside her hulk, these just sometime in 2002. When we passed by the wreck site earlier this year (February) the clarity of the water (or lack thereof) would have been equivalent to looking into a cup of milk coffee. Seriously. We didn't even bother stopping it was so bad." It is unclear whether the Indonesian divers were on official assignment or a private venture at the time of their tragedy.
On 16 May 1945, in the early hours of the morning, the HAGURO went down after a hard-fought surface battle against five British destroyers. When last seen she was had returned nearly to an even keel from a steep port list and was sinking by the bow. It is now possible to compare this with facts from the bottom.
On 4 March 2003 the wreck of the HAGURO was located by the liveaboard dive vessel MV Empress, and dived in the days following by a small team of divers, including Kevin Denlay who supplied me with some of his, and the groups, observations. She sits upright in about 212ft/64m of water, buried in some sections up to almost the main deck level in the silty bottom, the fore funnel collapsed, the foremast missing and apparently the mainmast collapsed as well. The upper section of the bridge structure - approximately the top half - is also missing, possibly dislodged over the years by snagged trawler nets, the remains of which are abundant on the wreck. No.1 turret's guns are elevated and pointed to starboard. No.2 turret is trained to starboard, but part of its roof is missing and peeled off, and the barrels completely absent. No. 3 turret is trained on a port quarter bearing. Here and there, the holes made by shell hits are also visible. Since the hull is partially buried in the mud, it may be difficult to confirm the torpedo hits received, hopefully the groups next visit will settle these questions, but the only hit really ever doubted was the one by HMS VERULAM prior to the final `coup de grace' shots of HMS VENUS.
On 5 November 1944 VAdm Shima Kiyohide's 5th Fleet flagship heavy cruiser NACHI was caught by bombers and torpedo planes from USS ESSEX and USS LEXINGTON while trying to escape Manila Bay. Brought to a halt, she was then blown into three sections by torpedoes of the LEXINGTON planes which took a spectacular series of photographs. They showed NACHI heeling to starboard and sinking nearly upright with both bow and stern severed. Of warship wrecks, few have provoked as much lurid and absurdly unwarranted tales as the NACHI. The ultimate fate of the wreck post-war has been obscured by tales of gold and the consequence re-exploration and and apparent removal of the wreck in the 1970's. However, the immediate post-sinking condition of the wreck is known, and has plenty of interest as it can be compared to the condition and unforgettable aerial photographs of her spectacular demise.
For after Manila fell to MacArthur's forces in spring 1945, CinCPac wasted little time ordering the sunken flagship searched by divers. This was done in a series of dives commencing on 14 April 1945 and brought equipment and very valuable documents and records which were translated and distributed before the war was over. These same divers reported finding the NACHI in 102' of water, with the main cruiser wreck buried in the bottom with a 45 degree starboard list covered with barnacles. The bow was completely missing, and the severed stern was nearby, bottom up on the seabed. The divers noted several torpedo holes and bomb hits, the former presumably in the port side as the starboard was buried. These in fact belonged to the final fatal series of hits that sank the cruiser, as the earlier hits were to starboard. When the salvage operations were finished, the masts were dynamited to clear any obstruction of the ship channel.
The condition of the cruiser was not the main interest, and few other details are available, but these form a useful appendix to the pictorial record of the sinking. Contrary to often cited locations placing it near Corregidor the NACHI was sunk west of Manila Harbor in a main-ship channel. This factor, with the addition of post-war salvage, has apparently resulted in the wreck being entirely or nearly so removed and the site leveled.
On 25 November 1944, after having her bow blown off forward of No.1 turret and surviving an incredible number of attacks and damage during and after the Battle of Leyte Gulf, the KUMANO was finally caught and sunk in Dasol Bay, near Santa Cruz, Luzon by planes from USS TICONDEROGA. Blasted by five nearly simultaneous torpedo hits on the port side, the KUMANO within four minutes had heeled 45 degrees to port, then turned almost completely upside down. Twenty five minutes later the upturned hull had settled beneath the waves.
On 4 June 1945 USS CHANTICLEER's team located the KUMANO. At the time she was lying upside down with a 120 degree list to port in 108 feet of water. The superstructure and all decks above the third deck were in the mud. The bow was completely blown off (matching IJN records - author), and was subsequently found 150 yards from the bulk of the wreck. Numerous bomb and torpedo holes were found and practically all seams were split. Interestingly, even at the time the entire ship seemed to have been well-stripped apartment from a compartment that yielded several coding books and instruments, and the deck logs of KUMANO from 1937 to 1942. Ironically, also recovered and of great interest to the salvers was the wiring diagrams of the rader sets pulled off the NACHI a few months prior. One 27mm mount and ammo was salvaged in operating condition. According to an email in 1998, the KUMANO wreck is still on the bottom, and this may be true for the site is in the open sea and difficult weather conditions in the assessment of the U.S. Navy salvers.
The detonation of the Atomic Bomb "Able" inflicted devastating damage to the flimsy light cruiser, and left her little more than a floating junkyard. Though the forward turrets and bridge were oddly almost whole, everything aft of it had been squashed flat as if stepped on by a giant foot. The stack, hangar, and amidships superstructure were almost unrecognizable -- only the mainmast topped over to port and the No.3 turret standing forlornly in place provided a landmark. The explosion smashed the stern and started a fire, and apparently here, as well, inflicted the damage that ultimately proved mortal. After the test she was found down by the stern about two feet, with a slight list to port. However, during the night this settling greatly accelerated and morning found the stern down by ten feet now and the port rail almost awash. She was clearly sinking and at 0906 an attempt was made to tow and ground her. But the list to port increased to 8 degrees and the stern now went under. The tow was cut as SAKAWA began to heel over to port faster and faster. By 1035 her sten had come to rest on the bottom, and she was listing 85 degrees to port, whereupon the upraised bow slowly subsided under the waves, to finally vanish at 1042 in nearly 200 feet of water.
Twenty-four days after the first blast, a second atom bomb "Baker" was detonated, a shallow-water shot. The effect on the sunken SAKAWA, barely 500 feet away, was unrecorded, but was imagined. As recently as 1992 the SAKAWA's wreck had not been relocated or positively identified, but has since been found. The way she ended up is interesting, having apparently corrected as she settled. Despite the angle at which she sank, the SAKAWA in her final resting place is almost upright. She is buried in the sand with a perhaps 15-20 degree list to port, with the starboard side exposed but the port main deck rail buried abaft the forecastle. The bridge has clearly been further flattened by the blast of "Baker" Bomb after she was already on the bottom. The forward turrets are still in place, but almost nothing is left abaft of these and a ruined segment of conning tower. In fact, the highest point now on the wreck is ironically one of the "Christmas Tree" monitors still on "B" turret. What remains of the bridge lays smashed in the mud off the port side, apparently destroyed during the "Baker" blast, for it was intact when she sank. Aft of this point, little is left, which accords with the last views of her before she sank
According to unconfirmed rumors, the ISUZU was found in 2002 in the context of expeditions that exploring for wrecks related to the Battle of the Java Sea. However it is unclear whether the cruiser has been located, or is merely of interest to find, and remains little more than rumor.
Like the NACHI, the KINU was in fact sought out and dived by personnel of the USS CHANTICLEER in spring 1945. Though nothing is known about the wreck since, the findings then agree with what was known about her last moments. According to KINU's Action Report a direct bomb hit and three severe near-misses acted like torpedoes to rip open her port side aft, flooding the aft engine room. Despite efforts to stay the flooding, she foundered about six hours later. The KINU was located and diving began on 15 July 1945. The KINU was found in 150 feet of water, lying flat on the bottom with a 90 degree list to port. Inspection showed a torpedo hit forward and that her back was broken abaft the bridge in the well deck area. Bomb hits were seen between number one and two stacks, and between number three stack and the aft torpedo tube mounts. However, this wasn't the only impact area as all was a mass of wreckage abaft the after superstructure. As it happened, the bridge itself was undamaged. Many documents and four coding machines were pulled from the communication room in the bridge as well as misc other material. The torpedo hit on the starboard side forward is a bit puzzling, as it was not reported by KINU's report, but in the hail of bombs and torpedoes on her, it is perhaps not surprising. Any possibility that she is the ABUKUMA instead seems ruled out by the location found off Western Masbate, and the unequivocal statement of the CHANTICLEER log.
(Incomplete, still collating and researching)
Note: Four Japanese destroyers were sunk in shallow waters in Manila Harbor or Cavite; the AKEBONO, AKISHIMO, OKINAMI, and HATSUHARU. Another, the HAYASHIMO was beached in plain view off Semirara Island. Presumably all scrapped post-war. However, with the exception of OKINAMI (in Gakken), the author has not seen photographs or info of the salvage of the other wrecks. Apparently they were extant in 1952, but removed afterward. Any information would be greatly appreciated and urged to contact me.
The same expedition by Dr. Ballard and the National Geographic Society that found the KIRISHIMA also found in July 1992 in some 700 meters of water two sunken Japanese destroyers associated with the battle. One was clearly identified as YUDACHI, the other with only slightly less certainty as the AYANAMI, though AKATSUKI was a long-shot alternative. Though not 100% certain, it seems fairly clear that the Japanese destroyer wreck located is the AYANAMI and not the AKATSUKI. The historical record and location are almost decisive alone. The destroyer found is in a strange "two angle" configuration. This is because at the break of the hull abaft the bridge, the ship's hull and back is literally broken, so that the forepart lies twisted and lying on its starboard side, while the rest of the destroyer is perversely upright. Though Japanese accounts slightly conflict on whether an induced explosion or a scuttling torpedo from URANAMI ultimately sank the AYANAMI, they agree on the location of the event: just abaft the bridge, which corresponds exactly with what was found, hull-breaking damage resembling a starboard torpedo hit.
Incidentally, these details of the wreck orientation further militate against the AKATSUKI possibility. The AKATSUKI's survivors reported that when the destroyer foundered it had heeled increasingly to port until it lay over on its side, then the bow raised and she slipped under stern first.{Curiously, the painting of AKATSUKI made for the expedition book does not follow this testimony and instead shows her down at the bow, perhaps for dramatic license}. Though she may have corrected her descent, this would lead one to expect to find AKATSUKI on her port side or upright, not jacknifed and partially laying on her starboard side. Nor was such vast damage abaft the bridge mentioned. As a particularly ironic commentary on the identity question, had the ships just had different letters it would be settled already -- for the first letter "A" in Hiragana still survives on the wreck's stern, more than 50 years later. Of course, since AKATSUKI had the same first letter, even that isn't enough!
The FUMITSUKI had foundered the next day after a bomb hit during the raid on Truk on 17 February 1944. In April 1987 the FUMITSUKI was discovered due to the efforts of Japanese writer and diving enthusiast Yoshimura Tomoyuki. The FUMITSUKI was found in 130 feet of water, resting upright but with a 25 degree list to port. The stern and deck there are buckled, apparently from impact with the sea floor, and the forward stack is missing. The aft torpedo tube has been removed, and bomb damage that sank the ship is visible there.
Note: For more details, the reader is encouraged to consult "WW II Wrecks of the Kwajalein and Truk Atolls" by Dan E. Bailey. North Valley Diver Publications, Redding, CA, 1992.
Hit by bombs from planes of USS YORKTOWN on 3 May 1942 while covering the invasion of Tulagi. It was the prelude to the Battle of Coral Sea, and while subchaster TOSHI MARU No.3 managed to beach KIKUZUKI on Gavutu Island, the Japanese were unable to give full attention to salvage. Before they could make her sufficiently watertight, KIKUZUKI slid back into the sea and sank on 5 May. For a while the wreck was forgotten, but in 1943 after the fall of Guadalcanal to the Americans, salvage teams from USS PROMETHEUS raised the KIKUZUKI and got her back on the beach.
The wreck remained there long after the war, and indeed, if some color pictures seen indicate they were taken recently, the KIKUZUKI may yet be there still. In any case, she is no longer on the bottom, but sat upright in shallow water with main deck clear and both stacks still in place. Whether or not she has been broken up as of this date is unknown, but the KIKUZUKI has figured in an interesting drama of identity confusion. A picture of her wreck was often identified as the HAYATE (for example in A.J. Watt's "Japanese Warships of WW II" published in 1973) , sunk during the invasion of Wake Island in December 1941, but this never really fit the facts of HAYATE's explosive demise. The mystery was put to rest by noted IJN destroyer enthusiast Allyn Nevitt in a letter to Warship International in 1971. Having with others ruled out such choices as NAGATSUKI, Mr. Nevitt showed that the oft-anonymous or mislabeled wreck was KIKUZUKI.
Addendum: After posting this page, I have received no less than three updates from readers on the KIKUZUKI in particular, and they shed great light on the ravages to the wreck over time, while once more returning some mystery to the wreck site.
Michael Slater gave this vivid description: "I visited Guadalcanal last August and saw her sitting upright in shallow water in a channel between two of the Florida Islands. She is still there. Her superstructure is long gone and the deck lies only a foot or so above water. Two of her 4.7" (?) guns are lying on the remains of her deck. One large crocodile was resting on her stern. A few miles distant lies the remains of the bow section of a USN LST. From what I gathered from a survivor's story, the LST was sunk during an action off the Russell Islands in mid-43. The bow section remained afloat and was towed to Tulagi to serve as a Fleet Post Office for the rest of the war."
Kevin Denlay reports: "She is still there, in a backwater on Florida Island (Ngella Sulle). Very little of her remains above water although if you want to brave the crocodile infested mangrove swamps that surround her (well not quite 'infested' but there are crocs around there and you certainly wouldn't want to go swimming near her!) then you can pull a dinghy alongside her and walk around on her deck - that is if you don't fall through the rusty deck! She is not where she was initially beached, and cannot be seen from the ocean, and must have been towed in there many years ago, as I first saw here there in 1993 (and it looked like she had been there forever then.) How she got where she is now is a bit of a mystery to me actually as I cant imagine it being deep enough to sail her up the inlet to get her in there now..."
Steve Athanas has sent and kindly granted permission to use this photograph of KIKUZUKI, taken on 10 August, 1993:
Like the FUMITSUKI, the OITE was sunk in the TF 58 air raid on Truk on 17 February 1944. Also like FUMITSUKI, her wreck was located largely by the efforts of Yoshimura Tomoyuki. The remains of the OITE were found in March 1986 in about 200 feet of water. Attack photos confirmed she had been blown in half by a torpedo right after entering North Pass, and sure enough, two sections is what was found, lying 40 feet apart from one another. The bow section is upside down, bridge buried in the mud; the afterpart lies on the bottom upright. The wreck is relatively clear of marine growth.(For more details, the reader is encouraged to consult "WW II Wrecks of the Kwajalein and Truk Atolls" by Dan E. Bailey. North Valley Diver Publications, Redding, CA, 1992).
New information from diver Kevin Denlay regarding his recent work has contributed the following: The wreck site of the Japanese Akizuki Class destroyer SHIMOTSUKI was originally discovered by Vidar Skoglie / MV EMPRESS on the night of July 6th 2002 using side scan sonar. At the time inclement weather did not allow for dives to be carried out and it wasn't until May 14th 2003 that he could find the time to get back to the site and do one dive to confirm the wreck was actually SHIMOTSUKI. A week later several more dives were conducted in varying conditions and the wreck explored in more detail. SHIMOTSUKI lays well over on her port side in approximately 240 feet of water and although intact amidships has massive damage to hull starboard forward and around the rear main 3.9" gun area and is seemingly missing her very stern. A return exploration was made in September of this same year, and helped confirm or clarify details of anomalies in the wreck observed initially. Of particular interest is the fact that the explosions noted by USS CAVALLA were apparently from gun and powder rooms only. As far as can be determined, the torpedo tube mount remains fixed and more or less intact in its general position. Thus, the condition of the wreck indicates that unlike some of her sisters, the SHIMOTSUKI's torpedoes and their store did not explode. Though the bow area is heavily demolished, the extreme prow remains apparently attached by some buried plating on the port side despite a massive gash-gap forward of No.1 turret and abaft the hawsehole. Though the No.3 turret sits in an odd position amid the wreckage at the end of the wreck, neither No.4 turret or anything clearly belonging to the stern section aft to the fantail was discovered. At present, it is speculated that in accordance with this fact and the evidence of the action report, that SHIMOTSUKI's fantail was severed and lies somewhere further outside the wreck and debris zone.
Author's Note: USS Cavalla's torpedo attack on SHIMOTSUKI and MOMO on 25 November 1944 claimed four torpedo hits on a `cruiser' (SHIMOTSUKI) which exploded violently, appeared to break in two, and sank immediately. The data submitted by Kevin Denlay in response to some queries allows me to match at least three torpedo hits, and it may be that a fourth strike indeed took place. The accuracy of Cavalla's record and marksmanship in this is remarkable. To date, I still have not confirmed how many survivors if any were rescued, but the number may have been tragically small.
The YUDACHI was the third Japanese warship found by the Ballard/National Geographic expedition, and in this case 's the wreck's identity was not doubted. For any informed of the pounding she took before sinking, the YUDACHI's condition certainly confirms what one would expect. The main hulk sits upright, though the forecastle is broken off and skewed to port to the side forward of the turret. It seems this happened on contact with the bottom, not before. Though the ship is upright, the bridge is open on the top and canted to port, apparently due to the collapse of shell-damaged plating. Other upperworks are smashed and tangled, no stacks visible, and the whole afterpart of the ship beyond the aft torpedo tube mount appears to be missing. Apparently sheared off by the fiery explosion of her aft magazine observed when USS PORTLAND sank the derelict the morning of 14 November.
The YUZUKI was sunk while trying to withdraw after the landing of troops at Ormoc on 12 December 1944, but was caught by aircraft. Reportedly, she was damaged by a bomb hit, and slow flooding sank her five hours later. The hit location was not given, but the impression is that the destroyer was in fairly good shape but foundered. This happens to have fascinating confirmation. Divers from USS CHANTICLEER reportedly inspected the sunken YUZUKI on 2 August 1945. They reported that she sank in only 70 feet of water and was upright on the bottom in nearly perfect condition. Only one sign of impact was found, a bomb hit between No.2 stack and the radio shack aft. The radio shack aft was in fact the object of the salvage, and after decoding machines were brought up, the operations were finished on 4 August.
