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Reaearch team found Japanese destroyer lost in Guadalcanal

An international research team aboard the 'Nautilus' has located the Imperial Japanese Navy destroyer 'Teruzuki', which was sunk in 1942 during one of the most decisive naval battles of World War II. The wreck, over 2,600 feet beneath the surface in the waters of the Solomon Islands, was located and explored using ROVs, during the Maritime Archaeology of Guadalcanal expedition aboard the research vessel. The 'Teruzuki' was a 440-foot Akizuki-class destroyer commissioned in 1942. The fate of the ship was sealed in the early morning of Dec 12, 1942, while escorting supply vessels off Cape Esperance on the north coast of Guadalcanal. In a nighttime attack, two small U.S. Navy PT boats, PT-37 and PT-40, fired torpedoes, one of which struck the 'Teruzuki' in the stern, disabling the vessel and igniting a fire. Rear Admiral Raizo Tanaka was knocked unconscious by the blast. The fire eventually reached the magazines and caused an enormous explosion. The destroyer sank around 4:40 a.m., taking nine crew members with it. The majority of the crew, Tanaka included, were saved. The discovery was made possible through a collaborative effort spearheaded by Ocean Exploration Trust and supported by NOAA Ocean Exploration, the University of New Hampshire, the Solomon Islands government, and other academic and maritime heritage organizations. Researchers used sonar mapping from the University of New Hampshire’s uncrewed surface vessel DriX to determine the location where the wreck was most likely to be. The ROVs 'Hercules' and 'Atalanta' were then deployed to explore the site. When it arrived at the bottom of the ocean, the team found the 'Teruzuki' in two sections. The stern, 656 feet away from the main hull, was depth-charged, disproving the previous theory that internal explosions of these weapons caused the final explosion. Hiroshi Ishii of Kyoto University’s Center for Southeast Asian Area Studies, who was part of the expedition, helped confirm the ship’s identity. In a statement to the Ocean Exploration Trust, he discussed the poignancy of the find: “Beyond the discovery, witnessing Teruzuki shows a real sadness about war. It was very emotional to see this ship’s turrets pointed skyward. The ship was designed for an anti-aircraft purpose, but found itself facing an entirely different type of conflict.” The site is also a reminder of the brutal naval battles that took place in the surrounding Iron Bottom Sound. The location was the site of five major sea battles in late 1942 at a cost of over 20,000 casualties and the sinking of over 100 warships and 1,450 aircraft. Less than 100 of those ships have been located to date. This discovery is the 12th wreck that has been mapped during the expedition, all part of a continuing project to document sunken military vessels and aircraft in the Pacific. Teruzuki is particularly historically valuable because there were no known photos or blueprints of the ship, due to wartime secrecy. The expedition is broadcasting its dives live at NautilusLive.org Report with photos: https://archaeologymag.com/2025/08/japanese-wwii-destroyer-teruzuki-wreck-found/

Research ship recovered bell of US destroyer sunk off Solomon Islands

The 'Nautilus' has found the ship's bell of the lost frigate USS 'De Haven- (DD-469,', the latest in a series of discoveries in a survey of the so-called "Iron Bottom Sound" off the Solomon Islands. The Fletcher-class destroyer was commissioned in September 1942and immediately departed for the Solomon Islands campaign. She escorted a convoy of troopships to Guadalcanal, then patrolled the archipelago to interdict Japanese forces for the next several months. On Feb 1, 1943, the 'De Haven' was escorting a small group of landing craft and a seaplane tender to a new beachhead on Guadalcanal. As she returned to the base with two of the landing craft, nine Japanese planes approached, and six turned to attack her. The 'De Haven' was hit by three bombs, killing the commanding officer and sinking the ship just off Savo Island. 167 crewmembers lost their lives. The wreck was discovered by Dr. Robert Ballard in 1992, and the the 'Nautilus' returned to the site in July to re-survey the vessel. With the assistance from live-stream video viewers, the research team found the bell dislodged from its mount and resting atop a torpedo mount amidships. Signs of deterioration and marine life colonization suggested that the timing of the find was lucky: some areas of the wreck have become heavily encrusted, and one of the other torpedo mounts has tilted due to deck collapse since the last survey. The team also conducted the first ever wreck exploration of the USS 'Walke', a Sims-class destroyer that sank off Savo Island during the Second Naval Battle of Guadalcanal on (Nov. 15, 1942. The 'Walke' fired off about 300 five-inch rounds at three Japanese warships in a nighttime battle; she was hit by a torpedo in return, then by multiple rounds of shells. As she went down, her depth charges detonated, killing survivors in the water. The ROV exploration showed the ferocity of the fight: the bridge had been blown off and was found separately, and only about half of the length of the hull could be identified as a single structure. Both the bow and stern were missing. Videos: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8oqLozxPV0g&t=416s https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4pfSGpiZ4WY&embeds_referring_euri=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.maritime-executive.com%2F&source_ve_path=MjM4NTE

Wwreck of Japanese destroyer 'Teruzuki' found after almost 83 years

On July 12, 2025, the 'Nautilus' has discovered the wreck of the Japanese destroyer 'Teruzuki', which was torpedoed and sunk by a PT boat off Guadalcanal in 1942, 2,5 months. after its delivery. She first saw action during the Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands in October, then joined a Japanese task force to attack U.S. forces at Henderson Field on Guadalcanal. The first attempt at this mission began on Nov 12; it was thwarted by U.S. forces in a fierce and costly nighttime battle. In the exchange of fire, the 'Teruzuki' managed to cripple the destroyer USS 'Sterett' and may have contributed to the sinkings of the destroyers USS 'Monssen' and USS 'Laffey'. She was assigned to a second attempt on Nov 14-15, but did not play a major role during the engagement. On Dec 11, the 'Teruzuki' returned to Guadalcanal as part of a resupply task force with four other destroyers. Their mission was to drop off floating drums of supplies for the Japanese troops pinned down on the island. After the food drums were dropped off and the 'Teruzuki was headed home, she was attacked by several U.S. Navy PT boats and took two torpedo hits. The damage left her disabled and ablaze, and after three hours, the fire likely set off a depth charge magazine. The resulting explosion blew off her stern and caused her to rapidly sink. 156 crew members were able to swim to shore, nine people died. The 'Nautilus' discovered the final resting place of the 'Teruzuki' in the so-called Iron Bottom Sound at a water depht of over 800 metres, The crew first picked up the wreck site using an unmanned surface vessel conducting a sonar survey. They confirmed the find with an ROV inspection, and Hiroshi Ishii, a specialist from Kyoto University, identified the wreck as the 'Teruzuki'. The destroyer's stern was missing, and it was found about 200 meters away. Only a dozen of the WWII wrecks in the sound have been identified, but Mayer's team believes that there could be as many as 100 in total. Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GOOdNWncL10