In a remarkable deep-sea discovery, an international research team has located the Imperial Japanese Navy destroyer Teruzuki, sunk in 1942 during one of the most decisive naval battles of World War II. The wreck, over 2,600 feet (800 meters) beneath the surface in the waters of the Solomon Islands, was located and explored using remotely operated vehicles (ROVs) during the Maritime Archaeology of Guadalcanal expedition aboard the E/V Nautilus.

IJN Teruzuki. Credit: Ocean Exploration Trust

Teruzuki — meaning “Shining Moon” in Japanese — was a 440-foot Akizuki-class destroyer commissioned in 1942. The fate of the ship was sealed in the early morning of December 12, 1942, while escorting supply vessels off Cape Esperance on the north coast of Guadalcanal. In a dramatic nighttime attack, two small U.S. Navy PT boats, PT-37 and PT-40, fired torpedoes at what they believed were vague silhouettes. One of these torpedoes struck Teruzuki in the stern, disabling the vessel and igniting a fire. Rear Admiral Raizo Tanaka — a stubborn commander nicknamed “Tenacious 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 sailors, 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. ROVs Hercules and Atalanta were then deployed to explore the site.

When it arrived at the bottom of the ocean, the team found 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. Despite having been submerged for over eight decades, the wreckage still has live ammunition and is an emotionally charged time capsule.

Imperial Japanese Navy Destroyer Akizuki (Akizuki-class) on trial run off Miyazu Bay. Public domain

Hiroshi Ishii of Kyoto University’s Center for Southeast Asian Area Studies, who was part of the expedition, helped confirm the ship’s idenтιтy. 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 forward artillery turrets remain fixed in place, still trained upwards towards the sky — a haunting reminder of the ship’s mission to defend against aerial threats, not surface action. 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 pH๏τos or blueprints of the ship, due to wartime secrecy.

The expedition is broadcasting its dives live at NautilusLive.org, offering a rare and eerie glimpse into the World War II underwater battlefields — and bringing history back into the light after more than eight decades in the darkness.

More information: Ocean Exploration Trust