© 1998 Allyn D. Nevitt
@Revised - Anthony Tully - July 2021
Name Translation: “Chrysanthemum Moon”
Initial Command Structure:
Ship's captain: Lieutenant Commander Mori Koukichi [57] (prev. C.O. SAWAKAZE). Assigned to Desdiv 23 (KIKUZUKI, YUZUKI, UZUKI), Cardiv 2, First Air Fleet. Flagship of Comdesdiv 23, Commander Yamada Yusuke [48].
23-27 November 1941:
Desdiv 23 escorted troop convoys from Sakaide to Haha-jima.
4-8 December:
Departed Haha-jima, Desdiv 23 with Guam invasion force; then antisubmarine patrolling in that area.
11 December:
1058: Arrived at Apra Harbor, Guam.
14-31 December:
Departed for patrol. Subsequently to the end of the year travelling between Guam and Saipan back and forth on patrol.
15 January:
Departed and carried out troop transport landing training operations. Then escorted out a transport convoy.
20 January:
Departed Truk for Kavieng, New Ireland.
23 January:
1017: KIKUZUKI arrived at Kavieng. Desdiv 23 with Kavieng invasion force.
24 January:
0910: Departed Kavieng in support of landings on Selapui Island. This involved landing seventy men of the Maizuru 2nd SNLF.
25 January:
Arrived back at Kavieng. Carried out Rabaul-area patrol/escort duties.
27 January:
Escorted auxiliary tanker GOYO MARU (8,496 tons) from Kavieng to Rabaul. KIKUZUKI carried the troops of the Maixuru 2nd SNLF.
28 January:
2236: Arrived at Rabaul.
Action:
- 2300 Enemy B-17s attacked Rabaul but KIKUZUKI received no damage and claimed none.
30 January:
Action:
- 2041 Enemy aircraft attack Rabaul harbor. No damaged received.
- 2315 Enemy aircraft again attacked, but again KIKUZUKI received no damage.
31 January:
Commander Yamada (to Comdesdiv 6) relieved as Comdesdiv 23 by Commander Shimazui Takemi [47]; remained flagship. Departed Rabaul.
1 February:
Arrived at Ysabel Passage, near Kavieng. Performed anti-submarine sweeps.
2 February:
Arrived at Meue Passage. Departed the next day for Rabaul.
4 February:
Returned to Rabaul. Departed the same day back to Meue Passage.
7 February:
Departed Meue Passage to assist the grounded merchant ship HOYO MARU. Returned later the same day.
8-9 February:
Departed Meue Passage in support of the "SU" Operations. (Invasion of Surumi, New Britain) Desdiv 23 with Gasmata (New Britain) invasion force. Landings accomplished on 9 February.
10 February:
KIKUZUKI arrived at Rabaul. Departed the next day for Kavieng.
12 February:
0636: Arrived at Kavieng.
13 February:
Departed Kavieng.
1626: Arrived in the Meue Passage. Hereafter remained at anchor on standby and conducted maintenance work.
20 February:
Desdiv 23 steamed from Kavieng to Truk conducting anti-submarine sweeps en-route.
23 February:
1410: Arrived at Truk.
24 February:
KIKUZUKI departed the atoll for anti-submarine work. Returned to Truk the next day.
2 March-4 March:
Desdiv 23 escorted Admiral Goto's cover force out of Truk via the South Channel in support of Lae/Salamua, Northern Solomons, and Admiralty Islands invasions.
5 March:
0600: Arrived at Rabaul.
1600: Departed with the "SR" Invasion Force.(The capture of Lae and Salamaua, eastern New Guinea)
8 March:
Landings at Lae and Salamaua took place.
9 March:
1030: Arrived at Queen Carola Harbor, Buka Island. Supported landings there.
10 March:
0700: Commenced sweep of area near Hetau Island.
1315: Left the area and rendezvoused with ships returning to Rabaul.
11 March:
1218: Arrived back at Rabaul. Hereafter on standby and carried out maintenance work.
14 March:
1600: Departed Rabaul for patrol in the local area.
15 March:
Arrived at Queen Carola Harbor.
17 March:
Departed for anti-submarine duty in the Byron Strait.
18 March:
Arrived Meue Passage. Remained at anchor on standby.
26 March:
Departed Meue Passage. Arrived at Rabaul the next day.
28 March:
1600: Departed Rabaul in support of the "BO" Operation.
31 March:
0805: KIKUZUKI arrived at Numanuma. Supported landings there, then carried out a sweep.
1200: Arrived a Teovu.
1530: Departed for Rabaul.
1 April:
Arrived at Rabaul. Departed same day for anti-submarine work in Meue Passage.
2 April:
Arrived at Meue Passage. Anchored and carried out standby work.
7 April:
0500: Depared to participate in the Hammit Invasion.
10 April:
Desdiv 23 reassigned to Desron 6, Fourth Fleet.
KIKUZUKI arrived at Truk Atoll. Refueled and reprovisioned. Then carried out upkeep work.
19 April:
Departed the anchorage and subsequently anchored in lagoon south of Harushima overnight. Return to main anchorage the next day.
21 April:
Departed Truk; however, for reasons unclear the voyage was aborted and KIKUZUKI returned to Truk. Anchored on standby.[1]
25 April:
Departed Truk.
28 April:
Arrived at Rabaul.
30 April:
0530: Departed Rabaul. After conducting anti-submarine sweep, proceeded with Tulagi Invasion force as part of "Operation MO." Invasion force was built around RADM Shima Kiyohide's flagship minelayeer OKINOSHIMA and transports AZUMASAN MARU and KOEI MARU. Composition:
Minelayer OKINOSHIMA, flag Tulagi Invasion Force. Desdiv 23 YUZUKI, KIKUZUKI (UZUKI detached to escort tanker HOYO MARU) 14th Minesweeper Flotilla (TAMA MARU, HAGOROMO MARU, No.2 NOSHIRO MARU). No.1 and No.2 Special Minesweepers. 56th Subchaser Division (No.8 TAM MARU, No.3 TOSHI MARU - to land partial strength of the Kure 3rd SNLF. Transports AZUMASAN MARU and KOEI MARU to land elements of the 7th Establishment squad. Landings scheduled for dawn 3 May.
2 May:
2200: Invasion Force arrived off Tulagi.
3 May:
With Tulagi invasion force. At dawn
scheduled landings of the 3rd Kure SNLF took place.
4 May:
0530: KIKUZUKI went alongside the starboard side of OKINOSHIMA to refuel. Division mate YUZUKI refueled from port.
Action:
- 0615 A surprise attack by a large number of enemy carrier aircraft struck the invasion force. Aircraft bore in on the refueling destroyers from the starboard bow. KIKUZUKI immediately cast off and began to maneuver. YUZUKI followed suit.
- 0622 KIKUZUKI straddled by bombs around the fantail. Seven torpedo planes than assault the destroyer in an "anvil" attack as she tried to work up speed.
- 0624 KIKUZUKI struck in starboard side aft by torpedo which exploded between the No.3 boiler room and the starboard engine room. The destroyer began to list to starboard and went dead in the water.
- 0800 Auxiliary submarine chaser No.3 TOSHI MARU took in tow. Because the machinery spaces were flooding rapidly and it could not be stemmed by the crew, it was resolved to take the destroyer into the shallows to the east.
- 0858 Beached just south of Halavo village in Halavo Bay, Florida Island. Comdesdiv 23 (Commander Shimazui) transferred to YUZUKI; Lieutenant Commander Mori (to C.O. YUZUKI) also among survivors. With a second enemy raid approaching, YUZUKI then evacuated westward from the anchorage with OKINOSHIMA.
- 0940 Second group of aircraft attacked, but no further damage received. However, flooding aft of amidships continues and the stern rode low in the water with only the bow aground. Twelve men had been killed with twenty-two wounded. The crew spends the night pumping and attempting temporary repairs.
5 May:
Before sufficient repairs could make watertight, the incoming high tide floated KIKUZUKI free of the bottom. Too waterlogged to remain afloat, the destroyer inexorably settled down by the stern.
- 0300 OKINOSHIMA arrived back at Tulagi having turned back around two hours before since Cardiv 5 entering the Coral Sea in support. Shima's flagship took aboard the KIKUZUKI officers and men and any important documents from the sinking ship so they are not left behind.
Sunk:
- 2225 KIKUZUKI finally sank tail first and settled until totally submerged; though the bow could be seen just under the water when it was clear. The position was (09-07 S, 160-12 E). (U.S. salvage crews later re-floated and beached the wreck.)[2]
7 May:
OKINOSHIMA returned to Rabaul. Disembarked KIKUZUKI survivors. Since sister-ship and division team-mate YUZUKI had suffered considerable casualties including the loss of her captain, Commander Shimazui of KIKUZUKI took over as temporary commanding officer and several of his crew transfer to YUZUKI.
25 May 1942:
Removed from Navy List.
Postscript:
July - October 1943:
Through a painstaking process, the KIKUZUKI wreck is gradually hauled and dragged back up the embankment until the forward section of the destroyer broke the surface again. The full refloating efforts began, focusing on removing the propellers and patching the damage enough to get the vessel into a floating drydock. It was found the fantail was partly broken just aft of the rear-most gun and buckled, but remained attached to the ship. Since the torpedo hit was between the No.2 stack and the aft torpedo tubes it appears this damage had occured when the destroyer's stern first hit bottom as it sank or had buckled during the dragging processs lifting the forward end. The forward part broke the surface in the first part of August and gradually the rest of the vessel was hauled back up.
11 June 1944:
Now patched and nominally afloat, the destroyer's hulk is moved inward from Purvis Bay back into the inlets behind it and bottomed in a small cove. It remains in this location to this day, heavily rusted and decomposed.
For fuller details of the chronology of salvage and condition of the wreck to the present See Also Kikuzuki on:
Shipwrecks of the IJN
[Note 2] Considerable confusion has entered the record concerning both where Kikuzuki first was beached and then sank, and where the wreck ended up today. The main reason is inaccuracy regarding the names of the land-masses all so close together. Even Senshi Sosho says "sank at Halavo on Gavutu Island" given as (South 9 by 11 degrees, 160 by 30 degrees East) However, this is manifestly incorrect as Halavo is on Florida Island not Gavutu Island. It is thus correct the destroyer was beached at Halavo Bay. It is incorrect to associate this village as being on Gavutu Island. (Gavutu Island is the small vaguely barbell-shaped island west of Halavo Bay --since the body of water separating it from Florida Island and Halavo Bay is called Gavutu Harbor this probably accounts for the confusion) Further confusion than ensued because once the destroyer was dragged back to the surface by the U.S.Navy and refloated, it was first parked in Purvis Bay to the east and then eventually taken to a backwater cove behind it and north of Port Purvis and grounded there to rust away.(See the Shipwrecks page for the full story.
