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Mutsuki file photo [1598]

Mutsuki

CountryJapan
Ship ClassMutsuki-class Destroyer
BuilderSasebo Naval Arsenal
Launched1 Mar 1926
Sunk24 Aug 1942
Displacement1,315 tons standard

Contributor:

ww2dbaseMutsuki, name ship of a class of twelve 1315-ton first-class destroyers, was built at Sasebo, Japan. Completed as (Destroyer) Number 19 in March 1926, she was renamed Mutsuki in 1928. Prior to World War II, she took part in the arduous exercises that helped prepare the Japanese Navy for war and was also present during combat operations in China. On 11 December 1942, a few days after Japan began the Pacific War, Mutsuki participated in the initial attempt to capture Wake Island, an effort repulsed with heavy casualties by U.S. Marine Corps gunners and aviators. In May 1942, she was part of the Port Moresby Invasion Group during the Battle of the Coral Sea.

ww2dbaseOn 24 August 1942, as the Japanese made their first major attempt to recapture Guadalcanal, Mutsuki briefly bombarded U.S. Marine Corps' positions at Henderson Field. The next day, she went alongside the disabled transport Kinryu Maru to rescue that ship's crew and troops. While so immobilized, a formation of U.S. B-17 bombers appeared. Aware of the poor accuracy of high-level bombing, the destroyer's captain elected to continue his rescue efforts. However, in a rare event, the bombers scored well and Mutsuki was sunk. Her captain, hauled from the water with his ship's other surviving crewmen, is said to have remarked "even the B-17s could make a hit once in a while!".

ww2dbaseSource: Naval Historical Center

Last Major Revision: Jan 2005

Photographs

Mutsuki off Shanghai, China, 1926, photo taken by USS Barker (DD-123)Mutsuki, circa late 1920s or early 1930s
See all 4 photographs of Destroyer Mutsuki



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Visitor Submitted Comments

1. Anonymous says:
15 Apr 2014 01:12:09 PM

"She was renamed MUTSUKI in 1926... ( Mitsuki is misspelled as Mituski.
2. Anonymous says:
15 Apr 2014 01:13:40 PM

Sorry, I meant MUTSUKI, not Mitsuki!
3. Anonymous says:
15 Apr 2014 01:19:51 PM

Perhaps Ijn (destroyer) Number 19s' name is misspelled throughout her TROM as it is MUTSUKI at the start but Mutuski through the rest.
4. Commenter identity confirmed C. Peter Chen says:
15 Apr 2014 01:45:31 PM

Thank you, the typographical error on her name has been corrected.
5. Yuchen Liang says:
5 Mar 2024 03:41:13 PM

The Mutsuki class destroyers all seem to have a common design flaw, the engine rooms seem to be extremely vulnerable to attacks from above, such as when the destroyer Mochizuki was sunk by a squadron of PBY Catalinas, all it took was one bomb hit in the engine room to open a hole directly under the ship.

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More on Mutsuki
Event(s) Participated:
» Battle of Coral Sea
» Solomon Islands Campaign

Partner Sites Content:
» Mutsuki Tabular Record of Movement

Destroyer Mutsuki Photo Gallery
Mutsuki off Shanghai, China, 1926, photo taken by USS Barker (DD-123)Mutsuki, circa late 1920s or early 1930s
See all 4 photographs of Destroyer Mutsuki


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