Japanese destroyer Hatsuzuki

Hatsuzuki (初月) was an Akizuki-class destroyer (1942) destroyer of the Imperial Japanese Navy. Her name means "New Moon (in Autumn)" or "(another name of) August". In the Battle off Cape Engaño, to cover the escape of allied ships, Hatsuzuki single-handedly faced an overwhelming force of four cruisers and at least 9 destroyers for two hours before she was sunk with only 8 survivors.

Design and description
The Akizuki-class ships were originally designed as anti-aircraft escorts for carrier battle groups, but were modified with torpedo tubes and depth charges to meet the need for more general-purpose destroyers. The ships measured 134.2 m overall, with beams of 11.6 m and drafts of 4.15 m. They displaced 2744 t at standard load and 3470 t at deep load. Their crews numbered 300 officers and enlisted men.

Each ship had two Kampon geared steam turbines, each driving one propeller shaft using steam provided by three Kampon water-tube boilers. The turbines were rated at a total of 52000 shp for a designed speed of 33 kn. The ships carried enough fuel oil to give them ranges of 8300 nmi at speeds of 18 kn.

The main armament of the Akizuki class consisted of eight 100 mm Type 98 dual-purpose guns in four twin-gun turrets, two superfiring pairs fore and aft of the superstructure. They each carried a dozen 25 mm Type 96 anti-aircraft (AA) guns in four triple-gun mounts. The ships were also each armed with four 610 mm torpedo tubes in a single quadruple rotating mount amidships; one reload was carried for each tube. The first batch of ships were each equipped with two depth charge throwers for which 54 depth charges were carried. Hatsuzuki was equipped with a Type 21 early-warning radar on her foremast.

Career and fate
In October 1944 Hatsuzuki was part of the Northern Force commanded by Admiral Jisaburo Ozawa, in the Japanese attack on the Allied forces supporting the invasion of Leyte.

On the 25 October, during the Battle off Cape Engaño, Hatsuzuki encountered a detachment of Halsey's Task Force 34 (TF.34) consisting of the four cruisers USS New Orleans, USS Wichita, USS Santa Fe and USS Mobile and at least 9 destroyers. Hatsuzuki single-handedly faced off against this overwhelming force for the next two hours while covering the escape of survivors of the aircraft carriers JAPANESE AIRCRAFT CARRIER Zuikaku, JAPANESE AIRCRAFT CARRIER Zuihō and JAPANESE AIRCRAFT CARRIER Chitose by the Destroyers JAPANESE DESTROYER Wakatsuki, Kuwa and the Light cruiser Isuzu, eventually exploding and sinking at 2059. East-northeast of Cape Engaño (20.4°N, 126.33333°W).

The only survivors of her crew were 8 men in a lifeboat with 17 Zuikaku crewmen who made their way to Luzon by the 14th November, having been providentially cast off when Hatsuzuki got underway to engage the enemy.