Destroyer Fuyutsuki

Fuyutsuki (冬月) was an Akizuki-class anti-aircraft destroyer, laid down at Maizuru Naval Arsenal on 8 May 1943, launched on 20 January 1944, and commissioned on 25 May 1944.

As one of the later Akizuki-class ships, Fuyutsuki entered service when the tide of war had already turned against Japan. She was equipped with the same powerful anti-aircraft armament of eight 10 cm/65 dual-purpose guns as her earlier sister ships.

Fuyutsuki's most notable action was during Operation Ten-Go on 7 April 1945, the suicidal final sortie of the battleship Yamato and her escort force into the East China Sea. During the massive American carrier air attacks that sank Yamato, light cruiser Yahagi, and four other destroyers, Fuyutsuki managed to survive the onslaught. She played a critical role in rescuing survivors from the sunken ships, picking up hundreds of men from the sea before returning to port.

On 20 August 1945 Fuyutsuki struck a mine at Moji that wrecked her stern, and she was surrendered unrepaired. Although designated a repatriation transport, she made no repatriation voyages and instead served as a repair ship supporting minesweeping operations. In May 1948 her superstructure was removed and her hull, together with those of the destroyers Suzutsuki and Yanagi, was sunk as a breakwater at Wakamatsu (Kitakyushu), known locally as the "warship breakwater".