Destroyer Inazuma

Inazuma (電, "Lightning") was laid down at Fujinagata Shipyard in Osaka on 7 March 1930, launched on 25 February 1932, and commissioned on 15 November 1932. She was the fourth and last ship of the Akatsuki class (Fubuki Type III).

Inazuma's most celebrated action was not a feat of arms but an act of humanitarian mercy. On 1 March 1942, in the Second Battle of the Java Sea, Inazuma took part in sinking the heavy cruiser HMS Exeter — which she hit with torpedoes — and the destroyer HMS Encounter. Immediately afterwards, despite being in a combat zone, Inazuma's crew pulled 376 of Exeter's survivors from the sea (a re-reading of the Japanese record suggests 379), providing them with food, water, and medical attention; her sister ship Ikazuchi (雷) rescued the remaining Exeter men and Encounter's crew the following day. This rescue — conducted at considerable risk in a war zone — saved hundreds of lives and has been remembered as one of the most noble acts of the Pacific War.

During the remainder of the war, Inazuma served in the Aleutians, took part in the Naval Battle of Guadalcanal and "Tokyo Express" runs in the Solomons, and then spent much of 1943–44 on convoy escort between Japan, Truk and the Philippines. On 14 May 1944, while escorting a tanker convoy from Manila to Balikpapan, Inazuma was torpedoed by the American submarine USS Bonefish (SS-223) in the Celebes Sea near Tawi-Tawi. She blew up and sank with 161 dead; her sister ship Hibiki rescued about 125 survivors.