1942-12-12
Loss of Teruzuki
Off Savo Island, Guadalcanal
Teruzuki was Rear Admiral Tanaka's flagship on a drum-supply run. Early on 12 December 1942, off Savo Island, American PT boats hit her stern with two torpedoes. She lost her rudder and a propeller shaft. The fire reached her depth charges and she sank. Nine men were killed. Tanaka was taken off. Lester H. Gamble had PT-37 and Henry S. Taylor had PT-40. With Williams E. Kreiner they each claimed a torpedo hit. The usual names for the boats that hit her are PT-37 and PT-40. Other accounts name different boats, so the hit is not pinned to one of them.
Sunk in this fight
One ship.
Created for this encyclopedia, not a scanned historical map. Base map: Natural Earth, public domain; the coast is generalized. North is up. Not a surveyed track. The place where Teruzuki sank on 12 December 1942 is not known. No pin marks it. The red ring is only the general area, off Savo Island. The open circle is the position some official lists give, 7°50' S, 157°30' E, which is northeast of Kolombangara and does not fit "off Savo". The Japanese ship history on combinedfleet.com says the actual coordinates appear to be unavailable.
