On completion,
Akatsuki was assigned to Destroyer Division 6 along with her
sister ships, , , and , under the
IJN 1st Fleet. She was taking part in maneuvers off
Ise Bay on 1 August 1935 when she collided with the
submarine at 14:27. Like others of her type,
Akatsuki was modified during the middle 1930s, both to correct design deficiencies and to enhance combat capabilities. She participated in operations in the
Second Sino-Japanese War, which broke out in July 1937.
World War II , Aleutians, during the Japanese occupation of Kiska, summer of 1942 At the time of the
attack on Pearl Harbor,
Akatsuki was assigned to Destroyer Division 6 of Desron 1 of the IJN 1st Fleet, and had deployed from
Mako Guard District to provide cover for landing operations in
British Malaya and later for in operations against the
Netherlands East Indies, including the
invasion of western Java and in the
Philippines. She attacked, but failed to sink the submarine on 17 March 1942. After returning to
Yokosuka Naval Arsenal for maintenance in March 1942,
Akatsuki was reassigned to northern operations, and deployed from
Ōminato Guard District in support of Admiral
Boshiro Hosogaya’s Northern Force in the
Aleutians campaign, patrolling waters around
Kiska and
Attu during June and July, and towing the damaged
Hibiki from Kiska back to
Paramushiro in the
Chishima Islands. She continued to be assigned to northern patrols in the Chishima islands and
Aleutian Islands through the beginning of August. After maintenance at Yokosuka in late July,
Akatsuki was reassigned as escort for the new
aircraft carriers and , which it accompanied to
Truk, and missions in the
Solomon Islands and back to
Kure Naval District. From October,
Akatsuki was used for numerous “
Tokyo Express” high speed transport runs throughout the Solomon Islands. On October 25, 1942
Akatsuki,
Ikazuchi, and conducted a daylight raid into the waters of "
Ironbottom Sound" off
Guadalcanal. In the resulting action, the fast
minesweeper was damaged and fleet tug and patrol craft
YP-284 were sunk before the Japanese ships were driven off by
US Marine coastal artillery.
Akatsuki suffered light damage when its No.3
gun turret was hit by coastal artillery, with four crewmen killed. Three weeks later,
Akatsuki returned to "Ironbottom Sound" as part of a powerful bombardment force built around the
battleships and . On the night of 12–13 November 1942, in the
Naval Battle of Guadalcanal, this unit encountered a task force of U.S. Navy destroyers and cruisers. Operating on the right flank of the Japanese battleships,
Akatsuki is often credited with illuminating and then torpedoing : however, her junior torpedo officer, Michiharu Shinya – one of her few survivors – later stated unequivocally that
Akatsuki was overwhelmed by gunfire before being able to launch any torpedoes. Soon after illuminating
Atlanta, she was heavily hit by American gunfire and sank early in the action near
Savo Island at position , with the loss of all but 18 crewmen (out of a total complement of 197), who were later captured by U.S. forces. ==Notes==