In search of the Hatsuyuki

The Japanese destroyer Hatsuyuki (1928). Image from Wikipedia.

My good friend Ray Leddick and I left Kieta before daylight to travel more than 100 km down the east coast of Bougainville Island in my 13-foot ‘tinny’. Our destination was the south coast of Bougainville, very close to the Solomon Islands border. This was the Buin — Kahili — Tonelei Harbour area where the Japanese had a massive base during the Second World War. This was their jump-off point for the Solomon Islands campaign.

Every time I was to come to this place, its beauty held me spellbound; a myriad of small islands scattered in all directions, there was the daily build-up of storm clouds over the mountains of Bougainville and Choiseul, and on that day the ocean was like a millpond.

From a chance encounter, some months earlier, we had been given a hand-drawn map giving us the approximate location of a shipwreck. Looking back, it was more like a pirate’s map, with hills, trees, islands, and other features to line up and find the ‘X’. For treasure hunters, we carried very sophisticated locating equipment, namely a grappling anchor attached to a couple of hundred feet of rope. This was dragged along the bottom hoping to find that needle in a haystack. We had come in search of the Hatsuyuki, a destroyer belonging to the Japanese Imperial Navy.

Hatsuyuki, meaning winter’s first snow, was one of 20 Fabuki-class destroyers built between 1927 and 1931. This class surpassed in design, any other destroyer type that was being planned or built anywhere in the world at that time. These vessels were the first to be fitted with oxygen-driven Long Lance torpedoes that were used so effectively throughout the war and caused such havoc to Allied shipping.

Colourised photo of the Hatsuyuki, underway at full speed 1928. Image from World of Warships

Hatsuyuki was a support vessel in what the Americans called the Tokyo Express, the Japanese attempt to recapture Guadalcanal and drive the Americans from the Solomon Islands. On the 17th of July 1943, a large formation of American fighters from Guadalcanal assembled to attack shipping in the Buin — Kahili area of south Bougainville. The Hatsuyuki was crippled by a direct hit and sank immediately about a mile from shore, with a loss of some 120 lives.

Later research would reveal that Hatsuyuki had participated in the Battle of Sunda Strait on 1st March 1942, and had participated in the sinking of HMAS Perth and the USS Houston. She also took part in the Battle of Midway on 4th and 5th June 1942.

Ray and I were hoping to find her final resting place but after several hours our enthusiasm was waning. A villager whom we had noticed earlier observing us, paddled towards us in his canoe. His curiosity had got the better of him and he was no doubt wondering what the white fellas were up to.

In Pidgin, I explained that we were looking for a ship wreck from “taim bilong bikpela pait wantaim Japan”…..the Second World War. He didn’t know about a ship but turning slightly on his canoe, he pointed to a place nearby where people from his village came because something on the seafloor attracted schools of fish. The man paddled about 100 metres and pointed downwards. As our grappling hook snagged metal, it all seemed too good to be true. I thanked our acquaintance and we quickly geared up and went over the side.

The water was alive with pelagics, schools of big trevally, mackerel, barracuda, and angel fish. At 60 feet we could make out the ship’s outline and at 85 feet, in poor visibility, we were on what turned out to be the stern. Being right next to a twin-gun turret with its door open, I couldn’t resist going inside. The barrels were pointing upwards at a 45-degree angle and I began to imagine the frantic actions of the gun crew on that fateful day. Trying to defend their ship from the American planes that were equally intent on sinking it. This dive was to be an exploratory one to see as much of the ship as possible and seek out areas for closer examination on future expeditions

Our dive revealed that the whole mid-section of the ship had been extensively damaged, but from what was told, most of this was caused in the 1960s by commercial salvagers who removed the turbines and propellors. Much of the superstructure had been blown off and lay strewn across the ocean floor, while the deck had collapsed inward, making it difficult to gain access inside.

The Hatsuyuki was heavily damaged in 1935 during a typhoon while carrying out war game manoeuvres. Image from Reddit.

We were to return some 15 times over the next couple of years, locating among other things, the officer’s quarters and the ship’s infirmary. Many artifacts were located including a very fine and intricately engraved drinking glass, so fine I was scared that just by holding it, I’d break it, and yet it had survived untold explosions that ripped the ship apart. The officer’s mess gave up some beautiful solid brass table lamps bearing the insignia of the Japanese Imperial Navy. Portholes that were salvaged are like no others I have seen; they are very unique and rare.

I am fortunate to have dived on dozens of wrecks throughout PNG but they have all been cargo vessels or barges, and whilst that was exciting, it is rare to dive on a capital ship that is in relatively shallow water. Most are in deep, inaccessible places.

Time never seemed long enough while we were down, and each dive ended with planning for the next. I don’t think many people know the location of this ship, and with the conflict that raged on Bougainville in the 1980s and ‘90s, it certainly would not have been dived on for many years

Hatsuyuki, rust in peace, and vale to my good friend and dive buddy, Ray Leddick.

This has brought back so many good memories of my time living in PNG.

Chris Leonard — March 2022