on 5 October in an air attack near Shortland Islands, which necessitated a return to Truk for repairs. In late October through the end of November, Murasame made an additional nine "Tokyo Express" runs. On 25 October 1942 she assisted in rescuing the crew of the cruiser , heavily damaged by aircraft attacks, and the next day took part in the Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands under Admiral Takeo Kurita. During the First Naval Battle of Guadalcanal on the night of 12–13 November 1942, Murasame assisting in sinking the destroyer and damaging the cruiser , as well as possibly torpedoing the cruiser . However, during the battle she was also hit by a shell in her forward boiler, and returned to Truk again for repairs. She continued to patrol from Truk through the end of the year, and returned to Yokosuka for repairs in mid January 1943. In February 1943, Murasame returned to Truk escorting the aircraft carrier , and continued on to Rabaul to resume transport operations to Kolombangara. On the night of 4 March, Murasame and the destroyer are believed to have sunk the submarine . However, that same night they were detected by radar-equipped American ships in Kula Gulf off Vila, after delivering supplies to the Japanese base there. In a short action, known as the Battle of Blackett Strait, both Japanese ships were sunk; Murasame broke in two from an "extremely violent" explosion after being hit by gunfire and torpedoes from the destroyer at position . Of her crew, 128 were killed, but 53 survivors, including her captain, Lieutenant Commander Tanegashima, and squadron commander Captain Masao Tachibana later reached Japanese territory. She was removed from the navy list on 1 April 1943. A memorial monument to the crew of Murasame exists at Kannonzaki, in Yokosuka, Japan. See also Murasame-class destroyer (1958) Murasame-class destroyer (1994) Notes References OCLC 77257764 External links Naval Historical Center entry on the Murasame Shiratsuyu-class destroyers World War II destroyers of Japan Shipwrecks in the Solomon Sea 1935 ships World War II shipwrecks in the Pacific Ocean Maritime incidents in March 1943 Ships built by Fujinagata Shipyards Naval magazine explosions