Squadron 4 (Desron 4). Desron 4 sailed to Manila Bay to assist in the shelling of Corregidor in late April and May 1942, returning to Kure, before deploying to Guam. Battle of Midway At the Battle of Midway on 4–6 June 1942, Asashio and Desron 4 escorted Admiral Takeo Kurita's Support Group covering the Midway troop convoy. She suffered medium damage in air attacks on 6 June, when she was hit by one bomb, which killed 22 crewmen. She assisted her sister ship in rescuing 240 survivors from the heavy cruiser , then escorted the crippled cruiser to Truk on 14 June. After emergency repairs by the repair ship , Asashio sailed to Sasebo for more extensive repairs on 29 June. She was then reassigned to Desdiv 8 and was based at Yokosuka Naval District. Naval battles of Guadalcanal After a successful supply run to Jaluit and troop transport runs to Guadalcanal in September and October, Asashio was part of the escort for Admiral Gunichi Mikawa's Support Force during several naval battles near Guadalcanal in November, but did not see combat. On 14 November, Asashio assisted the damaged light cruiser . Desdiv 8 then made three "Tokyo Express" troop transport runs from Rabaul to Buna in late November and early December 1942. After the first, Asashio towed the damaged destroyer back to Rabaul on 21 November. The third run was aborted due to Allied air attack on 8 December; Asashio was temporarily disabled by near-misses by bombs off of her stern. The division then made a successful troop transport run to Finschhafen on 18 December. On 7 January, Asashio and Desdiv 8 escorted , and from Truk to Kure, then returned to Truk. On 7 February, Desdiv 8 repeated the escort mission to Kure with the carrier . The division then escorted another convoy from Truk to Rabaul, and a troop transport run from Rabaul to Madang and back. Desdiv 8 was assigned to Destroyer Squadron 3 of the IJN 8th Fleet on 25 February. Battle of the Bismarck Sea On 3 March 1943, Asashio and Desron 3 escorted a troop convoy from Rabaul towards Lae. In the Battle of the Bismarck Sea, the convoy was hit by an Allied air attack. After weathering the first waves, Asashio was bombed and strafed later in the day while attempting to rescue survivors from destroyer and troopship . She was lost with