During the first year of the Pacific War, the destroyer was under the command of Tameichi Hara and participated in the battles of the Java Sea, Eastern Solomons and the Santa Cruz Islands. During the Naval Battle of Guadalcanal "Amatsukaze" sank the destroyer with two torpedoes and probably damaged with a third, but injudicious use of her searchlights attracted the attention of the light cruiser . The ensuing barrage silenced "Amatsukaze"s guns, knocked out her steering engine and killed 43 of her crew but her turbines were not affected and she was able to withdraw at using emergency manual steering.