Battle of Kula Gulf
However, the following day, during the Battle of Kula Gulf, "Nagatsuki" was holed by a six-inch shot. The ship's captain, Lieutenant Commander Tameo Furukawa, grounded the vessel near Bambari Harbor on Kolombangara to land his troops; however, later, even with the assistance of sister ship , it proved impossible to refloat the vessel, and she was attacked and destroyed the following day, 6 July, by Allied aircraft. The crew suffered eight dead and thirteen injured, but the survivors later reached the Imperial Japanese Army base at Vila on Kolombangara on foot. "Nagatsuki" was struck from the Navy List on 1 October 1943.