In this case, the entire opening salvo straddled "Murasame". As "Minegumo"s captain began passing orders to his crew, "Murasame" was hit by the sixth salvo of American gunfire, which was followed shortly afterwards by a salvo of five torpedoes that had been fired by the destroyer "Waller". At around 01:15, one of these torpedoes hit "Murasame", which exploded, caught fire and eventually sank. The explosion was reportedly heard by Briscoe's force about away around Munda. The U.S. cruisers then rapidly shifted target, doing so before "Minegumo" could release any torpedoes.