Destroyer Shigure

Shigure was laid down at Uraga Dock Company on 9 December 1933, launched 18 May 1935, and commissioned 7 September 1936. She was the second of ten Shiratsuyu-class destroyers. Throughout the Pacific War, Shigure developed a legendary reputation for survival. In the Battle of Vella Gulf (August 1943), she was the only one of four Japanese destroyers to survive, and she also came through the Battle of Vella Lavella (October 1943) and the Battle of Empress Augusta Bay (November 1943). Her most famous action came during the Battle of Surigao Strait on 24–25 October 1944 — the last battleship-versus-battleship engagement in naval history. Shigure was part of Japan's "Southern Force" under Vice Admiral Nishimura, which was annihilated by the U.S. Seventh Fleet. A direct shell hit and near misses knocked out her radio, compass, and steering, but she was the only Japanese ship to escape the Surigao Strait. She limped back to Brunei on 27 October. Her luck finally ran out on 24 January 1945, when she was torpedoed and sunk by USS Blackfin in the Gulf of Siam at 06°00′N 103°48′E, while escorting a convoy. Of her crew, 270 survived and 37 were lost.