Destroyer Yugumo

Yugumo was built at Maizuru Naval Arsenal, laid down 12 June 1940, launched 16 March 1941, and completed 5 December 1941 — the lead ship of the nineteen-ship Yūgumo class, themselves an incremental improvement on the Kagerō class. Displacing approximately 2,520 tons at deep load, the Yūgumo class carried six 127mm guns in three twin mounts and eight Type 93 Long Lance torpedo tubes in two quadruple mounts, with a sustained speed of 35 knots.

Yugumo took part in the Battle of Midway, the Battle of the Eastern Solomons and the Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands. Through late 1942 and 1943 she made repeated troop transport and evacuation runs, including the Tokyo Express to Guadalcanal, the evacuation of Kiska in the Aleutians, and runs to Kolombangara.

On the night of 6–7 October 1943, during the Battle of Vella Lavella, Yugumo engaged a U.S. destroyer force while covering the evacuation of Japanese troops from Vella Lavella. She charged the American destroyers and hit USS Chevalier with a torpedo, damaging her beyond repair, but was sunk in turn by gunfire and at least one torpedo from Chevalier and USS Selfridge, about 15 nautical miles northwest of Vella Lavella. 138 of her crew were killed, including her commanding officer; U.S. PT boats picked up 78 survivors and another 25 reached Japanese lines in an abandoned American lifeboat.

Her loss came at the close of the long series of destroyer night battles in the Solomons that had begun off Guadalcanal. She was struck from the navy list on 1 December 1943.