was a of the Imperial Japanese Navy. Design and description The Yūgumo class was a repeat of the preceding with minor improvements that increased their anti-aircraft capabilities. Their crew numbered 228 officers and enlisted men. The ships measured overall, with a beam of and a draft of . They displaced at standard load and at deep load. The ships had two Kampon geared steam turbines, each driving one propeller shaft, using steam provided by three Kampon water-tube boilers. The turbines were rated at a total of for a designed speed of . The main armament of the Yūgumo class consisted of six Type 3 guns in three twin-gun turrets, one superfiring pair aft and one turret forward of the superstructure. The guns were able to elevate up to 75° to increase their ability against aircraft, but their slow rate of fire, slow traversing speed, and the lack of any sort of high-angle fire-control system meant that they were virtually useless as anti-aircraft guns. They were built with four Type 96 anti-aircraft guns in two twin-gun mounts, but more of these guns were added over the course of the war. The ships were also armed with eight torpedo tubes in a two quadruple traversing mounts; one reload was carried for each tube. Their anti-submarine weapons comprised two depth charge throwers for which 36 depth charges were carried. Construction and career At the Battle of Leyte Gulf and the Battle of Sibuyan Sea Kiyoshimo was assigned to the 1st Diversion Attack Force. During an air attack, the destroyer received one direct hit and five near misses. She assisted the battleship Musashi and rescued survivors after the crew of Musashi abandoned ship. She was repaired 8–12 November at Singapore. On 26 December 1944, then with the San Jose bombardment force, Kiyoshimo was crippled by two direct bomb hits in attacks by U.S. Army bombers during the approach to Mindoro, Philippines. The ship was then finished off by a torpedo from U.S. PT-223, south of Manila (); 82 were killed and 74 injured. The destroyer rescued 169 survivors, including ComDesDiv 2, Captain Shiraishi Nagayoshi, and Lieutenant Commander Kajimoto; U.S. PT boats rescued five others. Notes References External links CombinedFleet.com: Yūgumo-class destroyers CombinedFleet.com: Kiyoshimo history bosamar.com: YUGUMO CLASS DESTROYER Yūgumo-class destroyers World War II destroyers of Japan World War II shipwrecks in the South China Sea 1944 ships Maritime incidents in December 1944 Ships built