Japanese destroyer Kiyonami

Kiyonami (清波) was a Yūgumo-class destroyer of the Imperial Japanese Navy.

Design and description
The Yūgumo class was a repeat of the preceding Kagerō-class destroyer with minor improvements that increased their anti-aircraft capabilities. Their crew numbered 228 officers and enlisted men. The ships measured 119.17 m overall, with a beam of 10.8 m and a draft of 3.76 m. They displaced 2110 t at standard load and 2560 t 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 52000 shp for a designed speed of 35 kn.

The main armament of the Yūgumo class consisted of six Type 3 127 mm 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 25 mm 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 610 mm 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
On 12 July 1943, Kiyonami was on a troop transport run to Kolombangara. In the Battle of Kolombangara, she contributed torpedoes to the spreads that sank the destroyer USS Gwin (DD-433), and damaged the cruisers USS Honolulu (CL-48) and USS St. Louis (CL-49).

On 20 July Kiyonami was on another troop transport run to Kolombangara. She was sunk by U.S. Army B-25s while rescuing the crew of the destroyer JAPANESE DESTROYER Yūgure, 42 mi north-northwest of Kolombangara (-7.21667°N, 156.75°W). About sixty men survived the sinking, but only one was rescued after several days, leaving only one survivor from Kiyonami ' s crew of 241 men, and no survivors from Yūgure ' s crew of 228.