 Kiyonami anchored offRabaul, July 1943 | |
| History | |
|---|---|
 Empire of Japan | |
| Name | Kiyonami |
| Ordered | 1939 |
| Builder | Uraga Dock Company |
| Laid down | 5 October 1941 |
| Launched | 17 August 1942 |
| Completed | 25 January 1943 |
| Stricken | 15 October 1943 |
| Fate | Sunk in action, 20 July 1943 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class & type | Yūgumo-classdestroyer |
| Displacement | 2,520 long tons (2,560 t) |
| Length | 119.15 m (390 ft 11 in) |
| Beam | 10.8 m (35 ft 5 in) |
| Draught | 3.75 m (12 ft 4 in) |
| Speed | 35knots (40 mph; 65 km/h) |
| Complement | 228 |
| Armament |
|
| Service record | |
| Operations: | Battle of Kolombangara |
| Victories: | USSGwin (1941) |
Kiyonami (清波; "Clear Wave") was aYūgumo-classdestroyer of theImperial Japanese Navy. She saw numerous escorting duties during WWII, and notably played a major role at thebattle of Kolombangara, where she helped to sink the American destroyerUSSGwin and cripple the light cruisersUSSHonolulu andUSSSaint Louis. However, on 20 July 1943,Kiyonami was sunk by land based allied aircraft with the loss of all but one sailor.
TheYūgumo class was a repeat of the precedingKagerō class with minor improvements that increased their anti-aircraft capabilities. Their crew numbered 228 officers and enlisted men. The ships measured 119.17 meters (391 ft 0 in)overall, with abeam of 10.8 meters (35 ft 5 in) and adraft of 3.76 meters (12 ft 4 in).[1] They displaced 2,110 metric tons (2,080 long tons) atstandard load and 2,560 metric tons (2,520 long tons) at deep load.[2] The ships had twoKampon gearedsteam turbines, each driving onepropeller shaft, using steam provided by three Kamponwater-tube boilers. The turbines were rated at a total of 52,000shaft horsepower (39,000 kW) for a designed speed of 35knots (65 km/h; 40 mph).[3]
The main armament of theYūgumo class consisted of sixType 3 127-millimeter (5.0 in) guns in three twin-gun turrets, onesuperfiring pair aft and one turret forward of thesuperstructure.[2] 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-anglefire-control system meant that they were virtually useless asanti-aircraft guns.[4] They were built with fourType 96 25-millimeter (1.0 in) 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-millimeter (24.0 in)torpedo tubes in a two quadruple traversing mounts; one reload was carried for each tube. Their anti-submarine weapons comprised twodepth charge throwers for which 36 depth charges were carried.[2]
Kiyonami was completed on 25 January 1943, and was assigned to the 31st destroyer division (alongsideNaganami andMakinami), and saw her first active service escorting the axillary cruisersBangkok Maru andSaigon Maru fromYokosuka to various occupied territories throughout March, then saw out the next few months of her career partaking in convoy escorting duties.[5][6]
On the 9th of July,Kiyonami departed as part of a protection force for a Japanese troop transport run consisting of a destroyer flotilla made up by herself and the destroyersYukikaze,Hamakaze, andYūgure, led by the light cruiserJintsū and the elderly destroyerMikazuki. While still underway on the 12th, the force was intercepted by a group of three allied light cruisers,USSHonolulu,USSSaint Louis, andHMZNSLeander, supported by ten destroyers. During the opening stages of thebattle of Kolombangara,Jintsū fired her searchlights, enabling the three allied cruisers to engage her. A hellfire of 6-inch (152 mm) shell hits mostly fromHonolulu andSaint Louis blastedJintsū into a floating wreck, enabling her to be finished off by the destroyerUSSTaylor's torpedo battery.[7]
However,Kiyonami and the other destroyers went undetected, and quickly swerved into firing formation to engage the enemy.Kiyonami,Yukikaze,Hamakaze, andYūgure all fired their torpedo batteries, and several minutes later one ofYukikaze's torpedoes hitLeander, damaging her so badly she could not be repaired in time to take further part in WWII, and forcing her out of the engagement.Kiyonami and the others swerved away retreated from the battle scene to reload their torpedoes, which took around 10 minutes, and quickly sailed back to fight the enemy formation. When detected, every US ship targetedYukikaze, which was straddled and near missed several times, but not directly hit by a single shell. In turn,Kiyonami fired her torpedoes again simultaneously with the other destroyers, and watched as multiple made their mark. Long lance torpedoes quickly found their targets, sinking the destroyerUSSGwin, twisting the bow ofSaint Louis, and completely blasting off the bow ofHonolulu, taking both cruisers out of action.Kiyonami then retreated from the battlefield without damage. While the battle was a costly victory with the loss ofJintsū, it was a victory none the less. Alongside all the allied ships sunk or damaged, all the destroyer transports completed their mission unattacked.[5][8][7]
On 20 JulyKiyonami was on another troop transport run to Kolombangara. She was sunk byU.S. ArmyB-25s while rescuing the crew of the destroyerYūgure, 42 miles (68 km) north-northwest of Kolombangara (07°13′S156°45′E / 7.217°S 156.750°E /-7.217; 156.750). About sixty men survived the sinking, but only one was rescued after several days, leaving only one survivor fromKiyonami's crew of 241 men, and no survivors fromYūgure's crew of 228.[9][10]
