Okinami (沖波, "High Seas Waves") was a Yūgumo-class destroyer of the Imperial Japanese Navy.
The Yūgumo class was a repeat of the preceding Kagerō 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 a beam of 10.8 meters (35 ft 5 in) and a draft of 3.76 meters (12 ft 4 in).[1] They displaced 2,110 metric tons (2,080 long tons) at standard load and 2,560 metric tons (2,520 long tons) at deep load.[2] 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 52,000 shaft horsepower (39,000 kW) for a designed speed of 35 knots (65 km/h; 40 mph).[3]
The main armament of the Yūgumo class consisted of six Type 3 127-millimeter (5.0 in) guns in three twin-gun turrets, one superfiring pair aft and one turret forward of the superstructure.[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-angle fire-control system meant that they were virtually useless as anti-aircraft guns.[4] They were built with four Type 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 two depth charge throwers for which 36 depth charges were carried.[2]
On 29 February 1944 while escorting a troop convoy, Okinami assisted with sinking the submarine USS Trout, with all 81 hands on board lost at the position 22°40′N 131°45′E / 22.667°N 131.750°E / 22.667; 131.750.[5] After sinking USS Trout, Okinami assisted in the rescue of 1,720 survivors of the Sakito Maru sinking. On 5 November 1944 she was damaged by near misses and strafing during an air attack. There were 28 casualties.
On 13 November 1944, Okinami was sunk in a U.S. air raid on Manila. Suffering one direct bomb hit and several near-misses, she sank upright in shallow water 8 miles (13 km) west of Manila at 14°35′N 120°50′E / 14.583°N 120.833°E / 14.583; 120.833. There were 14 crewmen killed and 19 wounded.