[2] Kuroshio, built at the Fujinagata Shipyards in Osaka, was laid down on 31 August 1937, launched on 25 October 1938 and commissioned on 27 January 1940.

Kuroshio attempted to reverse, but it was too late as her bow gouged into Minegumo's stern, inflicting immense damage and destroying her turret 3.

In turn, Kuroshio's bow caved in, requiring the destroyer to sail in reverse for the Kure naval arsenal, where she was repaired over 3 days.

A series on training duties ensued until 9 October 1941 when Kuroshio was present during a fleet meeting in Yokosuka, where Admiral Yamamoto announced the plan for war aboard the battleship Nagato.

She suffered minor damage on 23 December due to a strafing attack by USAAF B-17 Flying Fortress bombers.

On 8 February, she rescued survivors from Natsushio and on 5 March assisted the destroyer Oyashio in sinking a Royal Navy minelayer.

[7] In the early hours of May 8, 1943, a Japanese destroyer approached Vila using the eastern route, arriving at 1:26 AM to unload personnel and cargo.

On May 19, 2002, Robert Ballard, the marine archeologist who discovered the wreck of Titanic[9] was leading an expedition in the Blackett Strait in efforts to located the famous PT-109 (patrol torpedo boat) that was commanded by future United States president John F. Kennedy when he and his team stumbled upon the wreck of an unknown Japanese destroyer.

Dale R. Ridder, who was part of the search effort, provided further insights into the condition of the wreck saying, "When we looked at it while I was out there it appeared from the wreckage on the bottom that both the bow and the stern magazines had exploded from the mine hits, which is somewhat unusual.