Kagero was a Kagero-class destroyer of the Imperial Japanese Navy, built at Maizuru Naval Arsenal. She was launched on 27 September 1938 and commissioned on 6 November 1939.
Minoru Yokoi became her captain on 15 October 1940. He was still in command when she went to war the next year.
On 7 December 1941, during the attack on Pearl Harbor, Kagero served in the screen. She came through the day unhurt.
Command passed to Terumichi Arimoto on 22 December 1941. He remained her captain through the rest of her service and was still aboard when she was lost. At the Battle of Tassafaronga on 30 November 1942, Kagero was in the supply line.
Kagero was lost on 8 May 1943, southwest of Rendova, in the New Georgia Campaign. A mine crippled her, and air attack finished her off. Terumichi Arimoto was in command when she sank.