Yugumo losses, repeated demand and Yamato budget cover

The quoted total is nineteen completed Yugumos and nineteen wartime losses. Their usefulness supplies an explanation for repeated exposure: capable ships became the preferred choice as situations deteriorated. The loss count alone therefore does not establish that the design was poor. Some destroyer orders also served as dummy budget cover for the Yamato class, a practice criticised because the destroyers were needed in their own right. Repeated demand for capable ships offers an explanation for the class's heavy losses.