"Shirayuki" was the first ship to be hit, by a combination of strafing and bombing attacks. Almost all the men on the bridge became casualties, including Kimura, who was wounded. One bomb hit started a magazine explosion that caused the stern to break off, and the ship to sink. Her crew was transferred to "Shikinami", and "Shirayuki" was scuttled. The destroyer "Tokitsukaze" was also hit and fatally damaged. Its crew was taken off by "Yukikaze". The destroyer "Arashio" was hit, and collided with the transport "Nojima", disabling her. Both the destroyer and the transport were abandoned, and "Nojima" was later sunk by an air attack.