The Yukikaze (雪風; namesake: "Snowy Wind") was the eighth Kagero-class destroyer built for the Imperial Japanese Navy. Built by the Sasebo Naval Arsenal shipyard and launched on 24 March 1939, Yukikaze went on to serve in World War II and gained a mixed reputation as both a “lucky” and a “cursed” ship. Yukikaze is considered "lucky" for managing to survive the war intact while scoring a number of kills, most notably the sinking of the USS Laffey (DD-459) during the Battle of Guadalcanal. On the other hand, she is considered “cursed” due to her participation in numerous disasters and defeats of the IJN that often left her allied ships being sunk, most notably being present during the sinking of the Japanese battleships Yamato and Musashi as an escort. After the war, Yukikaze was transferred to the Republic of China as war reparations in 1947 and was recommissioned under the name ROCS Dan Yang (DD-12). Under ROCS service, Dan Yang saw service during the closing stage of the Chinese Civil War and the subsequent retreat of the ROC to Taiwan. After suffering irreparable damage from a typhoon in 1969, Dan Yang was scrapped the next year.

The Yukikaze was introduced in Update "Leviathans" under her 1945 configuration. While comparable with the related Yugumo-class destroyer, featuring overall similar armaments, Yukikaze stands out for her substantial anti-air armament in the form of 28 × 25 mm Type 96 autocannons, which allowed her to fend off aircraft and PT boats. However, much like the other IJN destroyers, the lack of AP and SAP shells for the 127 mm guns means that Yukikaze often has to rely on her set of Long Lance torpedoes to deal with heavier targets.