5th Kuma-class light cruisers (total 5), named after the Kiso River in central Honshū, Japan.
Northern Operations near Hokkaidō (10 September 1941 ~ 30 August 1943) - Battle of the Aleutian Islands (28 May 1942) with her sister ship, Tama (多摩).
Operations at Truk and Rabaul (15 September 1943 ~ 21 October 1943) - Kiso sustained a direct hit by a 250 lb (113 kg) bomb on 21 October 1943.
repair & refit at Maizuru (10 November 1943) - 2 x 140-mm guns were removed and replaced by a dual 127-mm HA gun. 3 x triple mount and 6 x single mount Type 96 25-mm AA guns were also installed [Total 19 (3x3, 2x2, 6x1) x 25-mm guns]
Battle of Leyte Gulf (20 October 1944) - Kiso (as the flagship of the Fifth Fleet), Jun'yō (隼鷹), Tone, Uzuki and Yūzuki were heading to Manila on 8 November 1944. After receiving order of returning to Brunei, Kiso was hit by 3 bombs from U.S. aircraft and sank in shallow waters on 14 November 1944, killing 715 crewmen.