On 24 October 1942, Yura departed Shortland to bombard Guadalcanal with the No. 2 Attack Unit consisting of Rear Admiral Tamotsu Takama's flagship , , and . At the north entrance to Indispensable Strait, off Guadalcanal, on 25 October 1942 (the day before the Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands), Yura, leading an attack group of destroyers off Santa Isabel Island in the Solomons was attacked by five SBD Dauntless dive-bombers of VS-71 and hit aft by two bombs near the engine room. She flooded and settled by the stern. After receiving reports of the attack, Vice Admiral Mikawa, CINC, IJN Eighth Fleet, cancelled Rear Admiral Takama's bombardment mission. The No. 2 Attack Unit reversed course back towards Shortland. On the way back, Yura was attacked again by three USAAF P-39 Airacobras and by four Marine SBDs, but these attacks failed to cause any additional damage. Captain Shiro Sato attempted to beach Yura but she was attacked again by four SBDs, three F4F Wildcats and four P-39s. Soon afterwards, Yura was attacked again by six USAAF B-17 Flying Fortress bombers from Espiritu Santo. These attacks reignited Yuras fires. At 18:30, after her crew was taken off, Japanese destroyers Harusame and Yūdachi scuttled Yura with torpedoes. She broke in two and her forward portion sank. At 19:00, her stern portion was sunk by gunfire from Yudachi at .
