Mayan heavy cruiser. Takao-class cruisers Background and history of creation

Takao-class heavy cruisers

Construction and service

Total information

Booking

Armament

Main caliber artillery

• 5 × 2 - 203 mm/50 type 3 No. 2.

Flak

• 4 × 1 120 mm/45 type 10;
• 2 × 1 40 mm/39 "B" type;
• 8 × 3-25 mm Type 96;
• 2 × 7.7 mm "B" type.

Anti-submarine weapons

• 16 (4 × 4) - 610 mm type 92 torpedoes (24 type 93 torpedoes).

Air group

• 2 catapults, up to 3 seaplanes type 90 No. 2.

Built ships

History of creation

Prerequisites for the appearance

The development of heavy cruisers as a class in Japan is largely associated with the signing of the Washington Naval Agreement in 1922. The countries that signed it agreed to limit the number of capital ships - battleships and aircraft carriers - but the number of ships of other classes was not limited in any way, not counting the established displacement limit of 10,000 tons

As a result of this agreement, Japan had to abandon the implementation of the Fleet 8-8 program and look for new ways to develop its fleet. Japanese naval designers, primarily Yuzuru Hiraga, decided to rely on the development of a class of cruisers, and in a different way than other countries participating in the Washington Agreements. Thus, the French, British, Americans and Italians considered heavy cruisers as a means of fighting ocean communications.

During this period, Anglo-French relations were in crisis, so the French sought to develop a type of ship that would be capable of destroying English merchant ships, and the British, accordingly, a ship that could protect trade communications. This required high seaworthiness and a long cruising range, which is why speed and armor had to be sacrificed. In turn, the Americans responded to the Royal Navy by designing a heavy cruiser with more guns and greater speed. The Italians also saw heavy cruisers as protectors of their Mediterranean communications.

Hiraga decided to pursue a different concept: heavy cruisers should have excellent artillery and torpedo armament, and sufficient armor to be able to destroy enemy heavy cruisers. The development of such a ship began in the early 1920s; in October 1921, a project for an “experimental light cruiser” of the type Yubari was approved by the General Staff of the Imperial Japanese Navy. This cruiser was slightly larger in size and displacement than the leader of the destroyers, having an armament of six 140 mm and a high speed of 35.5 knots, which were high figures for that time.

Subsequently, work was carried out to improve the resulting cruiser. It was necessary to take into account the maximum limit for the total displacement of cruisers of 108,400 tons. This fact predetermined the development Yubari: his successors - Furutaka And Kako- with a small displacement of 7100 tons, they had powerful artillery weapons of six 203 mm guns and four 76 mm guns. The General Staff demanded that the armament be strengthened, which was done: for the next two cruisers of the type Aoba They installed not 76 mm, but 120 mm guns, as well as a new type of catapult. The main caliber guns were now mounted in three two-gun turrets. At the same time, the displacement of the new cruisers has increased.

At the end of 1922, the General Staff commissioned Yujuro Hiraga to develop a design for a new heavy cruiser with a displacement of 10,000 tons and 203 mm guns. By 1924, the design was completed, and four new cruisers of the type entered service Myoko. This partly ensured the implementation of the new defense policy adopted by the General Staff on February 28, 1923, but still required an increase in the composition of the fleet. The new shipbuilding program, the development of which was started by the Minister of the Navy K. Murakami and the Chief of the General Staff G. Yamashita and ultimately presented to the commission by T. Takarabe, was not accepted. However, the adoption by the Americans in 1924 of the “first cruising bill”, which provided for the construction of eight ships, of which two were future USS Pensacola And USS Salt Lake City- were immediately laid down.

As a result, in March 1927, T. Takarabe was able to achieve the adoption at the 52nd session of parliament of a new shipbuilding program to replace the fleet for 1927-32, which provided for the construction of 27 ships, four of which were heavy cruisers.

Design

Initial work on the design of a new type of cruisers began back in 1925 under the leadership of Captain 1st Rank Kikuo Fujimoto, who replaced Yu. Hiraga as head of the basic design department. The project as a whole was an improved version of the type Myoko. The following requirements were imposed on him:

1. The main task: advanced support of friendly forces and driving away enemy support forces, conducting squadron reconnaissance;
2. Likely opponents: 10,000-ton British and American cruisers with 203 mm guns;
3. Attack power: ten 203 mm guns with a high elevation angle, 4 twin-tube 610 mm caliber TA on the upper deck (two per side), anti-aircraft weapons similar to type Myoko;
4. Protection: from indirect hits from 203 mm shells and from any hits from 152 mm shells;
5. Speed: up to 33 knots. Travel range: 8000 miles at 14 knots;
6. Aircraft weapons: equipment and space for three seaplanes;
7. The ships must be equipped to serve as fleet flagships in Peaceful time and squadron flagships in wartime.

Upon his return from Great Britain in 1926, Yujuro Hiraga generally approved of Fujimoto's work in designing an "improved Myoko" In general, the hull, protection system, power plant and location of the main caliber guns did not undergo changes, although there were significant differences:

1. The 203 mm guns had an elevation angle of 70° and were placed in new two-gun turrets of the E2 type;
2. more powerful protection of artillery magazines;
3. wide application steel Ducol 12 (steel D or Ducol Steel), aluminum and electric welding;
4. placement of two catapults instead of one;
5. rotating twin-tube torpedo tubes at the upper deck level;
6. massive nasal superstructure.

The first three points were adopted thanks to the intervention of Y. Hiragi. The designer took into account the information received during his stay in Great Britain from the chief shipbuilder of the British fleet, Sir Eustace Tennyson D'Eyncourt, which included information about the "Washington" type cruisers Kent. The decision to install two catapults was made on the basis of intelligence data that this is the number of catapults that heavy American cruisers will carry.

An innovation in the design was the use of the metric system of measures, rather than the British system of measures, as was previously the case.

Construction and testing

In the shipbuilding program to replace the fleet in 1927, the new cruisers were listed as “large-type cruisers No. 5-No. 8”; a little later they were given the temporary name “type A cruisers No. 9-12.” The total cost of their construction was supposed to be 113.48 million yen, that is, 28.37 million yen per ship of the type.

1 - the higher speed of construction of the second pair of cruisers is explained by their better financing

Description of design

Housing and layout

Hull type cruisers Takao embodied the main features of its predecessors with a displacement of 7,100 and 10,000 tons, although there were also innovations introduced by the designer Hiragi:

1. The upper deck without the forecastle had a noticeable sheerness along the side: 7600 mm at the bow and 3350 mm at the stern. This deck design was later called horizontal deck(Japanese: Suihei Kanpan gata), it made it possible, on the one hand, to make the longitudinal connections continuous, thus obtaining the most effective longitudinal strength, and on the other, to reduce their weight (it is estimated that the weight of the hull was only 32% of the displacement during testing ). Obviously, such a complicated structure of the hull caused many difficulties during construction.
2. Armor plates were used both to protect the ship and to enhance the longitudinal strength of the hull, that is, as longitudinal braces.

In general, the hull of cruisers of the type Takao repeated the body type Myoko: similar contours, deck and side armor, almost identical length to width ratio, stem shape, distance between frames, bottom deadrise angle and degree of curvature of the undulating upper deck. The thickness of the sheathing sheets also repeated the type Myoko However, the construction material was Ducol 12 steel. In addition, the widest section of the hull was shifted 11.44 m closer to the bow compared to Myoko and was located at the 174th frame. The main characteristics of the case are shown in the table:

Superstructure

In the bow behind the main battery towers there was a massive castle-like superstructure - distinctive feature type. Compared to Myoko, it had a similar height, but was significantly longer, 1.5 times more in mass and 3 times more in internal volume. The superstructure had ten tiers:

Weight distribution and stability

During the design of cruisers like Takao Not a single A-class cruiser has yet been tested, which is why the problem of chronic overload has not been identified. Despite the measures taken to save weight, overload arose in the following categories: hull weight, weapons, fittings and equipment. The weight of the ship elements was distributed as follows:

Booking

The ship's armor was generally similar to the type Myoko and was supposed to protect against indirect hits from 203 mm caliber shells and any hits from 152 mm caliber shells. There were also design features compared to their predecessors:

• shorter armor belt due to its greater width in the cellar area;
• more powerful protection of the magazines in the bow and stern;
• use of new steel Ducolle 12 instead of HT;
• conning tower reservation.

The main armor belt was made of chromium-nickel armor steel NVNC and had the following parameters:

• outward slope: 12";
• length: 82.40 m;
• width: 3.50 m;
• thickness: 102 mm.

Midship section of a cruiser type Takao. Red lines - NVNC plates, black - D type steel sheets

It was supposed to protect the engine and boiler rooms, as well as the main caliber barbettes with cellars. The central part of the belt had a uniform thickness (102 mm) and was connected by the upper edge to the middle deck. It was composed of 35-mm armor plates above the power plant and played the role of horizontal protection power plant.

The ends of the belt continued straight down for 1.7 m, decreasing in thickness (the thickness of the surface part was 127 mm, the underwater part narrowed from 76 mm at the top edge to 38 mm at the bottom). The extremities also served as structural protection for the underwater part of the hull: in the place where there was no anti-torpedo bulkhead, the belt was supposed to protect against “diving” shells. The lower deck, located above the cellars, had a slab thickness of 47 mm and was directly included in the hull's power structure, attached to the beams.

The barbettes above the lower deck were protected by 76-mm plates, but to save weight, the sectors at 30° from the DP had a thickness of 38 mm, since it was believed that adjacent barbettes would protect each other from longitudinal hits. The central part of the upper deck was additionally reinforced with two layers of HT steel plates with a thickness of 12.5-25 and 16 mm respectively.

Four transverse bulkheads, reaching to the level of the lower deck, were attached to the belt and played the role of traverses that protected the ammunition magazines. The first of them, which went around the first main building tower, had a thickness from 63 (edges) to 89 (center) mm, the second (in front of the first boiler room) - 38 mm. The third also went around the fourth tower and was assembled from 32 mm and 51 mm slabs, the last one from 76 mm.

The armor of the barbettes of the main caliber towers depended on their location. Towers No. 1, 3, 5, located on the upper deck, had a 25-mm supporting armor belt. The protection was located 1.52 m above the level of the lower deck and 0.31 below it, having a thickness of 63-127 mm (towers No. 1 and No. 3) and 63-102 mm (No. 5). The armoring of elevated installations No. 2 and No. 4 was somewhat different. In the interval between the lower and middle decks, the thickness of their armor cylinders was 76-127 mm (No. 2, lower part) and 38 mm (No. 4 and upper part of No. 2), between the middle and upper decks - 25 mm, above the upper deck - from 38 to 76 mm. The towers themselves had anti-fragmentation circular armor 25 mm thick.

The structural underwater protection against torpedoes and mines and the division into compartments were similar to those on Myoko. Protection below the waterline consisted of a double bottom and bulges with a torpedo bulkhead. Anti-torpedo protection had to withstand a hit from a torpedo with a warhead of 200 kg of shimosa. The curved anti-torpedo bulkhead was made of two layers of Ducolle steel with a thickness of 58 (29+29) mm. Behind the main belt there was a 25-mm longitudinal anti-fragmentation bulkhead; in addition, along the entire height of the boiler room there was another broken longitudinal bulkhead (thickness in the lower part - 6.35 mm, in the upper part - 3.8 mm), which was supposed to hold fragments that have pierced the armor belt and play the role of a filtration bulkhead when a leak occurs.

Power plant and driving performance

Power plant of type cruisers Takao generally repeated the type Myoko, however, the electric motor-generators used to rotate the internal propeller shafts at cruising speed and reducing drag, were replaced with two small induction turbines, which made it possible to quickly switch from cruising speed to full speed in a combat situation. However, in 1938-1939. These turbines were removed because mistakes were often made during the transition from cruising to full speed, leading to accidents.

Four turbo-gear units with a capacity of 32,500 hp. With. drove four three-bladed propellers (two front TPA - external propellers, two rear - internal); they were located in four engine rooms, separated by longitudinal and transverse bulkheads. Each TZA had four full-speed turbines (two low-pressure (LP) 8,250 hp each and two high-pressure (HPT) 8,000 hp each), operating through a gearbox with four drive gears on its shaft, as well as two rear turbines stroke (both low pressure and power of 4500 hp at 180 rpm). The external shafts (bow) also had a cruising turbine with a power of 3100 hp, connected through a gearbox to the shaft of the external turboprop engine, which was constantly used in all modes. The internal shafts had, in addition to two high-pressure engines and two low-pressure engines, a small induction turbine. The turbine rotors were made of durable steel, and the blades were made of stainless steel “B”.

Twelve water-tube three-collector boilers of the Kampon Ro type with oil heating and an operating pressure of 20 atm. were located in 9 compartments: three bow ones had 2 boilers each, the rest had one each. The shape of the chimneys differed from that adopted on the type Myoko: the stern pipe (chimney No. 3) was straight, and the bow pipe (chimneys No. 1 and 2) had a large slope back due to the increased size of the bow superstructure. At the level of the upper deck along the DP there was an auxiliary boiler of the RO type (pressure 14 atm.), and its chimney ran in front of the aft pipe. In 1936 this boiler was removed.

The number and power of generators (mains voltage 225 V) used to power the ship's electrical network, compared with the type Myoko was increased. Of the four 250 kW generators driven by internal combustion engines, two stood on the storage deck aft on the starboard side, one in the bow on the port side, and one on the middle deck above the MoD along the DP. A 225 kW diesel generator was located on the lower deck in the bow on the port side. Each MO had two supply and two exhaust fans of the Sirocco type. There were also four Weir-type fire pumps, which were also used to pump water from the boules.

With a maximum fuel supply (2645 tons of fuel oil), the actual cruising range was about 7000 nautical miles versus 8000 according to the design at 14 knots. For an 18-knot cruise, due to twice the required power of the propulsion system, the range was proportionally reduced to approximately 4000 miles.

Real parameters ride quality are given in the table.

Crew and habitability

According to the project, the crew consisted of 727 people, including 48 officers, but in fact before modernization it numbered from 743 to 761 people, that is, less than on the type Myoko due to the reduction in the number of anti-aircraft guns and torpedo tubes. Since the latter were located on the upper deck, most of the middle part, as well as the space on the lower one in front of the KO and behind the MO, were freed up for living quarters.

The sailors' quarters were located on the lower deck in the stern, as well as on the middle deck from the stern to the area of ​​​​the chimneys of the first and second boiler rooms. The officer's cabins were concentrated in the bow on the lower and middle decks, and there was also a wardroom there.

Living conditions, especially for junior officers, have become significantly better compared to predecessors of the type Takao. Thanks to good ventilation and air conditioning not only in the cellars, but also in the UAO posts, these cruisers were better suited for operations in the tropics and in the summer.

The ships had storerooms for rice and wheat, freezer for fish and meat. On the middle deck there were infirmaries with quarantine rooms, as well as separate (for officers, non-commissioned officers and sailors) galleys and baths.

Armament

Main caliber

Bow IJN Takao, 1932. Two bow gun turrets and 6-meter rangefinders on their roofs are visible

The main caliber consisted of ten 203-mm guns of the 3rd year No. 2 type in five two-gun turrets of the "E" type. The gun had a barrel length of 50 calibers and a maximum rate of fire of 4 rounds per minute. It was equipped with a piston bolt, the barrel was fastened with a semi-wire method, its total weight was 19.0 tons.

A new model of the main battery turret was developed by engineer Chiyokichi Hada for firing at both surface and air targets. The work was largely due to the appearance of the British installation for 8-inch guns with an elevation angle of 70°, which was created in 1923-24 for cruisers of the type Kent. The first three cruisers of the series received installations of the “E” model. After some use, it became clear that the maximum elevation angle should not exceed 55°, since the stated elevation of 70° required the use of delicate vertical aiming and recoil mechanisms and accordingly complicated the turret design. In addition, the following was revealed:

• the fixed loading angle of 5° did not allow achieving a rate of fire higher than 4 rounds per minute;
• due to the low rate of fire and aiming speed of the guns, it was almost impossible to conduct anti-aircraft fire;
• practical firing in 1933 revealed significantly greater dispersion of shells compared to its predecessors;
• The gun crews complained about the loud noise from the hydraulic system pumps.

That's why IJN Maya, the fourth cruiser of the type, received a modernized E1 installation with the required elevation angle.

The horizontal firing range at an optimal altitude of 45° for installations of both models was 29,400 m, anti-aircraft fire - up to an altitude of 10,000 m. External forms the turrets, due to their larger elevation angle, were somewhat different from the “D” model installed on the type Myoko.

At the time of entry into service, shells of the 1931 model (type 91) were used - armor-piercing with a ballistic cap, " general purpose"(high explosive) and two types of practical. Their standard ammunition was 1200 units (120 per barrel).

Universal artillery / Anti-aircraft weapons

The number of 12 cm/45 anti-aircraft guns of the 10 year type was reduced to four, since it was expected that main caliber guns would also be used for air defense purposes. They were installed in single panel units with an electro-hydraulic drive of type B2 on the sides of the chimneys on the anti-aircraft deck - shelter deck. For firing from these guns, 5 types of projectiles were used: high-explosive type 91 (1.7 kg of "shimoza") with a remote fuse of type 91, sighting with a remote fuse of type 91 (deceleration up to 30 s), illuminating (from March 30, 1938, illuminating type "A") with a remote fuse of type 91 and a training one with the same fuse and a training one without a fuse. The height reach of 120 mm guns at a maximum elevation angle of 75° was 8450 meters. The standard ammunition load was 1200 rounds (300 per barrel).

The growing role of aviation in naval battles stimulated the development of medium-range anti-aircraft weapons, but such weapons had not yet been developed by the time the new cruisers entered service. Therefore, two light single Vickers Mk anti-aircraft automatic guns were installed on either side of the rear chimney. VIII with a 40 mm caliber and two 7.7 mm “B” machine guns, which were imported from England. Due to the short effective firing range and low projectile speed, 40-mm guns began to be replaced with 25-mm machine guns and 13-mm heavy machine guns from the mid-1930s.

Torpedo weapons

The concept for the development of Japanese heavy cruisers provided for them to have powerful torpedo weapons. It consisted of four twin rotating 610-mm Type 89 torpedo tubes at the level of the upper deck, more precisely, on sponsons in the middle part of the ship between the upper deck and the shelter deck. This was done at the suggestion of Y. Hiragi in order to reduce possible damage in the event of a torpedo explosion. In addition, outside the TA, the torpedo warheads were protected by Ducolle steel cases.

The torpedo tubes, with a mass of 14.5 tons, a length of 8.5 m and a width of 3.4 m, had manual guidance; turning to a maximum of 105° took 22.3 seconds. Torpedoes were launched from them using compressed air for secrecy purposes. If necessary, powder charges could also be used. In order to somehow compensate for the reduced broadside salvo of torpedoes, for cruisers like Takao developed a system for fast reloading of torpedoes: under the shelter deck there was a system of suspended rails with hoists, with the help of which spare torpedoes were quickly supplied to any apparatus. There they were lowered onto electrically driven conveyors and loaded into pipes. Typically, reloading the TA took 3 minutes.

The type 90 steam-gas torpedoes used, with a launch weight of 2,540 tons, carried 390 kg of trinitroanisole and could travel 15,000 m at 35 knots, 10,000 m at 42 knots and 7,000 m at 46 knots. The ammunition load consisted of 16-24 torpedoes.

Aviation weapons

Seaplane Type 90 No. 2

Two powder catapults of the Kure type No. 2 model 3, adopted for service in 1932, were located on the upper deck between the main mast and the main gun turret No. 4 on the sides. New catapults made it possible to launch an aircraft weighing up to 3000 kg with an acceleration of up to 2.1 g and a speed of up to 28 m/s. The part of the upper deck between the catapults, known as the “aircraft” deck, was equipped with a rail system for moving fuel and lubricants, and the mainmast had a cargo boom for installing fuel and lubricants on the catapults and lifting them from the water on board after landing.

The air group for the project consisted of two two-seat Type 90 reconnaissance seaplanes, which were located wing to wing in a hangar, and one three-seat one. But in fact, due to the lack of the latter, only two two-seater aircraft were based on the cruisers in the first years of service. On Takao as a temporary measure, the obsolete three-seat type 14 No. 3 was additionally used.

Communications, detection and control

The main caliber fire control system on all four ships included two type 14 central aiming sights (VTsN), located on the top of the bow superstructure (main) and above the seaplane hangar (reserve), a type 13 target tracking sight (on the eighth tier of the superstructure) , three 6-meter (on the roofs of GK towers No. 1, 2 and 4), two 3.5-meter and two 1.5-meter rangefinders type 14 and four 110-cm search floodlights.

The sea is raging!
Far from Savo Island,

The Milky Way is spreading.

...On the night of August 9, 1942, a group of samurai walked around Savo Island counterclockwise, killing everyone who crossed their path. The cruisers Astoria, Canberra, Vincennes, and Quincy became victims of the crazy night battle; Chicago and two other destroyers were seriously damaged. The permanent losses of the Americans and their allies amounted to 1,077 people, the Japanese had three cruisers moderately damaged and 58 sailors killed. Having destroyed the entire American formation, the samurai disappeared into the darkness of the night.

The pogrom at Savo Island was described in American history as a “second Pearl Harbor” - so great was the severity of the losses and the great disappointment with the actions of the sailors. It remains unclear how the Yankees did not notice the roar and flashes at a distance of 20 miles sea ​​battle, beams of searchlights rushing across the sky and clusters of lighting bombs. No! The watchmen on the cruisers of the Northern formation serenely dozed under the thunderous peals of 203 mm guns - until the Japanese, having finally destroyed the Southern formation, moved to the North and attacked the second group of American ships.

The impressive Japanese victory off Savo Island was credited to the heavy cruisers Chokai, Aoba, Kako, Kunugasa and Furutaka. The cruising forces of the Imperial Navy became one of the main arguments in that war - ships of this class recorded many high-profile victories: a night battle off Savo Island, the defeat of an Allied squadron in the Java Sea, a battle in the Sunda Strait, raids in the Indian Ocean... - exactly those events , which glorified the Japanese fleet.

Even as radar appeared on American ships and the sea and air began to buzz with U.S. Navy technology, Japanese cruisers continued to fight, often achieving sporadic victories. High security allowed them to operate relatively successfully in conditions of numerical superiority of the enemy and withstand numerous hits from bombs, artillery and torpedoes.

As practice has shown, the combat stability of these ships was exceptionally high. The only thing that could destroy the armored monsters was extensive damage to the underwater part of the hull. Only after this, tormented by American explosives, they lay exhausted on the seabed.

There were 18 of them in total. Eighteen samurai, each with their own unique version of birth, history of service and tragic death. No one lived to see the end of the war.

Constructors' Championship

Japanese heavy cruisers built in the interwar period were, perhaps, the most successful ships in their class - powerful offensive weapons, solid armor (the Japanese did everything that was possible under international restrictions), successful anti-torpedo protection and effective counter-flooding schemes, high speed and autonomy sufficient to operate in any area of ​​the Pacific Ocean.

The calling card of the Japanese became “long lances” - oxygen super-torpedoes of 610 mm caliber, the most powerful examples of underwater weapons in the world (for comparison, their main opponent - the US Navy cruisers were completely devoid of torpedo weapons). The downside was the great vulnerability of Japanese cruisers - a stray shell hitting a torpedo tube on the upper deck could be fatal for the ship. The detonation of several Long Lances completely disabled the ship.

Like all cruisers of the “Washington period,” the samurai suffered severely from overload. No amount of bluff or forgery with the declared displacement could correct the situation - the engineers had to dodge in the most amazing ways so that, in the figurative expression of the Americans, who also suffered from the terms of the international Naval Arms Limitation Treaty, “pour a quart of liquid into a pint-sized container.”

We had to save on something: the main blow was dealt to the habitability of the ship and the conditions for accommodating personnel (within 1.5 square meters per person). However, little Japanese quickly got used to the cramped space - the main thing is that the ventilation works well.

The desire to forcibly reduce the cruiser to the coveted “10 thousand tons” yielded unusual results. The uncontrollable imagination of engineers, a “masquerade” with the main caliber - according to secret calculations, on some cruisers it was possible to quickly replace 6-inch guns with powerful 8-inch barrels, as well as some traditional solutions of the Japanese school of shipbuilding (for example, the shape of the bow ) - all this led to the creation of amazing examples of naval weapons, which brought many victories to the Land of the Rising Sun.

The Japanese cruisers were good in everything, except for one thing - there were too few of them: 18 desperate samurai could cope with the American cruisers of pre-war construction, but for every lost ship the Americans immediately “pulled out of their sleeves” five new ones. Total US industry from 1941 to 1945 built about 40 cruisers. Japan - 5 light cruisers, 0 heavy.

The effectiveness of the use of cruising forces was greatly affected by the scientific and technical backwardness of Japan. Due to the presence of torpedoes and high-quality preparation for conducting night artillery duels, Japanese cruisers had priority initial stage war, but with the advent of radar their advantage disappeared.
In general, the whole story about Japanese heavy cruisers is a cruel experiment on the topic: how long can an armored monster survive under continuous attacks from the sea surface, from the air and from under water. In conditions of many times superior enemy forces and the absence of even the slightest chance of salvation.

I invite our dear readers to get acquainted with some of these leviathans. What were their strengths and weak sides? Were the Japanese cruisers able to live up to the expectations of their creators? How did brave ships die?

Furutaka-class heavy cruisers

Number of units in the series – 2
Years of construction: 1922 – 1926.
Total displacement – ​​11,300 tons
Crew – 630 people.
Armor belt thickness – 76 mm
Main caliber – 6 x 203 mm

The first Japanese cruisers of the interwar period were designed even before the Washington restrictions came into force. In general, they turned out to be very close to the standards of the “Washington cruiser”, because were originally planned as scout cruisers in a hull with the minimum possible displacement.

An interesting arrangement of main caliber guns in six single-gun turrets (later replaced by three double-gun turrets). A typical Japanese wavy hull silhouette with an upturned bow and the lowest possible side at the stern. The low height of the chimneys, which was later recognized as an extremely unsuccessful solution. Armor belt integrated into the body structure. Poor conditions for accommodating personnel - Furutaka, in this sense, was the worst of the Japanese cruisers.

Due to the low height of the side, it was forbidden to use portholes during sea crossings, which, coupled with insufficient ventilation, made service in the tropics an extremely grueling undertaking.

History of death:

"Furutaka" - On October 11, 1942, during the battle at Cape Esperance, the cruiser received severe damage from 152 and 203 mm shells from American cruisers. The subsequent detonation of the torpedo ammunition, aggravated by the loss of speed, sealed the fate of the cruiser: 2 hours later the blazing Furutaka sank.

"Kako" - the day after the pogrom off Savo Island, the cruiser was torpedoed by the submarine S-44. Having received three torpedoes, the Kako capsized and sank. The US Navy received its “consolation prize.”

Aoba-class heavy cruisers

Number of units in the series – 2
Years of construction: 1924 – 1927.
Total displacement – ​​11,700 tons
Crew – 650 people.
Armor belt thickness – 76 mm
Main caliber – 6 x 203 mm

They are a modification of earlier Furutaka-class cruisers. Unlike its predecessors, the Aoba initially received two-gun turrets. The superstructure and fire control systems have undergone changes. As a result of all the changes, Aoba turned out to be 900 tons heavier than the original project: the main drawback of the cruisers was critically low stability.

"Aoba" lying on the bottom of Kure Harbor, 1945

"Aoba" - the cruiser covered with wounds was able to survive until the summer of 1945. Finally finished off by US Navy aircraft during regular bombing of the Kure naval base in July 1945.

Kunugasa - sunk by torpedo bombers from the aircraft carrier Enterprise during the Battle of Guandalcanal, 11/14/1942.

Myoko-class heavy cruisers (sometimes Myoko-class)

Number of units in the series – 4
Years of construction: 1924 – 1929.
Total displacement – ​​16,000 tons
Crew – 900 people.
Armor belt thickness – 102 mm
Main caliber – 10 x 203 mm

The first “Washington cruisers” of the Land of the Rising Sun, with all their advantages, disadvantages and original design solutions.

Five main caliber turrets, three of which are located in the bow of the ship in a “pyramid” pattern - ten 203 mm caliber guns. The armor scheme is generally similar to that adopted on the Furutaka cruiser, with individual elements being strengthened: the thickness of the belt was increased to 102 mm, the thickness of the armor deck above the engine rooms reached 70...89 mm, the total weight of the armor increased to 2052 tons. The thickness of the anti-torpedo protection was 2.5 meters.

A sharp increase in displacement (standard - 11 thousand tons, total could exceed 15 thousand tons) required a significant increase in the power of the power plant. The boilers of the Mioko cruisers were initially designed for oil heating; the power on the propeller shafts was 130,000 hp.

History of death:

"Mioko" - during a fierce battle off the island of Samar, it was damaged by a torpedo from a deck torpedo bomber. Despite the damage, he was able to hobble to Singapore. During emergency repairs, it was hit by a B-29. A month later, on December 13, 1944, it was again torpedoed by the submarine USS Bergall - this time it was not possible to restore the combat effectiveness of the Myoko. The cruiser was sunk in shallow waters in Singapore Harbor and was subsequently used as a fixed artillery battery. All that remained of the Myoko was captured by the British in August 1945.

“Nati” - in November 1944, in Manila Bay, was subjected to massive attacks by US Navy carrier-based aircraft, was hit by 10 torpedoes and 21 aerial bombs, broke into three parts and sank.

"Ashigara" - sunk by the British submarine HMS Trenchant in the Bangka Strait (Javan Sea), June 16, 1945.

Takao-class heavy cruisers

Number of units in the series – 4
Years of construction: 1927 – 1932.
Total displacement – ​​15200 - 15900 tons
Crew – 900-920 people.
Armor belt thickness – 102 mm
Main caliber – 10 x 203 mm

They are a natural evolution of the Myoko-class cruisers. Recognized as the most successful and balanced project among all Japanese heavy cruisers.

Externally they were distinguished by a massive, armored superstructure, which gave the cruisers a resemblance to battleships. The elevation angle of the main caliber guns increased to 70°, which made it possible to fire the main caliber at air targets. Fixed torpedo tubes were replaced with rotating ones - a salvo of 8 “long lances” on each side was capable of finishing off any enemy. The armoring of ammunition magazines has been strengthened. The composition of aviation weapons was expanded to two catapults and three seaplanes. High-strength steel “Dukol” and electric welding are widely used in the design of the hull.

History of death:

"Takao" - came under attack from the American submarine "Darter" on the approach to Leyte Gulf. With difficulty it reached Singapore, where it was turned into a powerful floating battery. On July 31, 1945, the cruiser was finally destroyed by the British dwarf submarine XE-3.

"Tokai" - mortally wounded in a battle near the island of Samar, as a result of a shell hitting a torpedo tube. A few minutes later, the flaming box of the cruiser was bombed by carrier-based aircraft. Due to the complete loss of speed and combat effectiveness, the crew was removed and the cruiser was finished off by the escort destroyer.

Mogami-class heavy cruisers

Number of units in the series – 4
Years of construction: 1931 – 1937.
Total displacement - about 15,000 tons
Crew – 900 people.
Thickness of the armor belt – 100…140 mm
Main caliber – 10 x 203 mm

Having become familiar with the information obtained by intelligence about the new Japanese cruiser Mogami, Chief designer Her Majesty's fleet just whistled: “Are they building a ship out of cardboard?”

Fifteen 155 mm guns in five main battery turrets, universal artillery of 127 mm caliber, long lances, 2 catapults, 3 seaplanes, armor belt thickness - up to 140 mm, massive armored superstructure, power plant with a capacity of 152 thousand hp. ... and all this fit in a hull with a standard displacement of 8500 tons? The Japanese are lying!

"Mogami" with its bow torn off - the result of a collision with the cruiser "Mikuma"

At the same time, the Mogami-class cruisers were monstrously overloaded, had poor seaworthiness and critically low stability, which, in turn, affected their stability and the accuracy of artillery fire. Due to these shortcomings, the lead cruiser of the project was Mogami in the period from 1942 to 1943. underwent modernization and was turned into aircraft carrier- instead of a stern artillery group, the ship received a hangar for 11 seaplanes.

Aircraft carrier "Mogami"

History of death:

"Mogami" - damaged by artillery fire in the Surigao Strait on the night of October 25, 1944, the next day it was attacked by carrier-based aircraft, collided with the cruiser "Nati" and sank.

Mikuma was the first Japanese cruiser lost in World War II. Was attacked by carrier-based aircraft in the battle of Midway Atoll, June 7, 1942. The detonation of the torpedo ammunition left no chance of salvation: the skeleton of the cruiser, abandoned by the crew, drifted for 24 hours until it disappeared under water.

"Mikuma" after the detonation of its own torpedoes. On the roof of the fourth tower you can see the wreckage of a downed American plane (similar to Gastello’s feat)

"Kumano" - lost its bow end in a skirmish with American destroyers in Leyte Gulf, and was damaged by carrier-based aircraft the next day. A week later, while moving to Japan for repairs, he was torpedoed by the submarine Ray, but still managed to reach Luzon. On November 26, 1944, it was finally finished off by carrier-based aircraft in the harbor of Santa Cruz: the cruiser was hit by 5 torpedoes, completely destroying the hull of the Kumano. Oh, and it was a tenacious beast!

Tone-class heavy cruisers

Number of units in the series – 2
Years of construction: 1934 – 1939.
Total displacement – ​​15,200 tons
Crew – 870 people.
Armor belt thickness – 76 mm
Main caliber – 8 x 203 mm
A special feature of the Tone was its advanced aviation armament - up to 8 seaplanes (in reality no more than 4).

"Tone" on the way to Midway

The whimsical appearance of the Tone was dictated by a serious calculation - this arrangement of the main battery towers made it possible to reduce the length of the armored citadel, saving several hundred tons of displacement. By unloading the aft end and shifting the weights to the midsection, the strength of the hull was increased and seaworthiness was improved, the spread of main battery salvos was reduced, and the behavior of the ship as an artillery platform was improved. The freed aft part of the cruiser became a base for the deployment of aviation - now seaplanes were not exposed to the risk of exposure to powder gases, in addition, this made it possible to increase the air group and simplify the operation of aircraft.

However, for all the apparent genius of this solution, the placement of all the main battery turrets in the bow had an important drawback: a dead zone appeared on the stern corners - the problem was partially solved by turning a couple of main battery turrets with their barrels backwards. In addition, one single hit threatened to disable the entire main battery of the cruiser.

In general, despite a number of significant and insignificant shortcomings, the ships turned out to be worthy and frayed a lot of nerves of their opponents.

History of death:

"Tone" - the damaged cruiser was able to escape from Leyte Gulf and reach its native shores. Was restored, but never saw combat at sea again. On July 24, 1945, she was sunk by American aircraft during a raid on the Kure naval base. On July 28, the wreck of the cruiser was bombed again by US Navy aircraft.

"Tikuma" (also found "Chikuma") - sunk by carrier-based aircraft in Leyte Gulf, October 25, 1944.

Heavy cruiser "Tikuma"

Thank you to all the readers for making it through this entire list of quirky Japanese titles!

Based on materials:
http://www.warfleet.ru/
http://www.wikipedia.org/
http://www.wunderwaffe.narod.ru/
http://hisofweapons.ucoz.ru/

The Japanese heavy cruiser "Maya" of the "Takao" or "improved Myoko" class is presented here for the period July-October 1944. The model was assembled by me in February 2011.

About the historical prototype

The heavy cruiser was built: the hull - at the Kawasaki shipyard, the mechanisms - in Kobe. Shipyard number 550. During construction it had symbol: "Class A" cruiser No. 11. The cost of the ship was estimated at 28.37 million yen. It was named after a mountain in Hyogo Prefecture. Delivered to the navy on June 30, 1932.
Before and during the war, the ship was modernized several times at the Yokosuka Navy Yard.
During the war, he took an active part in hostilities throughout the Pacific theater, repeatedly opening fire on targets using all available means.

Before assembly

We have:

• model of the heavy cruiser "Maya" complete with a small photo-etch kit;
• a set of figurines of Japanese sailors in work clothes from Fujimi;
• black nylon threads;
• Revell and Tamiya paints;
• Aber rail;
• remains of sprues and Hasegawa photoetch for IJN (QG 35, 72135);
• auxiliary means.

Working literature.

• Suliga S. "Japanese heavy cruisers. Volume 1"
• Suliga S. "Japanese heavy cruisers. Volume 2."
• Magazine from the series "War at Sea" No. 26: Heavy cruisers of Japan.
• Illustrated encyclopedia "Cruisers of the Second World War. Hunters and defenders."
• Wikipedia.

Assembly

The paint used and where it was applied.

1. Revell enamel No. 4 - clothes of sailor figurines;
2. Revell enamel No. 8 - shells in the hands of sailor figures and the upper parts of the mainmast and chimneys;
3. Revell enamel No. 15 - leading edges of seaplane wings;
4. Revell enamel No. 35 - hands and heads of sailor figurines;
5. Revell enamel No. 37 - from the waterline and below;
6. Revell enamel No. 90 - all glazing;
7. Revell enamel No. 94 - screws;
8. Revell enamel No. 314 - boat awnings, the inside of the boats and the base of the main battery guns;
9. Revell enamel No. 363 - seaplanes E13A1 type 0;
10. Tamiya acrylic XF-56 - rails and radars No. 13 and No. 21;
11. Tamiya acrylic XF-77 - all that is gray;
12. Tamiya acrylic XF-78 - deck on the boat on the starboard side under the crane;
13. Tamiya acrylic XF-79 - deck covered with linoleum.

Ship

The ship's hull is assembled using a frame system.
It took some fiddling to get the aft deck and hull to fit together.

Also pictured is the torpedo deck with spare torpedoes, which will be covered by another deck during assembly.

Polyethylene bushings are inserted into the bases of the barbettes of the main battery towers, into which the main main column towers are in turn inserted. The main battery turrets themselves have a crossbar inside, to which the main battery guns cling. Main battery turrets and guns remain movable. All main battery guns are raised and lowered independently of each other, with the maximum elevation angle of the guns on the model being equal to the historical prototype - 55 degrees.
Torpedo tubes, auxiliary artillery and catapults are also supplied with bushings by some model manufacturers, but this is not the case here. They are fixed.
Shields of three-barreled 25-mm machine guns made of photo-etching, which the ship was equipped with as standard.
There were some minor difficulties when working with the citadel. The installation of a monolithic anti-aircraft searchlight platform in the area of ​​chimneys is not very well thought out. In the photo it has just been installed and not yet painted.

Improvements

Leera.
All railing cut and installed after the fact. On the sides it was based on the principle of mirror reflection.

Anti-aircraft weapons and radars.
A)
During the major modernization of the historical prototype in December 1943 - April 1944, while in dry dock No. 4, Maya was converted into an air defense cruiser. During it the most hallmark The damaged GK turret No. 3 was dismantled. In its place were installed 2x2 127-mm universal guns without shields. The 4x2 120-mm shielded universal guns were also replaced with 4x2 127-mm universal without shield guns, 9x1 25-mm machine guns and 36x1 detachable 13-mm machine guns were installed.
During the last modernization and repair at the end of June 1944 after Operation Sho, 18x1 25-mm machine guns (14 + 4 removable) were added to the cruiser. All machine guns were removed. They also installed an air defense radar No. 13 (also called “type 13”) at the rear of the foremast.
B)
Based on the presence of radars and single-barreled 25-mm machine guns, I discovered that the ship model was “timeless.” Complete absence of 25 mm machine guns and 13 mm machine guns. There were only 13x3 25mm machine guns. In the picture of the ship on the box there is radar No. 13.
In the book Suliga S. "Japanese heavy cruisers. Volume 2" he found a top view of the ship's drawing for April 1944 and August 1944, indicating the location of the 25-mm machine guns and radar No. 13. I decided to assemble a model with the look after the last modernization. Armed with this material, I drilled holes d = 1 mm with a Tamiya battery-powered drill in the right places and installed single-barreled 25 mm machine guns left over from the Hasegawa models. The No. 13 air defense radar at the rear of the foremast is Hasegawa photo-etch for IJN (QG 35, 72135).

Crew.
I received figurines of Japanese sailors in work clothes from Fujimi inside the base sets of the battleship-aircraft carrier "Ise" (1 set) and the battleship "Fuso" (2 sets: 1 in work clothes and 1 in ceremonial clothes). Unlike Tamiya figures, Fujimi figures are not flat. It was installed almost spontaneously - it would be strange to see an artilleryman in the place of a signalman and vice versa. There are shells in the hands of the sailors near the double-barreled 127-mm universal guns. The signalmen do not have binoculars. The figures were not originally painted and were painted by hand by me. The hands are also painted.

The right photo partially shows the port bow torpedo tube and the fully completed anti-aircraft searchlight platform.

Flagpole.
The ship does not have a stern flagpole. By analogy with other ships, I installed a flagpole at the top of the mainmast from scrap materials. Flag from Fujimi.

I repent. I missed a little by not installing 1 stern dumper for depth charges. It should be located on the poop in the longitudinal axis of the ship.

The fate of the historical prototype

Ironically, the air defense ship was killed not by aircraft, but as a result of an attack from under water at 7:05 on October 23, 1944, northwest of the island. Palawan (southeast South China Sea). Having become a victim of the American submarine SS-247 "Dace", which at 6:56 "planted" 4 Mk 14 torpedoes into its port side from the chain locker to the mainmast. The fatal torpedo for the ship was the 2nd torpedo, which hit the base of the main gun turret No. 1 and caused a fire. 9 minutes (according to other sources 10 minutes) after the torpedoing, as a result of an explosion from the fire of the cellars of the main battery towers No. 1 and No. 2, the ship turned over on the left side and sank. Of the 1,105 crew members, 336 died. All those rescued were transferred to the battleship Musashi, which itself, in turn, was later subjected to massive attacks by American carrier aircraft and was eventually sunk. During these attacks, the Maya's crew was reduced by another 134 people. Among these dead was the commander of the Maya, Ranji Oye (in command of the ship from December 26, 1943 to October 23, 1944). A total of 470 people died.

In contact with

At the outbreak of World War II, the Imperial Japanese Navy was the third largest navy in the world, second only to the US Navy and the British Navy. As of December 1941, the Japanese fleet included 18 heavy cruisers. In general, the structure and combat composition of the fleet were more offensive than defensive in nature. Japanese heavy cruisers were large ships with exceptionally powerful gunfire and torpedoes, high speed navigation and significant draft. Cruisers were excellent for conducting combat operations at night. Their significant size, combined with powerful power plants, will make it possible to modernize the cruisers with little cost, strengthening their torpedo and anti-aircraft artillery weapons. Distinctive features The external appearance of the cruisers became pagoda-shaped superstructure towers, by which Japanese cruisers can be easily distinguished from the cruisers of the fleet of any other country in the world. In addition to the unusual-looking superstructures, the designers also installed extremely unusual curved chimneys on the cruisers. These caressing glances naval aesthetes' ships went through the entire crucible of the war in the Pacific Ocean.

Takao-class cruisers

Takao-class cruisers

Washington's Takao-class cruisers were a further development of the Myoko-class ships, from which they were distinguished by massive armored superstructures more suitable for battleships. The Takao-class ships became the largest cruisers of the Imperial Japanese Navy and the culmination of the principles laid down by the designer Hiraga during the experimental light cruiser"Yubari." The overall management of the design of the cruisers was carried out by Fuhimoto, whom he advised while serving as head of the design department of the Navy's technical department, Hiraga. Initially, it was decided to install rotary torpedo tubes on cruisers at the level of the upper deck. It was believed that the probable detonation of a torpedo from a shell hitting a torpedo tube installed on the upper deck would lead to less damage to the ship than in the case of the detonation of a torpedo loaded into a torpedo tube hidden in the hull. The Takao-class cruisers have the tallest middle chimney, making these ships easily identifiable. The maximum elevation angle of the main caliber guns was increased to 70 degrees, which made it possible to fire the main caliber at air targets. The thickness of the main armor belt was 12.7 cm (5 inches) - one inch more than that of the Myoko-class cruisers. Due to the Japanese practice of fitting as many different things as possible into a hull of limited dimensions, the cruisers turned out to be heavily overloaded above the waterline.

"Takao" and its sister ships "Atago", "Maya" and "Chokai" were built according to the shipbuilding program of 1927–1931. All four cruisers were laid down between April 28, 1927 and April 5, 1931. "Takao" and Atagi were built at naval shipyards in Yokosuka and Kure, respectively, Maya was built by Kawasaki at its own factory in Kobe, and Chokai was assembled from metal by Mitsubishi in Nagasaki. According to tradition, the ships were named after the highest peaks of the Japanese islands.

In wartime, the length of the cruiser "Takao" along the hull was 203.8 m. The width along the mid-frame was 20.4 m. The draft was 6.32 m. The test displacement with 2/3 of loaded supplies was 14,838 tons. The total displacement was 15,875 tons. The cruisers had 12 Canton boilers, four turbo-gear units and four propellers. Power plant power - 133,000 liters. c...full speed - 34.25 knots. The estimated cruising range at 14 knots is 8,500 nautical miles. In the flagship version, the cruiser's crew consisted of 970 people.

The thickness of the armor belt of Takao-class cruisers is 127 cm, the thickness of the armored deck is 35 mm, and the thickness of the superstructure walls is 10–16 mm.

During the war, the main caliber of Takao-class cruisers were 203 mm guns in five two-gun E-type turrets. three towers are placed in the bow, two in the stern. The middle artillery is composed of eight. 127-mm universal type 10 NA cannons in four two-gun turrets, two turrets on each side. Other artillery - 25 automatic cannons of 25 mm caliber in twin and triple mounts, 12 type 96 machine guns in six twin mounts. In 1944, about 26 more single-barrel machine guns of type 96 were installed on the cruisers. The ammunition for the four four-tube torpedo tubes model 1 was 24 torpedoes of type 93. The cruisers were equipped with two aircraft catapults each, and provision was made for basing three seaplanes on one ship.

All four cruisers entered service between March 30, 1932 and June 30, 1932. They were registered at the Yokosuka naval base; the ships did not change their registration during the war. Takao-class cruisers replaced the Myoko-class cruisers as part of the 4th Division of the 2nd Fleet. From May 31, 1932 to June 2, 1938, four heavy cruisers repeatedly took part in maneuvers, cruises and reviews of the Imperial Japanese Navy. During operation, the ships' insufficient stability became obvious, which forced the fleet command to make a difficult decision to modernize the cruisers. The cruisers Takao and Agago were modernized in 1938–1939. After “minor modifications,” the fleet received virtually new ships with a different appearance, far superior to themselves before the repair in terms of the balance of speed, security and weapons. At the same time, they did not sleep on modernizing the cruisers “Maya” and “Chokai”.

After modernization, the cruisers Takao and Atagi again became part of the 4th Division, which cruised off the coast of China, supporting Japanese army operations on the continent. On September 20, 1941, Maya replaced Takao as the flagship of the 4th Cruiser Division, and preparations for the coming war soon began. In the Pescador area, the cruisers of the 4th Division linked up with the battleships Kongo and Haruna of the 3rd Division, thereby forming the core of the Southern Forces, commanded by Admiral Kondo. Kondo's fleet provided long-range cover for operations in Malaya and Borneo. In February 1942, "Takao", "Atago" and "Maya" were left in Palau in order to fight submarines, for which purpose guides for dropping depth charges were mounted on the cruisers.

After the fighting at the port of Darwin. Australia, and the islands of Java, the cruisers Takao and Maya went to Yokosuka for repairs, during which the latest 127-mm universal guns in twin turrets were installed on the ships. All four Takao-class cruisers spent some time engaged in combat and political training in the waters of the Metropolis, after which they (excluding the cruiser Chokai, sent to Truk as part of the 6th Division), escorted by the light cruisers Yuno and Ryujo, took part in the operation against the Aleutian Islands, which was carried out with the aim of diverting American attention from Midway.

When the Americans landed on Guadalcanal, the cruisers of the 4th Division (Takao, Atago and Maya), along with the ships of the 5th Division (Myoko and Haguro), joined Admiral Nagumo's carrier group. This powerful Japanese fleet clashed with the American formation TF-61 in the Battle of the Solomon Islands. All five Japanese heavy cruisers took part in the night battle with American ships, and at the end of the Battle of Santa Cruz they took part in the sinking of the aircraft carrier Hornst.

On the night of November 14-15, 1942, the cruisers Takao and Atago, along with the old battleship Kirishima, as well as destroyers, were sent to bombard Henderson Field. However, the Japanese squadron met on its way the battleships of the United States Navy, South Dakota and Washington. Both American battleships concentrated their fire on the Japanese battleship Kirishima, allowing both Japanese cruisers to fire with their main guns without interference. The South Dakota was then hit by at least 16 high-explosive shells of 203 mm caliber. fired from a distance of only 5 km by both Japanese cruisers. In that battle, “Takao” was not injured at all, but “Atago” received moderate damage. A huge fire broke out on the Kirishima, and the battleship later sank. "South Dakota" left the battlefield under her own power, and the next day she was ready to take part in the battle again.

After activity related to the evacuation of the Guadalcanal garrison subsided, type 21 radars and triple installations of 25-mm automatic guns were installed on the cruisers Takao, Maya and Atago in Yokosuka. The cruisers then returned to Truk and took part in the Combined Fleet operation in the Enewetak Atoll area. On November 5, 1943, the 4th Division's cruisers were anchored off Rabaul's Simpson Harbor when they were unexpectedly attacked by aircraft from the aircraft carrier Task Force 38.

At Takao, in the area of ​​the barbette of the main caliber tower No. 2, a 225 kg bomb hit. After another dry docking at Yokosuka and returning to Truk, the cruisers of the 4th Division took part in the Battle of Marianna on June 19–20, 1944 - the participation turned out to be purely nominal, since the cruisers did not fire a single shot at the enemy.

On October 22, 1944, four Takao-class cruisers passed through the Palawan Strait - the great naval battle of Leyte Gulf began. On October 23, the Takao was hit by two torpedoes fired by the American submarine Darter. Through the holes made in the side by the torpedo explosion, large quantities of water began to flow into the boiler rooms of the cruiser. The explosions also damaged the starboard steering and propellers. A fire started on the ship, the cruiser received a list of 10 degrees. The cruiser was rescued again by flooding the compartments on the opposite side, but now the Takao was sitting too low in the water. The fire was extinguished, after which the Takao, accompanied by two destroyers, slowly sailed to Brunei. The Darter submarine also fired four torpedoes into the Takao sister-ship cruiser Atago, and after some time the cruiser sank. Admiral Kurita managed to escape and transferred his flag to the battleship Yamato. Around the same time, another United States submarine attacked the cruiser Maya, firing four torpedoes from its bow torpedo tubes. The torpedoes hit the left side of the cruiser. On October 25, when the Japanese Central Force intercepted Rear Admiral Clifton Sprague's force of American escort carriers, the cruiser Chokai was heavily damaged by a bomb dropped by a TBM-1 aircraft that took off from the deck of the light aircraft carrier Kitkin Bay. The damage turned out to be so serious that the cruiser had to be finished off by Japanese destroyers with torpedoes due to the impossibility of towing. The battles in Leyte Gulf fully demonstrated the extreme vulnerability of Takao-class cruisers from bombs and shells. The cruisers Atago, Maya and Chokai were removed from the lists of the Imperial Japanese Navy on the same day - December 20, 1944.

Heavily damaged Takao. the only surviving ship of the series, it safely reached first Brunei and then Singapore, where it joined the 1st Southern Expeditionary Fleet along with the cruisers Mioko, Ashigara and Haguro. The Takao was not repaired; it, along with the damaged Myoko, was sunk on a sandbank and used as an anti-aircraft battery. Not knowing the real condition of the cruisers, the British sent two midget submarines to destroy them, which on July 31, 1945 tried to attack the ships. By mistake, both submarines approached the side of the same ship - Takao. Each mini-sub carried a demolition charge weighing 1 tine less than six 35 kg “sticky” mines. For some reason the demolition charges did not explode, but the sticky mines made a significant hole in the hull. Strange, but the cruiser, sunk in shallow water, refused to sink further... the cruiser was finally sunk in the Strait of Malaak by the British after the end of hostilities - on October 27, 1946. Officially, the cruiser "Takao" was excluded from the lists of the Japanese fleet on May 3, 1947, thereby point in the history of these Japanese cruisers.

IJN Maya

Historical data

Total information

EU

real

doc

Booking

Armament

Artillery weapons

• 5 × 2 - 203 mm/50 type 3rd year No. 2.

Flak

• 4 × 1 120 mm/45 type 10,;
• 2 × 1 40 mm/39 "B" type;
• 2 × 7.7 mm type "B";.

Mine and torpedo weapons

• 8 (4 × 2) - 610 mm TA type 89 (24 torpedoes type 90).

Aviation group

• 2 catapults, 3 seaplanes: 2 x Nakajima E4N2 type 90 (since 1936 Nakajima E8N2 type 95) and 1 x Kawanishi E7K2 Type 94.

Same type ships

Background and history of creation

Consequences of the First World War. Washington Naval Agreement of 1922

Disagreements between Japan, the USA and England that arose at the end of the First World War led to an arms race. Increasingly heavier and heavily armed battleships were designed. Traditional heavily armored, slow battleships and huge battlecruisers like Lexington did not suit the United States, since the Panama Canal was not designed for ships with a displacement of 40,000 tons and required expensive reconstruction. The performance characteristics of Japan's new battle cruisers, which were superior in armament and armor to their foreign counterparts, also caused great concern in Europe and the United States. Europe also had big problems with the IUD. England, which had big amount already morally old dreadnoughts, spent huge amounts of money on their maintenance and at the same time built new ships.

The political situation in the world was also problematic. First World War led to a change in the economic and political balance. England was gradually losing its position as a world leader. By playing the role of supplier, the United States developed its economy. They produced 85% of the world's cars, controlled 20% of the world's gold production, 50% of coal, 60% of aluminum, 66% of oil, while the country's population was only 6% of the world's population. In addition to everything, the US has become the world's creditor. England's debt amounted to 4.7 billion dollars, France - 3.8, and Italy - 1.9.

The second country to take advantage of the First World War was Japan. Between 1914 and 1918, Japanese industry expanded and displaced British and American-made goods from Chinese markets. Goods from Japan even penetrated the markets of South and Central America, which frightened America.

All this aggravated the situation Far East. In order to defuse the current situation and satisfy the interests of the leading maritime countries, it was decided to hold a disarmament conference in Washington. The result was the signing of the Washington Naval Treaty on February 6, 1922 between the USA, England, France, Italy and Japan.

• The United States is stopping construction of 15 new battleships and decommissioning 17 old ones. England stops building planned ships and scraps 19 old ones. Japan stops building 15 ships and decommissions 11 old ones;
• In the future, the tonnage of the battle fleets of Japan, the USA and England should be in the ratio 3: 5: 5;
• It is prohibited to build battleships with a displacement of more than 35,000 tons and armament with more than 406 mm guns;
• Instead of being scrapped, 2 battleships can be rebuilt into aircraft carriers (displacement no more than 33,000 tons);
• It is prohibited to build new aircraft carriers with a displacement of more than 27,000 tons;
• On aircraft carriers it was prohibited to install weapons larger than 203 mm, more than 10 guns with a caliber of 128-203 mm (on aircraft carriers with a displacement of 27,000 tons, more than 8 guns with a caliber of 128-203 mm).

The first generation of "Washington" cruisers

Design and construction

The construction of the next four heavy cruisers was included in the new shipbuilding program, which was approved by the Minister of the Navy Kakuichi Murakami and the Chief of the General Staff Gentaro Yamashiti. The new naval minister, Takeshi Takarabe, replacing Kakuichi Murakami, presented this program on September 13, 1924 in parliament. However, parliament refused to finance the construction of cruisers. The adoption of a positive decision was not helped by the fact that on December 18, 1924, US President Calvin Coolidge announced the suspension of construction of 6 of 8 heavy cruisers planned under the “first cruiser bill” ( USS Pensacola And USS Salt Lake City already built). Then Takarabe turned to the Ministry of Finance with a program to replace 49 ships sent for scrapping with 43 new ones. The program also included the construction of 4 new cruisers instead of outdated armored cruisers IJN Tone , IJN Chikuma , IJN Hirado , IJN Yahagi .

The development of the project, at the beginning of 1925, was again taken up by Captain 1st Rank Kikuo Fujimota, who replaced Yujiro Hiraga as head of the basic design department. The General Staff set the following requirements:

• The armor of the artillery magazines must withstand a 203 mm shell hit at a right angle from a distance of 10 kilometers.
• The armor of the power plant must withstand hits from a projectile at a right angle of 152 mm and at an acute angle of 203 mm from a distance of 7-20 km.
• Bullets must withstand hits from 1-2 torpedoes
• Cruising range is 8,000 nautical miles.
• Maximum speed over 33 knots
• The main caliber must have large elevation angles
• Adequate air defense systems
• Four twin torpedo tubes on the upper deck
• Three seaplanes
• Can be used as a flagship.

Since many of the requirements were met by the existing type Myōkō, it was decided to create a new cruiser based on it. New project called "Improved" Myōkō"and was prepared by the beginning of 1926. Returning from a trip to England, Yuzuru Hiraga consulted with Kikuo Fujimota and made some changes. The main differences between the new cruiser and the type Myōkō was:

• The main caliber was modified and placed in new E2 type turrets, the gun elevation angle was increased to 70°;
• Enhanced armoring of artillery cellars;
• Use of steel “D”, aluminum and electric welding;
• Castle-like superstructure;
• Two catapults instead of one;
• Rotating torpedo tubes on the upper deck.

The first three differences are due to the influence of Yuzuru Hiragi, who, as a result of a trip to England, learned from the chief designer Eustace d'Eincourt about the features of the construction of cruisers of the type Kent. The fourth point was due to the fact that the cruisers were supposed to be used as a flagship and, if necessary, to place headquarters on them. The fifth distinction was demanded by the General Staff, based on intelligence data that American cruisers 2 catapults installed. And the sixth change was demanded by the sailors themselves.

Since the torpedo charge reached almost 500 kg of explosives, it was decided to move the torpedo tubes to the upper deck and place them on special sponsons. In this case, when a shell hit, the torpedo explosion dissipated in the air without causing significant damage to the hull.

The project for the construction of four new cruisers was approved and submitted to Parliament by Takeshi Takaraba on October 9, 1926, and was adopted in March 1927. Funds for construction were included in the budgets of 1927 and 1928.

In the 1927 fleet replacement program, the cruiser IJN Maya appeared as "Large Type Cruiser No. 7", after which it was given the name "Class A" Cruiser No. 11." Official name Maya The cruiser was received on September 11, 1928, in honor of the mountain in Hyogo Prefecture where construction took place. The order for construction was received by the private company Kawasaki. The estimated cost of the ship is 28.37 million yen. Laid down on December 4, 1928 (shipyard number 550) at the Kawasaki shipyards, Kobe, Hyogo Prefecture. Due to good funding, the cruiser was built relatively quickly and was launched on November 8, 1930. Sea trials of the new cruiser took place on April 4, 1932 in the Kii Strait, where it showed a maximum speed of 35.0 knots with a power plant of 133,352 hp. Fully manned and entered into the Imperial Japanese Navy Register on June 30, 1932, she was then assigned to the Yokosuka Naval Base and given the official name IJN Maya.

Description of design

Frame

The layout and hull design were similar to previous cruisers of the type Myōkō, with the exception of the enlarged superstructure. The ratio of the length and width of the body was 11.4. This body shape made it possible to achieve high performance speed, and the undulating upper deck and curved stem, characteristic of all Yuzuru Hiragi’s projects, gave the cruiser excellent seaworthiness. To reduce the weight of the hull, the armor of the sides and decks was included in the power hull. Same compared to type Myōkō, the thickness of the upper deck was reduced, which overall made it possible to increase the thickness of the armor without adding much weight to the hull itself. The hull was made primarily from high-strength steel of the NT type, and Dukol armored steel (steel D) and chromium-nickel armored steel were also used.

The layout of the case was as follows. In the bow of the ship, three main-caliber towers were installed in a pyramid, followed by a huge 10-tier superstructure. In the central part of the ship there was a four-legged foremast and an anti-aircraft deck, followed by a mainmast with a cargo crane, then two catapults and a hangar for seaplanes. Then two main battery towers were installed, and right next to the sternpost, under the deck, there was a smoke generator for setting up a smoke screen.

The main caliber was represented by two-gun turrets of the “E” type. Because cruisers Takao were built as fleet flagships, the superstructure was increased compared to the type Myōkō and added 2 tiers. Although the height (27 meters from the water level) of the superstructure remained the same size, it was significantly lengthened and redesigned. All this led to a threefold increase in volume. The superstructure itself had the following layout:

Cruiser superstructure (right view). The figure shows numerous observational optical instruments binocular type (rangefinders, binoculars)

Booking

IJN Maya was a representative of the second generation of “Washington” cruisers. Chief designer Yujuro Hiraga decided to polish his brainchild, a cruiser of the Myōkō", and used it when creating the type Takao steel “D”, the recipe for which he brought back from a long trip to England. Previous mistakes were also taken into account, which led to increased armor for artillery magazines.

During the first military modernization, in the summer of 1943, two twin ones were installed on the Maya, so the number of barrels was 16. At the same time, a new radar No. 21 was installed, capable of detecting a single aircraft from a range of 70 km, and a group of them from 100 km.

In the fall of 1943, in response to the increased threat from aviation, a decision was made to rebuild the Maya into an air defense cruiser. From December 5, 1943 to April 9, 1944, the following work was carried out in Yokosuka:

• Instead of the damaged GK turret No. 3, two twin 127 mm Type 89 anti-aircraft guns were installed;
• Instead of four 120 mm Type 10 anti-aircraft guns, four twin 127 mm Type 89 anti-aircraft guns were installed. Thus, their number per cruiser increased to 6;
• Instead of 8 twin ones, 13 triple and 9 single ones were installed, as well as 36 single 13.2 mm type 93 machine guns and two 7.7 mm;
• The twin Type 89 torpedo tubes were dismantled and four Type 92 quad torpedo tubes were installed instead;
• Two type 91 SUAZOs were replaced by two new type 94;
• To the two Type 95 sighting columns, another one was added on the bridge.
• Additionally, radar No. 22 was installed to detect surface targets.
• All portholes on the lower deck and some on the middle deck were welded shut;
• Dismantling of seaplane hangar;
• The anti-aircraft deck was extended to the fourth main battery tower, and a rail system was installed on it for the movement of seaplanes. The size of the air group was reduced from three to two. The cruiser now carried two three-seat Type 0 seaplanes;
• The boules were replaced with larger ones, part of the space of which was always filled with steel tubes, and the rest was used for storing fuel or in a counter-flooding system. This made it possible to withstand a torpedo explosion with a force of 250 kg of TNT equivalent, instead of 200 kg previously.

The cruiser "Maya" during sea trials after modernization in 1943-1944. The E13A1 “Jake” reconnaissance floatplane is visible on the catapult

The result of the modernization was an increase in the standard displacement to 13,350 tons (from 2/3 of the reserves - 15,159 tons). Maximum speed decreased to 34.25 knots. The full-time crew increased to 996 people (55 officers and 941 sailors).

At the beginning of 1944, a radar receiver and type 2 infrared communication devices were installed on the Maya. And in the summer of 1944, eighteen additional single 25 mm automatic anti-aircraft guns type 96 were installed (the crew grew from 996 people to 1105), as well as an additional radar No. 13 A superheterodyne receiver was installed on radar No. 22 of the 4th modification, which made it possible to use it in a fire control system. Type 92 target heading and speed computers were dismantled.

Service history

Pre-war period

After the ship was delivered on June 30, 1932, IJN Maya was assigned to the naval base in Yokosuka. And in the pre-war period she took part in many maneuvers, exercises and campaigns.

On December 1, 1932, Captain 1st Rank Yamamoto Koki, former captain of the cruiser, took command of the cruiser IJN Naka. Together with IJN Takao , IJN Atago And IJN Chōkai became part of the 4th cruiser division.

When firing at a long distance, during night exercises in April 1933, a large scatter of main caliber guns was revealed. Between June 29 and July 5, 1933 IJN Maya as part of the 4th Division, together with IJN Aoba , IJN Kinugasa And IJN Kako(6th Division), made a trip to the shores of Taiwan. And in July-August of the same year we went to the southern seas. On August 25, 1933, she took part in the naval parade in Yokohama. In September 1933 IJN Maya arrived in Yokosuka for modernization. After the work was completed, Yamamoto Koki handed over command to Captain 1st Rank Niimi Masaichi, who had previously commanded IJN Yakumo .

Between February and April 1934 IJN Maya, as part of the 4th Division, took part in shooting exercises off the coast of Kyushu. And in September, she and the 6th Division visited Ryojun and Qingdao. From October 22 to December 30 in Yokosuka IJN Maya underwent scheduled repairs and modernization, as a result of which the cruiser received improved steering. At this time, instead of Niimi Masaichi, who received the rank of rear admiral, Captain 1st Rank Ozawa Jisaburo takes command of the ship.

Between March 29 and April 4, 1935 IJN Maya together with IJN Takao , IJN Atago , IJN Chōkai , IJN Aoba , IJN Kinugasa And IJN Kako spent a 6-day trip to the shores of Central China. And in August-September, the cruiser took part in the annual fleet maneuvers off the coast of Honshu. After this, on November 15, 1935, IJN Maya and other cruisers of the type Takao were transferred to the Yokosuka Conservation District.

Cruisers IJN Maya And IJN Chōkai off the coast of China, October 21, 1938. A seaplane is mounted on the catapult Kawanishi E7K2

From July 9 to September 20, 1936 IJN Maya once again underwent modernization, the strength of the hull was increased by installing additional sheets of steel. And on October 29, the cruiser took part in the fleet review in Kobe. December 1, 1936 IJN Maya became part of the 4th Division of the Second Fleet.

From March 27 to April 6, 1937 IJN Maya took part in a 9-day trek to the Qingdao region, and in August - to the Ryojun region. On November 15, Captain 1st Rank Suzuki Yoshio takes command of the ship.

In April 1938, the cruiser took part in a campaign to the shores of South China, and in September-October, together with IJN Chōkai and cruisers like Mogami conducted training shooting west of the island of Kyushu. After which they again made a trip to the coast of Southern China.

In March 1939, the cruiser sailed to the coast of Northern China, and on April 4, as part of the 4th cruiser division, fired at a radio-controlled target ship IJN Settsu. The spread was 330 m at a distance of 18.3 km. 15th of November IJN Maya was transferred to the Yokosuka base as a gunnery training ship, returning back to the 4th Division only on May 1, 1940.

In February 1941 IJN Maya again carried out a campaign to the coast of Southern China, and in March took part in exercises near the island of Kyushu. In April and autumn 1941, in accordance with the order to carry out the 1st phase of expeditionary preparations, the cruiser was docked in Yokosuka. September 20 IJN Maya replaced IJN Takao as the flagship of the 4th Cruiser Division.

Participation in World War II

After the outbreak of World War II IJN Maya, part of Admiral Kondo's fleet, supported fleet forces with long-range fire during operations in Malaya and Borneo.

In February 1942 IJN Maya, along with cruisers IJN Takao And IJN Atago, relocated to Palau to combat submarines. To do this, guides for dropping depth charges were mounted on the cruisers. And at the end of February - beginning of March, he took part in the capture of the island of Java. 2nd of March IJN Maya together with IJN Takao , IJN Atago , IJN Arashi And IJN Nowaki sank two Allied destroyers: British HMS Stronghold and American USS Pillsbury. After that IJN Maya went with IJN Takao to Yokosuka for repairs, during which IJN Maya Two twin 25 mm Type 96 automatic anti-aircraft guns were installed instead of quadruple 13.2 mm Type 93 machine guns. After repairs, for some time the crew of the cruiser was engaged in combat and political training in the waters of the Metropolis.

Early June 1942 IJN Maya escorted from light aircraft carriers IJN Jun"yō And IJN Ryūjō, took part in the operation against the Aleutian Islands, which was carried out with the aim of diverting American attention from Midway. During this operation IJN Maya As part of Admiral Kakuta's fleet, she took part in the attack on Dutch Harbor. When the Americans landed on Guadalcanal, IJN Maya together with IJN Takao , IJN Atago , IJN Myōkō And IJN Haguro came under the command of Admiral Nagumo. Together with the aircraft carriers of Admiral Nagumo, the cruisers entered into battle with the American formation TF-61 at the Battle of the Solomon Islands. And at the end of the battle of Santa Cruz, an aircraft carrier was sunk USS Hornet .

During the Battle of Guadalcanal on November 14 IJN Maya together with IJN Takao And IJN Kinugasa fired at the Henderson Field airfield from a long distance (by firing 866 high-explosive shells at it from the main caliber). After which they were attacked by American aircraft. During this raid, IJN Maya was rammed dive bomber Douglas SBD Dauntless, because of this, 120 mm anti-aircraft artillery shells detonated, killing 37 crew members. After repairs in Yokosuka on January 30, 1943, the cruiser IJN Maya was transferred to the Northern Union. And on March 27, he took part in the hostilities near the Commander Islands. During the battle, the cruiser expended 904,203 mm of shell and 16 torpedoes, damaging together with

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