Agano class cruiser

The four nihongo|Agano class cruisers|阿賀野型軽巡洋艦|Agano-gata keijunyōkan were light cruisers operated by the Imperial Japanese Navy. They participated in numerous actions during World War II.

The "Agano"-class was followed by the larger "Oyodo" class, of which only one vessel was completed.

Background

The Imperial Japanese Navy had standardized on 5,500 ton displacement light cruisers as flagships for destroyer and submarine squadrons, and numerous vessels constructed shortly after World War I served in this role. The "Agano" class was conceived in the 1930s as a replacement for the now aging "Tenryu", "Kuma" and "Nagara" classes. Larger than these previous light cruisers, the "Agano"-class vessels were fast, but with little protection, and were under-gunned for their size.

Originally they were to have four 6.1-inch twin mounts but X turret was eliminated to allow a heavier torpedo armament and to save on costs.

Design

Initial design specifications for the "Agano" class called for a nominal 5,000 ton displacement hull with six convert|6.1|in|mm|0|sing=on guns and eight inch dual purpose guns. Its armor was designed to protect against 6 inch gun and vital parts had additional protections. The Agano class was unique among Japanese cruisers in that its main armament could elevate to 55 degrees, but this was still not enough to make them effective as anti-aircraft weapons.

The hull was flush-decked, and a bulbous bow was used for the first time on a Japanese warship.

The engines were a quadruple-shaft geared turbine arrangement with six boilers, developing 100.000 shp for a maximum speed of 25 knots. Like "Yubari", the "Agano"-class had its stacks join into a single funnel.

As completed, the main armament was the same type of 152 mm (6 inch) gun as used on the Kongo class battlecruiser. This gun fired a 100-lb projectile convert|22970|yd|m|-1. Secondary armament consisted of four 80 mm HA, which were actually 3-inch (76.2 mm) guns in two twin mountings. These guns fired a 13.2-lb projectile and were of unique size in the Japanese navy. The design was equipped with thirty-two 25 mm AA guns. The torpedo tubes were mounted on the centerline as was more common with destroyers, and had a rapid reload system with eight spare torpedoes. The design included a single catapult forward of the main mast, with stowage for two floatplanes. Depth charge equipment was also fitted.

In subsequent upgrades, the 25 mm anti-aircraft weaponry increased to 46 sets by 1944, and then to 52 sets and finally 61 sets by July 1944 on the surviving ships.

hips in class

Four ships were budgeted under the 1939 4th Naval Replenishment Programme, three from the Sasebo Navy Yard and one from Yokosuka Arsenal.

;"Agano"

Completed on 31 October 1942, "Agano" participated in the battles for Guadalcanal and the Solomon Islands during 1943. "Agano" was badly damaged in Rabaul harbor by aircraft from USS "Saratoga" and USS "Princeton", and in a subsequent attack by aircraft from TF38 on 11 November she received a torpedo hit. Ordered to home waters for repair, she was torpedoed and sunk north of Truk by the US submarine USS "Skate", on 16 February 1943.;"Noshiro"

Commissioned on 30 June 1943, "Noshiro" participated in operations in the Solomon Islands and was damaged during the US carrier aircraft raids on Rabaul on 5 November 1943. She served in the Marianas in the summer of 1944, and was part of Admiral Kurita's force during the Battle of the Philippine Sea. At the Battle of Leyte Gulf in October 1944. She was west of Panay while withdrawing from the Battle off Samar on the morning of 26 October when she was sunk by aircraft from "USS Wasp" (CV-18) and "USS Cowpens" (CVL-25).

;"Yahagi"

Commissioned on 29 December 1943 "Yahagi" saw action in the Marianas in May/June 1944, during the Battle of the Philippine Sea, and during the Battle of Leyte Gulf. After the US invasion of Okinawa on 1 April 1945, she was ordered to accompany the "Yamato" on its suicide mission against the American fleet at Okinawa. "Yahagi" was hit by some seven torpedoes as well as a dozen bombs, and sank on the afternoon of 7 April 1945.

;"Sakawa""Sakawa" was not completed until the end of 1944, by which time there was little fuel available, and she survived the war unscratched. After the war she was expended in the atom bomb tests at Bikini Atoll in 1946.

References

Books

*cite book
last = D'Albas
first = Andrieu
authorlink =
year = 1965
title = Death of a Navy: Japanese Naval Action in World War II
publisher = Devin-Adair Pub
location =
id = ISBN 0-8159-5302-X
*cite book
last = Dull
first = Paul S.
authorlink =
year = 1978
chapter =
title = A Battle History of the Imperial Japanese Navy, 1941-1945
publisher = Naval Institute Press
location =
id = ISBN 0-87021-097-1
*cite book
last = Howarth
first = Stephen
authorlink =
year = 1983
title = The Fighting Ships of the Rising Sun: The drama of the Imperial Japanese Navy, 1895-1945
publisher = Atheneum
location =
id = ISBN 0-68911-402-8
*cite book
last = Jentsura
first = Hansgeorg
authorlink =
coauthors =
year = 1976
chapter =
title = Warships of the Imperial Japanese Navy, 1869-1945
publisher = Naval Institute Press
location =
id = ISBN 0-87021-893-X
*cite book
last = Lacroix
first = Eric
authorlink =
coauthors = Linton Wells
year = 1997
chapter =
title = Japanese Cruisers of the Pacific War
publisher = Naval Institute Press
location =
id = ISBN 0-87021-311-3
*cite book
last = Whitley
first = M.J.
authorlink =
coauthors =
year = 1995
chapter =
title = Cruisers of World War II: An International Encyclopedia
publisher = Naval Institute Press
location =
id = ISBN 1-55750-141-6

External links

*cite web
last = Parshall
first = Jon
coauthors = Bob Hackett, Sander Kingsepp, & Allyn Nevitt
year =
url = http://www.combinedfleet.com/agano_c.htm CombinedFleet.com: "Agano" class
title = Imperial Japanese Navy Page (Combinedfleet.com)
work =
accessdate =

ee also

*List of World War II ships