- Super Type A Cruiser
The Super Type A Cruiser was planned by the
Imperial Japanese Navy in response to the American "Alaska"-class large cruiser. Two ships, designated Hull Numbers 795 & 796, were planned under the 1942 Program. A rough plan, "Project 64", was for a ship of similar size and armament to the "Alaska"-class, with nine convert|30|cm|in|abbr=on guns in three triple turrets. "Project 65", the last basic design, was for a larger ship of about 31,000 standard tons displacement armed with nine convert|36|cm|in|abbr=on guns. The secondary armament was to consist of sixteen of the new convert|10|cm|in|abbr=on dual-purpose guns. Eight convert|60|cm|in|abbr=on torpedo tubes were featured in Project 64, but no torpedoes were included in Project 65. Maximum speed was to be 33 knots. Project 65 was Japan's last design for a large, gun-armed warship.The Super Type A was similar in concept to the original
battlecruiser promoted by Jackie Fisher beforeWorld War I . It was to destroy enemy scouting cruisers, being able to catch and destroy such cruisers but outrun and evade enemybattleship s. Although not much smaller than the British "King George V"-class battleships, and with similar armament, they would have been far less heavily armoured. However, they would have had no speed advantage over the American "Iowa"-class battleships, which were larger and much more heavily armoured and armed, as well as more numerous. The basic design seems to have been a much-enlarged variation of Japanese heavy cruiser designs rather than a scaled-down, faster version of the "Yamato"-class battleship.Ironically, the "Alaska"-class cruiser were ordered by the
United States Navy because of mistaken intelligence reports about a super-heavy Japanese cruiser.Fact|date=December 2007This was the only Imperial Japanese Navy design of battleship size that featured a dual-purpose secondary armament, intended to serve as both secondary anti-surface guns and the primary anti-aircraft defense. Previous designs featured secondary guns of convert|14|cm|in|abbr=on or convert|15|cm|in|abbr=on caliber for use against surface targets along with a heavy anti-aircraft battery of convert|12.7|cm|in|abbr=on guns. This wasted critical weight and space as well as providing a weaker anti-aircraft armament than battleships with dual-purpose guns. American and British designs from the 1930s avoided this mistake.
Although planning for these ships reached a more advanced stage than the "Super Yamato"-class battleships, no orders were ever placed with Japanese contractors. After the
Battle of Midway , construction of all Japanese warships except carriers, destroyers, and submarines was reduced to the lowest priority.References
* Hansgeorge Jentschura, Dieter Jung & Peter Mickel, "Warships of the Imperial Japanese Navy, 1869-1945", Arms & Armour Press, 1977.
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