Japanese cruiser Kurama

nihongo|"Kurama"|鞍馬 was the second (and final) vessel of the two-ship "Ibuki"-class of heavy cruisers in the Imperial Japanese Navy. "Kurama" was named after Mount Kurama located north of Kyoto, Japan. On 28 August 1912, "Kurama" and its sister ship Ibuki were re-classified as battlecruisers by the Japanese navy.

Background

The "Ibuki"-class cruisers were planned during the Russo-Japanese War and authorized under the 1904 Supplemental Naval Budget, at the same time as the "IJN Tsukuba," but with heavier guns. "Ibuki" was designed with geared turbine engines which promised more power and hence, more speed; however, problems with these engines led the "Kurama" to be completed with conventional vertical VTE reciprocating engines. "Kurama" built at Yokosuka Naval Arsenal.

ervice record

Shortly after commissioning, the "Kurama", Admiral Shimamura Hayao on board, was sent on a voyage to Great Britain for the coronation ceremony of King George V, visiting Singapore, Aden, Malta, Portsmouth and Spithead on the way. On the way back, it called on France, Italy and Austria.

"Kurama" played an important role in World War I as part of Japan's contribution to the Allied war effort under the Anglo-Japanese Alliance, in protecting British merchant shipping in the South Pacific, and (together with the battleships "Kongō" and "Hiei") supporting the landings to occupy German-held Caroline Islands and Mariana Islands.

In the 1920s, "Kurama" was assigned to the northern fleet, covering the landings of Japanese troops in Russia during the Siberian Intervention in support of White Russian forces against the Bolshevik Red Army.

After the war, the "Kurama" fell victim to the Washington Naval Treaty and was scrapped after a short service life of only 15 years.

References

*cite book
last = Evans
first = David
authorlink =
year = 1979
title = Kaigun : Strategy, Tactics, and Technology in the Imperial Japanese Navy, 1887-1941
publisher = Naval Institute Press
location =
id = ISBN 0-87021-192-7
*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

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