Japanese cruiser Mikuma
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|
 IJN Mikuma in Sukumo Bay, Shikoku, April 1939 |
|
| Career |  |
|---|---|
| Ordered: | |
| Laid down: | 27 October 1931 |
| Launched: | 31 May 1934 |
| Commissioned: | 29 August 1935 |
| Struck: | |
| Fate: | Sunk by U.S. in the Battle of Midway, 6 June 1942 |
| General Characteristics | |
| Displacement: | 13,440 tons (full load) |
| Length: | 201.6 m (661 ft 5 in) |
| Beam: | 22 m (66') |
| Draft: | 5.5 m (19') |
| Machinery: | Four-shaft impulse single geared turbines |
| Power: | 152,000 shp (113 MW) |
| Speed: | 35 knots (69 km/h) |
| Complement: | 850 |
| Protection: | 100 mm (3.9") belt, 35 mm (1.4") deck, 25 mm (1") turrets, 127 mm (5") magazines |
| Armament: | 15 × 155 mm (6.1") (5×3) DP, 8 × 127 mm (5") DP, 4 × 40 mm (1.57") AA, 12 × 60 cm (24") TT (4 × 3), 3 × Type 1 scout aircraft |
| Aircraft: | 3 |
Mikuma (三隈) was a Mogami class cruiser in the Imperial Japanese Navy.
[edit] Design
For the 1931 Fleet Replenishment Program, believing themselves understrength in cruisers, the IJN chose to build to the maximum allowed by the Washington Naval Treaty. This resulted in the choice of 155 mm in five triple turrets (a first for Japan) in the Mogamis, also capable of 55° elevation, making Mogamis one of the very few classes of Cruiser to have a Dual Purpose (DP) main battery; this was coupled with very heavy anti-aircraft protection, as well as the standard reloadable, turreted torpedo tubes, also unique to IJN.
To save weight, electric welding was used, as was aluminum in the superstructure. Aiming to meet the weight limits compelled them to only ten boilers (compared to twelve in the previous Atago and Nachi classes), trunked into a single funnel stack (which also saved tophamper). The new impulse geared turbines added 22,000 shp over Atago, increasing the top speed by 1.5 kt (2.8 km/h). Protection, however, was not stinted on; the class proved able to take substantial punishment.
The designers, however, had overreached; excessive topweight led to instability, and gunnery trials revealed cracking hull welds. Hull bulges were retrofitted to Mogami and Mikuma, and added to Kumano and Suzuya, increasing beam to 19.2 m (63') and displacement to 11,200 tons, cutting speed by 2 kt (3.7 km/h).
Beginning in 1939, the class was brought in for substantial reconstruction, replacing the triple 155 mm turrets with twin 203 mm (8"), turning over the 155 mm turrets for the battleship Yamato. Torpedo bulges were also added; in all, displacement rose over 13000 tons, and speed dropped to 34.5 kt (63.8 km/h).
[edit] War service
After covering invasion forces in Malaya and the Dutch Indies, Mikuma took part in the battle of Sunda Strait and the battle of Midway, where Mogami and Mikuma collided trying to avoid a submarine attack; Mikuma was finished off on 6 June 1942 by aircraft from USS Enterprise and Hornet.
[edit] References
- See also Richard E. Fleming
[edit] Books
- D'Albas, Andrieu (1965). Death of a Navy: Japanese Naval Action in World War II. Devin-Adair Pub. ISBN 0-8159-5302-X.
- Dull, Paul S. (1978). A Battle History of the Imperial Japanese Navy, 1941-1945. Naval Institute Press. ISBN 0-87021-097-1.
- Lacroix, Eric; Linton Wells (1997). Japanese Cruisers of the Pacific War. Naval Institute Press. ISBN 0-87021-311-3.
[edit] External links
[edit] Notes
| Mogami-class cruiser |
| List of cruisers of the Imperial Japanese Navy List of cruiser classes of the Imperial Japanese Navy |
