Furutaka (ship, 1926)

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Furutaka
Heavy cruiser Furutaka 1926
Heavy cruiser Furutaka 1926
Ship data
flag JapanJapan (naval war flag) Japan
Ship type Heavy cruiser
class Furutaka class
Shipyard Mitsubishi , Nagasaki
Keel laying December 5, 1922
Launch February 25, 1925
Commissioning March 31, 1926
Whereabouts Sunk on October 12, 1942
Ship dimensions and crew
length
185.17 m ( Lüa )
width 16.93 m
Draft Max. 5.61 m
displacement easy: 8,561 t

Testing: 10,507 t maximum: 11,273 t

 
crew 604 (draft)

630 (insert)

Machine system
machine 10 Kampon steam boilers
Machine
performance 		110,000 PS (80,905 kW)
Top
speed 		33 kn (61 km / h)
propeller 4th
Armament

1926:

  • 6 × 1 20 cm L / 50 No. 1
  • 4 × 1 8cm L / 40 type 3
  • 2 × 1 7.7 mm L / 94 MG
  • 6 × 2 Ø 610 mm torpedoes

1942:

  • 3 × 2 20.32 cm L / 50 No. 2
  • 4 × 1 12 cm L / 45 type 10
  • 2 × 2 13.2mm L / 76 type 93
  • 4 × 2 25mm L / 60 type 96
  • 2 × 4 Ø 610 mm torpedo

The Furutaka ( Japanese古 鷹) was a heavy cruiser of the Japanese Navy during World War II . The ship was named after Mount Furutaka on the island of Etajima in Hiroshima Bay and was the type ship of the Furutaka class .

Calls

American identification drawing of the Furutaka ; State of construction around 1940

For the first few years the cruiser was assigned to the 5th Squadron (Sentai), operated in Chinese waters and took part in many combat exercises.

From 1937 to 1939 the Furutaka was fundamentally rebuilt. Its six cannons were now arranged in three instead of the previous six towers. The air defense was also reinforced by additional anti-aircraft cannons.

At the beginning of the Pacific War she took part in the conquests of Guam and Wake . From March to May 1942 she was involved in the offensive operations around New Guinea and the Solomon Islands and took part in the Battle of the Coral Sea. When the Allies captured Guadalcanal and Tulagi in August 1942 , they were ordered to counterattack with the 6th Squadron, which ended in the successful battle of Savo Island for the Japanese .

Downfall

From August to October 1942 she accompanied the Japanese supplies to Guadalcanal ( Tokyo Express ). On October 11, she ran together with two other cruisers and two destroyers towards Guadalcanal to bombard American positions. The Japanese unit surprisingly came across an American task force consisting of four cruisers and five destroyers, which was operating in the area. In the battle of Cape Esperance that followed, the Furutaka was badly hit. It was abandoned after unsuccessful attempts to stop the water ingress. The crew was picked up by other ships, and the Furutaka sank.

Evidence and references

Remarks

  1. ↑ for 1939 according to Japanese Cruisers of the Pacific War. P. 803 - Construction dates before modernization are described in the class article.

literature

  • Eric LaCroix, Linton Wells: Japanese Cruisers of the Pacific War. US Naval Institute Press, 1997, ISBN 0-87021-311-3 .

Web links

Commons : Furutaka  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Coordinates: 9 ° 1 ′ 59 ″  S , 159 ° 33 ′ 0 ″  E