Katori class (1939)
 The katori in 1940.
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The Katori class ( Japanese 香 取 型 練習 巡洋艦 , Katori-gata renshū-jun'yōkan ) was a class of three school cruisers ( light cruisers ) of the Imperial Japanese Navy , which were used in World War II . After the ship of the line from 1904, she is the second class of ship in the Japanese Navy to bear this name.
history
Development history
In the mid-30s, the Imperial Japanese Navy needed new training ships to replace the old armored cruisers ( Izumo , Iwate , Yakumo and Kasuga ) that had been used for this purpose . Originally it was planned to convert three light cruisers of the Kuma class accordingly, but since Japan had withdrawn from the naval agreements at the end of 1936 , there were no more arms restrictions. Therefore, the Admiral's staff decided in 1937 to build a new class of ships for long-distance training trips for officer candidates , which could also serve as flagships in the event of war .
The design of the class reflected their area of responsibility, as the emphasis was placed on the accommodation facilities - these were generous according to the standards of the Navy - and training facilities. Therefore, much of the equipment found on other ships in the Navy should be installed, including a variety of weapons, fire control and navigation equipment. The bridge was also designed for the simultaneous training of a large number of trainees. A drive system consisting of steam turbines and diesel engines was also provided for training purposes, with which a speed of 18 knots was achieved. Since speed was not an important basis for planning, the length-width ratio was only 8.15, which gave the ships a squat appearance.
construction
The first two ships ( Katori and Kashima ) were ordered with hull numbers 72 and 73 as part of the 3rd district building program (Maru 3 Keikaku) from 1937 and laid down in August and October 1938 at the Mitsubishi shipyard in Yokohama . They were launched in June and September 1939 and entered service in April and May 1940, respectively. Furthermore, as part of the 4th district building program (Maru 4 Keikaku) from 1939 and the additional program ( Maru Rin Keikaku ) from 1940, another ship each with the construction numbers 101 ( Kashii ) and 237 ( Kashihara ) was ordered from Mitsubishi in Yokohama . The Kashii , laid down in April 1939 , was put into service in July 1941. For the hull of the Kashihara , which was laid down in August 1941, construction was stopped on November 6, 1941. It was no longer completed. The 6th district building program (Maru 6 Keikaku) of 1942 called for the construction of four more units - construction numbers 815 to 818 - as part of a less advanced project, but these plans were not implemented.
Mission history
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The Katori resulted in service, along with her sister ship Kashima their only major training journey. After her return, she was converted for use as a command ship of the 1st U-Boat Squadron and from May 1941 was used as the flagship of the 6th (U-Boat) fleet in Truk . As this she was slightly damaged by an attack by American carrier aircraft on February 1, 1942 near Kwajalein . After being repaired in Japan, it returned to Truk in April. Apart from two small overhauls in Japan, she remained until February 1944 as the flagship of the 6th Fleet in the Central Pacific , mainly in Truk. From then on, she was placed under the command of the escort forces and ordered to Japan to be converted into a anti-submarine ship . Her departure was scheduled for February 17, 1944. Which is why she was still in Truk when Operation Hailstone began and was hit by an aircraft torpedo. After the temporary repair, the Katori went to sea and encountered an American cruiser association about 40 nautical miles northwest of Truk, which sank her on February 18.
The Kashima was on her return from her only major training voyage, which she had carried out with her sister ship after her commissioning. Used as the flagship of the Sentai 18 from November 15, 1940 and as the flagship of the 4th Fleet from December 1, 1941 . In that capacity, it spent most of its time in Truk, with two overhauls in Japan. In November 1943 it was ordered that the function of the flagship should be given to the light cruiser Nagara and that the Kashima should return to Japan to take on training tasks. From December 1943 to 1944 she conducted training trips in the Seto Inland Sea and was used in a number of emergency transports. In December 1944 to the end of January 1945 she was converted into a anti-submarine ship. During this use she operated in the East China and Japan Seas , but could not record any successes against American submarines . After the end of the war, she was decommissioned and removed from the fleet list. But carried out repatriation trips until November 1946 and was then broken up.
The Kashii was stationed in French Indochina after its commissioning in July 1941 . From there she escorted ship for the invasion of Malaya after the war began . From February 1942, she did the same with the invasion of Sumatra . After the surrender of the Dutch East Indies , she stayed in the southwest and operated from Singapore . Like the Kashima , she was ordered to return to Japan in November 1943 to conduct training trips. These were only short-lived, as from March 1944 she was placed under the command for escort forces and converted into a anti-submarine ship. This conversion was completed in just one month in the Kure naval shipyard and the Kashii was used as the lead ship of the 1st Escort Squadron , which operated in the East China Sea . While escorting a ten-ship convoy, the Kashii was intercepted by Task Force 38 planes . After a torpedo hit amidships and two bombs, one hit the depth charge magazine, she was sunk on January 12, 1945. Only 19 men of the crew survived.
List of ships
| Construction no. | Surname | Shipyard | Keel laying | Launch | Commissioning | Whereabouts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 72 |
Katori (香 取 ) |
Mitsubishi , Yokohama | August 28, 1938 | June 17, 1939 | April 20, 1940 | sunk by American artillery on February 18, 1944, during Operation Hailstone northwest of Truk |
| 73 |
Kashima ( 鹿島 ) |
October 6, 1938 | September 25, 1939 | May 31, 1940 | decommissioned in October 1945 and scrapped until 1947 | |
| 101 |
Kashii ( 香 椎 ) |
October 4, 1939 | October 15, 1940 | July 15, 1941 | Sunk on January 12, 1945 by an American air raid by Task Force 38 east of Vietnam in the South China Sea |
|
| 237 |
Kashihara ( 橿 原 ) |
August 23, 1941 | Construction stop on November 6, 1941 - later scrapped | |||
| 815 816 817 818 |
Construction contracts not awarded | |||||
technical description
hull
The hull of a Katori -class cruiser was 129.77 meters long, 15.95 meters wide and had a draft of 5.75 meters with an operational displacement of 6,279 tons . The armor protection consisted of an armored deck up to 50 mm thick.
drive
It was driven by three oil-fired steam generators - Kampon boilers of the Yarrow type - with two geared turbine sets and two diesel engines , with which a total output of 8,000 HP (5,884 kW ) was achieved. The power was delivered to two shafts with one screw each . The top speed was 18 knots (33 km / h ). 600 tons of fuel could be bunkered, resulting in a maximum travel distance of 9,900 nautical miles (18,335 km) at 12 knots.
crew
The crew consisted of 315 men and an additional 275 students could be embarked.
Armament
artillery
The main armament of the Katori- class ships consisted of four 14-cm anti-tank guns with a caliber length of 50 Type 3 . Introduced in 1916, this gun had a rate of fire of 6 to 10 rounds per minute and a lifespan of 800 rounds. These are the same guns that the previous light cruisers of the Imperial Japanese Navy carried. It could fire a 38 kilogram grenade up to 15.8 kilometers and was housed in two 50 ton lightly armored twin towers (type A2). These were set up in the ship's center line, one in front of the bridge structure and one behind the aft deckhouse. These towers had a lateral directional speed of 4 ° per second, an elevation speed of 6 ° per second and an elevation range of −5 ° to + 35 °.
Air defense and other armament
For anti-aircraft were two 12.7-cm-guns type 89 in twin carriage - inflated to the tower B to the aft deck house - and four 2.5-cm automatic cannon of the type 96 in twin carriages at the level of the bridge is available. In addition, two twin torpedo tube sets with a caliber of 61 cm for torpedoes of the type 93 were on board as torpedo armament amidships at the height of the funnel .
Due to the strong Allied air forces and the change in the area of responsibility during the war, there was a continuous reinforcement or change of the armament. A start was made to equip all three ships with two additional 2.5 cm twin mounts. From March 1944 ( Kashii ) or January 1945 ( Kashima ), the remaining ships were converted into anti-submarine units. The two torpedo tube sets were given ashore and replaced by four 12.7 cm Type 89 guns in twin mounts. In addition, four 2.5 cm triplet mounts and two depth charge drainage rails and four launchers for 300 depth charges were installed on the aft deck .
At the end of the war, the Kashima had light anti-aircraft armament consisting of 48 2.5 cm guns (4 triplets - 4 twins and 28 single mounts) and 8 13.2 mm type 93 machine guns in single mounts.
Fire control systems and sensors
Fire control system
Two cross- sectional rangefinders with a base length of 4.5 meters were available for fire control . Furthermore, two searchlights on platforms in front of the position of the torpedo tube sets.
Sensors
To search for submarines one was echolocation system of the type 93 and a hydrophone -Set the Type 93 scaffolded. This hydrophone set consisted of two groups of eight sensors each, one group on each side of the ship.
Board aircraft
For purposes of clarification, the disposal Katori class with a board aircraft of the type Aichi E13A . This was launched via a swiveling aircraft catapult , which was located between the chimney and the aft tripod mast. On their return, the machine landed on the water and was lifted back onto the ship or catapult by a derrick located on the aft three-legged mast .
literature
- Harald Fock: Fleet Chronicle - The active warships involved in the two world wars and their whereabouts . Koehlers Verlagsgesellschaft, Hamburg 2000, ISBN 3-7822-0788-2 , p. 173-200 .
- Hansgeorg Jentschura, Dieter Jung, Peter Mickel: Warships of the Imperial Japanese Navy 1869-1945 . US Naval Institute Press, Annapolis 1977, ISBN 0-87021-893-X , pp. 111 (English).
- Mark Stille: Imperial Japanese Navy Light Cruiser 1941–45 . Osprey Publishing , Oxford 2012, ISBN 978-1-84908-562-5 , pp. 42-46 .
Web links
- Katori class on ww2technik.de
- Katori class on combinedfleet.com (English)
- Katori class on navypedia.org (English)
Individual evidence
- ↑ Type 3 14 cm cannon. In: navweaps.com. Retrieved January 8, 2020 .
- ↑ Japanese Sonar and Asdic (USNTMJ E-10). (PDF) US Navy Technical Mission to Japan, December 14, 1945, pp. 7 and 11 , accessed on June 18, 2020 .