Japanese cruiser Sakawa

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The Sakawa was an Agano class light cruiser that served with the Imperial Japanese Navy during World War II. Since it never entered combat, the Sagawa is most often remembered as a target ship during Operation Crossroads, the American nuclear weapon tests of 1946.

[edit] Description

Displacement: 6650 tons
Speed: 35 knots
Range: 6300 nm at 18 knots
Main armament: six 6 inch / 50 caliber guns (100 pound shell; 600 pound broadside; 23,000 yard range; rate of fire of 6-10 rounds per minute)
Secondary armament: four 3 inch / 60 or 65 caliber dual-purpose guns (13 pound shell; 14,870-yard range; 29,850-foot ceiling; rate of fire of 40 rounds per minute)
Antiaircraft armament: sixty-one 25 mm antiaircraft guns
Torpedo armament: eight 24 inch tubes
Antisubmarine armament: 16 depth charges
Aircraft: two aircraft carried, launched by a single catapult
Propulsion: 100,000 shp with 1,405 tons of oil

[edit] History

Sakawa was laid down November 21, 1942. The vessel was launched April 9, 1944 and was completed November 30, 1944. The ship never saw combat. The Sakawa sunk in July 1946, during Operation Crossroads.

During World War II, the Sakawa served in training exercises and tested an anti-radar coating painted on submarines. The Sakawa was tasked to attack the United States' fleet in the Battle of Okinawa but no fuel was available.

The Sakawa was taken as war reparations by the United States after the conclusion of World War II. The ship was eventually taken to Bikini Atoll for Operation Crossroads, which evaluated the effects of atomic weapons against ships. The ship's final trip was eventful, with five American soldiers court-martialed for sabotage during the trip; the sailors were angry at poor working conditions. In a ship normally staffed by 730 men, the U.S. Navy used a crew of 165 doing the work of 325[1].

The ship was badly damaged during the Able blast of July 1, 1946. While the fore of the ship remained largely intact, the aft superstructure was nearly flattened by the blast. The nuclear weapon started a fire that burned through the night. The next morning, a tug boat, the USS Achowani, tried to tow the Sakawa toward a beach to prevent the latter ship from sinking. The Sakawa instead started sinking almost as soon as towing began, and, with a tow cable connecting the two ships, the Achomawi started to be dragged down, too. After a number of attempts, sailors cut the tow cable with an acetylene torch. The Sakawa sank July 2, 1946, with a portion of the tow cable still attached.[2]

The second weapons test, Baker, was an underwater shot about 500 feet away from the sunken Sakawa.