Japanese cruiser Suzuya
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 The Suzuya, 19 December 1938 |
|
| Career |  |
|---|---|
| Ordered: | |
| Laid down: | December, 1933 |
| Launched: | November, 1934 |
| Commissioned: | October, 1937 |
| Struck: | 20 December 1944 |
| Fate: | Scuttled on 25 October 1944 |
| General Characteristics | |
| Displacement: | 13,440 tons (full load) |
| Length: | 661 ft 5 in (201.6 m) |
| Beam: | 59 ft (18 m) |
| Draft: | 18 ft (5.5 m) |
| Propulsion: | Impulse single geared turbines Four shafts 152,000 shp (113 MW) |
| Speed: | 35 knots (69 km/h) |
| Complement: | 850 |
| Protection: | Belt 3.9" (100mm), Deck 1.4" (35mm), Turrets 1" (25mm), Magazines 5" (127mm) |
| Armament: | 15 × 6.1-inch (155mm) (5×3) DP 8 × 5-inch (127mm) DP 4 × 1.57" (40mm) AA guns 12 × 24-inch (600mm) torpedo tubes (4×3) |
| Aircraft: | 3 × Type 1 scout aircraft |
Suzuya (鈴谷), named after the Suzuya River in Karafuto prefecture (now Sakhalin), was a Mogami-class heavy cruiser in the Imperial Japanese Navy.
Contents |
[edit] Construction
Suzuya's keel was laid down at the Yokosuka Navy Yard, Yokosuka, Japan, in December 1933. She was launched November 1934 and completed October 1937.
For the 1931 Fleet Replenishment Program, believing themselves understrength in cruisers, IJN chose to build to the maximum allowed by the Washington Treaty. This resulted in the choice of 155mm guns in five triple turrets (a first for Japan) in the Mogami class, also capable of 55° elevation, making the Mogami class unique in having a DP main battery (although the 155mm guns proved ineffective against aircraft). This was coupled with very heavy AA 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. Weight compelled reduction to only ten boilers (compared to twelve in the previous Atago and Nachi classes), trunked into a single stack (which also saved tophamper). The new impulse geared turbines added 22,000 shp over Atago, increasing speed 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, increasing beam to 19.2 m (63 ft) and displacement to 11,200 tons, cutting speed 2 kt (3.7 km/h).
Beginning in 1939, Mogami and her sisters were brought in for substantial reconstruction, converting the triple 155mm turrets to twin 8-inch (203mm), turning over the 155mm turrets to Yamato. Torpedo bulges were also added; in all, displacement rose to 12,400 tons, speed dropping to 34.5 kt (63.8 km/h).
[edit] War Service
In June 1942, Suzuya took part in the Battle of Midway. In October 1944, she took part in the Battle of Leyte Gulf. She was heavily damaged by Halsey's aviators on 25 November 1944 and she was scuttled by Okinami on 27 November.
[edit] References
[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
- Parshall, Jon; Bob Hackett, Sander Kingsepp, & Allyn Nevitt. Imperial Japanese Navy Page (Combinedfleet.com). Retrieved on 2006-06-14.
[edit] Notes
| Mogami-class cruiser |
| List of cruisers of the Imperial Japanese Navy List of cruiser classes of the Imperial Japanese Navy |
