Takao class cruiser

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World War II United States Navy recognition drawings of Takao and Atago
World War II United States Navy recognition drawings of Takao and Atago
Takao class Japanese Navy Ensign
General characteristics (original)
Displacement: 9,850 (standard)
15,490 tons (full load)
Length: 631.7 feet (192.54 m)
overall: 668.5 feet (203.76 m)
Beam: 59 feet (18.03 m) – 68 feet (20.73 m)
Mean draft: 20 feet (6.11 m) – 20.7 feet (6.32 m)
Propulsion: 4-shaft geared turbine
12 Kampon boilers
132,000 shp
Speed: 35½ knots - 34.2 knots (63 km/h)
Range: 8,500 nautical miles (15,740 km) @ 14 knots (26 km/h)
Complement: 773
Armament: original layout:
ten 8" (20.3 cm) 50 calibre guns (5x2)
four 4.7" high angle guns(4x1)
eight 24" torpedo tubes (4x2)
two 40 mm AA guns (2x1)
Protection: main belt: 1½" to 5"
main deck: 1⅜" (max)
upper deck: ½" to 1"
bulkheads: 3" to 4"
turrets: 1"
Aircraft: 3 (1 Aichi E13A1 "Jake" & 2 F1M2 "Pete" seaplanes), 2 catapults

The Takao class (高雄型) was a class of four heavy cruisers of the Imperial Japanese Navy launched between May 1930 and April 1931. They were a modified design from the Myoko class, which they replaced, and had an almost battleship-like, large bridge structure.

Their main gun armament was ten 8-inch (203 mm) guns and they were also armed with sixteen 24 inch torpedoes (carrying more than the Myokos or Mogamis); the Takaos were considered the most heavily armed and best cruisers of the IJN. The only flaw was that they were considered top-heavy and thus prone to capsizing.

Four ships of the class were launched. All served in World War II and all of them were sunk or disabled as a result of the Battle of Leyte Gulf in October 1944.

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[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. 

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[edit] Notes

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