IJN Myoko (CA-1929)
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With the Myoko class the Japanese made the point of not giving the correct
dimensions or displacements on the class till after 1930 when the Japanese had
withdrawn from the Washington and London treaties. In doing so they stole a
march on the Western powers who did not start building bigger than the treaty
cruisers till 1935 or later. As far as the Japanese were concerned what the
Western Gaijin did not know would not hurt them till the class took out the ABDA
forces in late 1941 (Nachi and Haguro plus light forces).
Above: Myoko as completed 1929 with the single 4.7" AA guns without shields. The
24" torpedoes are in triple groups in fixed broadside tubes.
On the two above drawings I have added six feet of freeboard to the drawings.
Three feet above and below the waterline. Because I have increased the depth of
the hull I have also altered the dimension statistics to include a broader hull.
This increases the stability of the ships a lot and means they do not need the
bulges that were fitted soon after completion.
War service of the class was extensive. As stated above the class was involved
in the taking of the Dutch East Indies and the destruction of the Allied
cruisers tasked with defeating the invasion. The major additions during the war
were more and more 25mm AA guns in triple, twin, and single mountings, over
50x25mm being fitted. 1943 onwards radar started appearing.
| Displacement |
14,500 tons std, 17,150 tons full load |
| Length |
669 ft |
| Breadth |
68 ft |
| Draught |
23 ft |
| Machinery |
4 shaft Steam turbines, 150,000shp |
| Speed |
33 knots |
| Range |
7,500 miles at 14 knots |
| Armour |
4" side, 2.5" deck, 5" turrets. |
| Armament |
10 x 8" (5x2) 6 x 4.7" (6x1)
|
10 x 8" (5x2) 8 x 5" (4x2)
8 x 25mm |
| Aircraft |
3 |
3 |
| Torpedoes |
12 x 24" (4x3) fixed |
8 x 24" (2x4) |
| Complement |
940 |
| Notes |
Myoko
Ashigara
Nachi
Haguro |
Myoko running trials after its last pre-war renovations in 1941.
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