The next stage in the development of the Japanese shipbuilding program, and specifically of heavy cruisers. From "Myoko" to "Mogami" and "Tone" the path of Japanese shipbuilders lay through the project of heavy cruisers of the "Takao" class.
The Takao-class cruisers became a further stage in the development of the Myoko project. When developing the ships, the so-called Washington restrictions were ignored by the Japanese, therefore, on the one hand, of course, they did not meet the limit of 10,000 tons, on the other hand, they fit everything they wanted into the ships. Well, almost everything.
But what was wanted in the minimum configuration was enough to make the Takao-class ships the largest Japanese cruisers.
On the one hand, the ships turned out to be very heavily overloaded above the waterline, on the other … We will talk about the displacement later, but now what the designers Fujimoto and Hiraga managed to drive into the cruisers.
Of course, looking at the photo, one can immediately notice the very massive armored superstructures, more appropriate on a battleship (not of the "Fuso" type, of course) than on a cruiser. But even the thick armor of the superstructures is not the case, although they are the very thing for identification.
But let's go in order.
Takao, Atago, Maya and Chokai.
All four cruisers were laid down between April 28, 1927 and April 5, 1931. "Takao" and "Atagi" were built at the naval shipyards in Yokosuka and Kure, "Maya" by Kawasaki at its own factory in Kobe, and " Chokai”was assembled from metal by Mitsubishi in Nagasaki. Traditionally, the ships were named in honor of the highest peaks of the Japanese islands.
At the start of the war, having undergone a number of upgrades, the Takao-class cruisers had the following characteristics:
- body length: 203.8 m;
- width along the midship frame: 20, 4 m;
- draft: 6, 32 m
Displacement, of course, varied. The total for "Takao" and "Atago" was 15 875 tons, for "Maya" and "Chokai" - 13 900 tons. It is clear that it was far from the standards prescribed by the Washington Treaty, hence some advantages over the standard “Washingtonians”.
As a power plant, the cruiser had 12 Canton boilers, four turbo-gear units and four propellers. Power plant capacity - 133,000 liters. sec., which provided a very good speed - 34, 25 knots. The estimated cruising range of the 14-knot is 8500 nautical miles. The cruiser crew consisted of 740-760 people.
Reservation. The thickness of the armor belt of the Takao-class cruisers was 127 mm, the thickness of the armor deck was 35 mm (above the power plant up to 70-90 mm), the superstructure walls were 10-16 mm. Traverses 75-100 mm, towers 25 mm, barbets 75 mm. In general, it is quite worthy and richer than that of "Myoko".
Armament. Here the Japanese designers came off in full.
The main caliber of the Takao-class cruisers consisted of 203-mm guns in five E-type twin-gun turrets. Three towers were located in the bow, two in the stern.
The auxiliary caliber was represented by eight 127 mm universal guns in four twin turrets, two turrets on each side.
Flak. 25 automatic cannons of 25 mm caliber in twin and triple mounts, 12 Type 96 13.2 mm machine guns in six twin mounts. In 1944, the cruisers underwent modernization, during which the number of anti-aircraft artillery was significantly increased. On "Atago" and "Takao" the number of 25-mm assault rifles was increased to 60 barrels (6x3, 6x2 and 30x1), on "Chokai" to 38 (8x2 and 22x1) and on "Maya" - up to 66 (13x3 and 27x1). Plus, each cruiser received from 10 to 13 "twin" machine guns 13, 2 mm.
Torpedo armament. Initially, the cruisers had twin torpedo tubes, but in the course of improvements, quad torpedo tubes of 610 mm caliber were installed on the sides, two on each side. Ammunition for torpedoes was 24 pieces, 16 in vehicles and another 8 in a special lightly armored storage.
It is unusual for cruisers, all the more heavy, but since 1942, each cruiser has carried depth charges as well! Drop guides were mounted at the stern of the ships, and each ship took on board another 24 depth charges.
Each cruiser was equipped with two aircraft gunpowder catapults, the air group consisted of three seaplanes.
The armament of the ships was more than impressive. Yes, there was an overload, but it was clearly worth it.
It should be noted that for the first time on the Takao-class cruisers, main caliber guns 203 mm / 50 “Type 3” No. 2 were used. The elevation angle of the main guns was increased to 70 °, which in theory made it possible to shoot from them at the aircraft. Hence, a slight decrease in the barrels of universal artillery and an attempt to compensate for the decrease in 127-mm guns with 25 mm submachine guns.
Compared to the Myoko, the Takao-class cruisers were simply floating hotels in terms of crew accommodation.
Private crew quarters were located on the lower deck in the stern, as well as on the middle deck from the stern to the area of the chimneys of the first and second boiler rooms.
The officers' cabins were concentrated in the bow on the lower and middle decks, there was also a wardroom.
Due to the smaller crew size and the transfer of torpedo tubes to the upper deck, the living quarters were much more spacious than on the Moko. But in addition to a simple increase in living space, the number of fans was significantly increased (up to 66 pieces), providing fresh air flow into the casemates, and conditioned air began to be supplied not only to the towers and ammunition cellars, but also to the control posts of the ship.
The ships had quite extensive pantries for rice and wheat, guaranteeing autonomy, and even a special freezer for meat and fish with a volume of 67 cubic meters.
Galleys and hospitals were separate for officers and sailors, and baths for sailors, non-commissioned officers and officers were also separate!
In general, it turned out that the Japanese can build not only fast and strong ships, but also relatively comfortable ones. Compared to Furutaki and Myoko, they are luxurious.
Combat service.
All four cruisers entered service between March 30, 1932 and June 30, 1932. They were assigned to the 4th Division of the 2nd Fleet. There they changed exactly the same "Myoko". And from 1932 to the beginning of World War II, the cruisers took part in maneuvers, campaigns and reviews of the Imperial Japanese Navy.
The ships entered the war after going through a series of upgrades that changed both the appearance and the power of the ships.
In September 1941, all four cruisers were attached to the battleships Congo and Haruna of the 3rd Division, thus forming the core of the Southern Forces commanded by Admiral Kondo.
Kondo's fleet provided long-range cover for operations in Malaya and Borneo. After capturing Malaya, the unit fought in the region of Australia and the islands of Sumatra and Java, after which the Takao and Maya went to Yokosuka for repairs, during which the ships were equipped with the latest 127-mm universal guns in two-gun turrets.
Further, the cruisers took part in an operation near the Aleutian Islands, the purpose of which was to divert the attention of American forces from Midway. It turned out so-so.
The Chokai took part in the battle off the island of Savo very successfully, while the other three cruisers were noted in the battle off the island of Guadalcanal. The Takao, Atago and Maya, along with the 5th Division ships Myoko and Haguro, joined Admiral Nagumo's carrier group.
This Japanese fleet clashed with the American TF-61 unit in the Battle of the Solomon Islands. All five Japanese heavy cruisers took part in the night battle with American ships, and at the end of the Battle of Santa Cruz took part in the sinking of the aircraft carrier Hornst.
On the night of November 14-15, 1942, the cruisers Takao and Atago, together with the old battleship Kirishima, as well as destroyers, were sent to shell the Henderson Field airfield.
However, the Japanese were out of luck. The compound ran into the American battleships South Dakota and Washington. Both American ships concentrated fire on the Japanese battleship Kirishima, allowing both Japanese cruisers to fire their main battery without hindrance.
At that time, at least 16 high-explosive shells of 203-mm caliber, fired from a distance of only 5 km by both Japanese cruisers, hit South Dakota. In that battle, "Takao" was not injured at all, and "Atago" received moderate injuries. On the "Kirishim" there was a severe fire, and later the battleship sank. "South Dakota" left the battlefield on its own, which indicates not the most severe damage.
Further, the cruisers took part in the evacuation of the Guadalcanal garrison, operations in the area of Enewetok Atoll, and the Battle of the Mariana Islands.
Well, the last big battle was the battle in Leyte Gulf.
On October 22, 1944, four cruisers passed through the Palawan Strait. So the naval battle in Leyte Gulf began for them.
On October 23, Takao was hit by two torpedoes fired by the American submarine Darter. Through the holes made in the side by the explosion of torpedoes, large quantities of water began to flow into the boiler rooms of the cruiser. The explosions also damaged the steering and starboard propellers. A fire started on the ship, the cruiser got a roll of 10 degrees.
It was possible to level the cruiser by flooding the compartments on the opposite side, but now the Takao was sitting too low in the water. The fire was extinguished, after which the Takao, accompanied by two destroyers, crawled to Brunei.
The crew of the submarine "Darter" did not calm down and continued the theme, dropping four torpedoes into the cruiser "Atago". After a while, the cruiser sank.
Around the same time, another submarine in the United States Navy, Day, attacked the cruiser Maya, firing four torpedoes from its bow torpedo tubes. The torpedoes hit the port side of the cruiser, which sank.
On October 25, the Chokai cruiser was severely damaged by a bomb dropped by a TVM-1 aircraft. The damage was so serious that the cruiser had to be finished off with torpedoes due to the impossibility of towing.
The heavily damaged Takao was the only cruiser to survive the battle in Leyte Gulf. "Takao" safely reached first Brunei, and then Singapore, where it entered the 1st Southern Expeditionary Fleet along with the cruisers "Mioko", "Ashigara" and "Haguro".
The "Takao" was not repaired, it, together with the damaged "Mioko", was flooded on the shallows and used as an anti-aircraft battery, since there were more than enough anti-aircraft guns.
Not knowing the real state of the cruisers, the British sent two midget submarines to destroy them, which on July 31, 1945 tried to attack the ships. By mistake, both submarines approached the side of the same ship …
Takao was out of luck. Each mini-submarine carried an explosive charge weighing 1 ton and six 35-kg "sticky" mines. Explosive charges for some reason did not explode, but sticky mines made a significant hole in the hull.
Strange, but the cruiser sunk in shallow water refused to sink further. And finally the cruiser was sunk in the Malaak Strait by the British after the end of hostilities - on October 27, 1946.
The Takao-class cruisers were a development of the Myoko-class. The changes in the Takao design relative to the Myoko were both positive and negative.
"Takao" had an armor belt of a much larger area, and much better protection of the ammunition cellars, both vertical and horizontal. New swivel torpedo tubes with faster torpedoes instead of the stationary twin-tube torpedo tubes on the lower deck. More decent conditions for the crew. It was not for nothing that the Japanese admirals were happy to appoint the Takao-class cruisers as flagships.
Of course, there were also downsides.
New superstructures, rather bulky, increased windage and upper weight. But all the same, the superstructure was very useful, and the placement of all control posts in it, and under good armor, still outweighed the sail.
This is not to say that the new 203 mm guns were successful. They had worse accuracy than those that carried the Myoko, and the fact that they, in principle, could fire at air targets, deprived the cruisers of a pair of such useful 127-mm universal guns.
It is clear that the overloading of ships became the main problem. And the displacement, which increased to 15,000 tons, slightly reduced the maximum speed. Although, thanks to a successful propulsion system, the speed was already quite decent (35 knots).
But the main weakness of the Takao-class cruisers was, in my opinion, extremely weak anti-torpedo protection. The fact that ships are very vulnerable to torpedoes predetermined their end.
However, "Takao", "Atago", "Maya" and "Chokai" quite clearly demonstrated that with their development and construction, Japanese shipbuilders reached a new level. And very little remained to the top.
