In fact, we are continuing the conversation that was raised in the topic about Furutaki, because our two today's heroes, Aoba and Kinugasa, are nothing more than the Furutaka project, but with some alterations.
Here you need to know the Asian trick. The history of these cruisers was born under the cover of cunning. In general, "Aoba" and "Kinugasa" were to be built as the third and fourth ships of the Furutaka series, but the Japanese admirals by that time already wanted to make numerous changes in the design.
The chief designer of the cruisers Hiragi was very opposed, because he knew how the attempts to realize all the wishes of the command ended. Therefore, admirals from the main naval headquarters took and sent Rear Admiral Hiragi to Europe. So to speak, for "advanced training." And as soon as he left for a business trip, to his deputy, the captain of the second rank Fujimoto, a delegation from the headquarters showed up and dumped a whole heap of desires in front of the cavtorang.
It is clear that a captain of the second rank is not a rear admiral. Fujimoto turned out to be more accommodating, so we can say that the intrigue ended successfully. And as a result, two cruisers were born, which could be called anything, but not "Furutaka". They were really different ships. So they had to be withdrawn to a separate class, which the Japanese naval command did. And only then began to pull up "Furutak" to the level of "Aoba", as mentioned in the previous article.
Fujimoto did not want to spoil his career and went to meet the "requests" of the admirals from the naval general staff. As a result, the cruiser began to weigh almost 10,000 tons ("Furutaka" started as a "seven-thousanders"), and the full displacement, as expected, went for 10 thousand tons.
The increased displacement entailed a change in stability, cruising range and speed.
In addition, it was on the Aoba-class cruisers that the transition to new, two-gun turrets of the main caliber took place.
Instead of 80-mm anti-aircraft guns, universal 120-mm guns were installed. But most importantly, these were the first cruisers on which catapults were installed to launch aircraft.
After the entry into service of both cruisers, the Japanese had to upgrade the Furutaki in order to "pull" them up to the level of the "Aoba". In general, it was assumed that four cruisers of the same type with approximately the same characteristics would serve in one connection.
If you study the performance characteristics of the ships, it becomes completely clear that this is not quite a "Furutaki". More precisely, not "Furutaki" at all.
Displacement: 8 738 tons (standard), 11 660 (full).
Length: 183, 48 m (waterline).
Width: 17, 56 m.
Draft 5, 66 m.
Reservation.
Armor belt - 76 mm.
Deck: 32-35 mm.
Towers: 25 mm.
Bridge: 35 mm.
Barbettes: 57mm.
Both Aoba-class cruisers were converted from coal-fired boilers to oil-fueled ones, just like their predecessors. Power plants (4 TZA "Kawasaki-Curtiss") received energy from 10 oil boilers "Kampon Ro Go", which made it possible to increase the power of the power plant to 110,000 hp. The maximum speed was 34 knots. The practical range is 8,000 miles at an economical speed of 14 knots.
The crew consisted of 657 people.
Armament.
The main caliber artillery consisted of six 203 mm / 50 Type 2 guns in three turrets.
Anti-aircraft armament was initially more than modest.
4 guns 120 mm and two machine guns 7, 7 mm.
As the modernization progressed over the course of the war, the Japanese squeezed anti-aircraft guns wherever they could, in what they were masters. And by the end of the war, the anti-aircraft weapons of the Aoba-class cruiser consisted of:
4 universal guns 120 mm.
44 anti-aircraft guns 25 mm (3x3, 10x2, 15x1).
It is worth noting that at first glance, the Aoba looked quite like a floating air defense battery, the value of 44 barrels was more than dubious, since the most important component of the ship's defense was missing: a unified fire control system for anti-aircraft guns. Actually, the end of the combat path of the cruisers "Aoba" and "Kunigas" is the best confirmation of this.
Torpedo armament originally consisted of 6 twin-tube fixed torpedo tubes 610 mm. In general, initially, torpedoes were not provided for on cruisers, this is just from the list of "wishlist" of the naval general staff. And after the modernization, instead of slotted fixed torpedo tubes, 2 rotatable four-tube torpedo tubes with shield protection were installed. Installed TA on the sides of the catapult. Ammunition consisted of 16 "Long Lance".
Aviation group - two seaplanes and one catapult.
Radar weapons. The Aoba-class cruisers were among those who received the radar earlier than others. In 1943, the cruisers received the Type 21 radar, in 1944 they were replaced with the Type 22 No. 4 radar.
Combat service.
The service of the cruisers was, shall we say, full-fledged and very eventful. It was long for one ship, not very long for the other.
Both cruisers were part of the 6th Heavy Cruiser Division. After the outbreak of hostilities, they were engaged in covering various landing operations of the Japanese fleet, aimed at seizing foreign territories in the Pacific Ocean.
With the participation of the cruisers of the 6th division, troops landed in Rabaul and Kavienga, on the eastern coast of New Guinea (in Lae and Salamua), the islands of Bougainville, Shortland and Manus.
The next operation for the cruisers was the operation to capture Port Moresby. All this led to the battle in the Coral Sea, which resulted in an unpleasant disgrace for the Japanese navy.
The group of Japanese ships was attacked by American aircraft from the aircraft carriers Lexington and Yorktown. The Japanese cruisers were unable to provide at least some resistance, shooting down only 3 aircraft out of almost a hundred that participated in the raid. That is, the cruisers were spectators at the performance in which American pilots sank the aircraft carrier "Shoho". And in the end they sank.
The Japanese did not capture Port Moresby, and the Aoba went to Japan for scheduled repairs and additional armament in terms of air defense.
The battle at Savo Island was perhaps the most successful of Aoba's career. Returning to the division's ranks after repairs, the cruiser immediately went into battle. And in what!
On the night of August 9, Admiral Mikawa's compound, which included the 6th Division, attacked the allied fleet located north of Gudalkanal.
The crews of the cruiser's seaplanes carried out an excellent reconnaissance of the area, not only giving a picture of the number of American ships (6 heavy and 2 light cruisers and 15 destroyers), they timely discovered the separation of enemy forces.
At night, the Japanese cruisers, lining up in a wake column, sequentially attacked two groups of allied ships.
During the battle, "Aoba" fired 182 203-mm shells and 13 torpedoes at the enemy. It is impossible to determine exactly which ships were hit by his shells and torpedoes, but, judging by the nature of the battle, all enemy ships were hit. The Japanese cruiser suffered no losses, with the exception of the crew of the reconnaissance aircraft, which did not return from the next mission.
In response, only one 203-mm projectile flew in from the American cruisers, causing a fire on the deck just in the area of the torpedo tubes. The cruiser crew was lucky that the vehicles were empty. And so "Long Lance" did not forgive such liberties.
On the night of October 11, 1942, "Aoba" took part in the battle at Cape Esperance, during which a strike group of Japanese cruisers was unexpectedly attacked by a formation of the American fleet (2 heavy cruisers, 2 light cruisers and 5 destroyers).
The Japanese did not expect the Americans at all, so the latter took full advantage of this. Plus, numerous mistakes of the Japanese command led to the fact that the Americans won the battle, sinking a cruiser and three destroyers against one of their destroyers.
"Aoba" received more than 40 hits of shells with a caliber of 203-mm and 152-mm. The main caliber towers # 2 and # 3 were disabled, and the third tower was completely burned out. It had to be changed completely, so before being repaired in 1943, the Aoba had two main-caliber turrets.
Almost all artillery fire control systems, several anti-aircraft guns and a catapult were destroyed. Other superstructures of the ship were damaged.
In February 1943, the cruiser returned to her duty station in Kavieng. And after the events of April 3, he was again forced to go to Japan for repairs. American B-25 bombers hit a 227-kg bomb on the starboard side, in the area of the catapult. And what was next to us? That's right, torpedoes in the vehicles.
It exploded. Twice. Two torpedoes detonated, and the damage from a single bomb turned out to be much more than one could even imagine.
A three-meter hole in the side, a fire in the engine room No. 2, they could not immediately cope with the water, they even had to land the cruiser aground.
During the repair, options were seriously considered to convert the cruiser into a seaplane carrier (at the stern, instead of the main battery turret, equip a deck for 6 seaplanes) or (horror!) Turn the Aoba into a squadron tanker. But the cruiser was lucky, the tower number 3 was completed at the plant, so it was simply installed on the ship and, thank God, there were no cardinal changes. We have just installed a type 21 radar and a few more anti-aircraft guns.
After the repair, the cruiser was busy with all sorts of small things for a long time, and I must say that she did not take part in sea battles. But this did not save, on October 23, 1944, the American submarine SS-243 "Brim" fired 6 torpedoes towards the convoy of Japanese ships. Only one hit. To Aobu. The engine room was flooded (once again), the cruiser lost speed. He was nevertheless dragged to Manila, where they patched up and the last heroic trip to Japan "Aoba" made a 5-knot move.
On the way to the metropolis, the American submariners repeatedly tried to drown the cruiser, but, apparently, it was not destiny. And "Aoba" came to Kure on December 12, 1944.
It was not possible to quickly repair the ship, but the Americans did not give it slowly. What the submariners could not do was easily arranged by the pilots. During July 1945, they simply turned the cruiser into a pile of metal. The ship, having received almost two dozen hits of 227-kg bombs, collapsed. The feed broke off, numerous holes in the sides caused the cruiser to sink to the ground. The commander ordered the crew to leave the ship …
Aoba's sister ship, Kinugasa, lived an even shorter life.
During 1941, the cruiser ensured the capture of the Makin, Gilbert, Tarawa and Guam islands. In 1942, he covered Malay convoys, landings on Kavieng, Rabaul, Lae, Salamaua, on the islands of Buka, Bougainville, Shortlent and on Manus.
Participated in the attempt to capture Port Moresby and in the battle off Savo Island, during which, together with the cruisers from the 6th DKR, took an active part in the sinking of the Australian heavy cruiser HMAS "Canberra" and the American "Astoria".
During the battle, he fired 185 203-mm shells and 8 torpedoes.
In the battle at Cape Esperance, the Kinugasa received four hits from 152-mm and 203-mm shells, but the crew escaped with a slight fright and slightly crumpled superstructures. In response, the Japanese achieved a dozen hits with their main caliber on the cruisers Boyes and Salt Lake City.
On November 13, 1942, the cruiser, part of Vice Admiral Mikawa's compound, goes to sea for the last time to shell the Henderson Field airfield. On the night of November 14, the cruiser arrived at its destination and participated in the shelling, during which the detachment destroyed 18 aircraft, but did not damage the runway.
On the same day, the ship was attacked by American base aircraft. The bomb hit the bow superstructure, pierced all decks and exploded below the waterline. A fire broke out on the ship, a list arose to the left side. After 30 minutes, the ship was again attacked by aircraft. Several bombs fell very close to the side of the cruiser, and numerous leaks began. The aft compartments were filled with water, which the crew could not stop and pump out.
As a result, the cruiser capsized on the port side and sank, taking 511 sailors with it. Managed to escape 146 crew members.
What can you say in the end? We can only say one thing: the experiment with "Aobami" once again confirmed that the Washington naval treaty could only give rise to abortions of shipbuilding.
The cruisers turned out to be not quite heavy, rather, like Exeter, light heavy. Still, 6 x 203 mm is not God only knows what it really is.
Plus "Aoba" proved that the savings on air defense do not bring good. Well, what prevented you from installing a fire control system? Lack of opportunity? No. There were opportunities. But in fact, 44 barrels, which were controlled by 20 crews, who are in what - even in the first half of World War II, it was naive, to put it mildly. And already in the second …
But these ships became a stepping stone to the creation of true masterpieces of cruiser construction. But about them in the next part. Although many are already preparing arguments to prove the opposite, I am sure. Well, let's see. Sometimes in disputes the truth is born … So, at least, they say.
