The Pacific War Online Encyclopedia
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Tonnage |
8700 tons standard displacement |
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Dimensions |
607'6" by 55'6" by 18'4" 185.17m by 16.92m by 5.59m |
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Maximum speed |
33 knots |
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Complement |
639 |
| 1 Model 3 catapult 2 seaplanes |
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Armament |
3x2 8"/50
Mark 2 guns 4x1 4.7"/45 dual-purpose guns 4x2 25mm/60 AA guns 2x2 13mm/76 machine guns 2x4 Long Lance torpedo tubes (1 reload) |
| 1200 tons or 13.8% of displacement 3" (76mm) NVNC belt inclined at 9 degrees Torpedo bulges (no armored holding bulkhead) 1.4" (35mm) NVNC middle deck 1.9" (48mm) HT plates at upper deck level 1.5" (38mm) NVNC uptakes 2x0.7" (2x18mm) Dücol bridge 2" (51mm) sides/1.4" (35mm) top NVNC magazine 1" (25mm) HT steering rooms 1" (25mm) NVNC turret 2.2" (57mm) NVNC barbettes |
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| Machinery |
4-shaft geared turbines (110,000
shp) 10 Kampon boilers |
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Bunkerage |
1858 tons fuel oil |
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Range |
7900 nautical miles (14,600km) at 14 knots |
The Furutakas
were completed in 1926 as the last pre-Washington Treaty
cruisers of the Japanese Navy. They were designed specifically to
outclass the British Hawkins
and U.S. Omaha
and incorporated many of the lessons of the experimental Yubari.
Great efforts were made to reduce hull weight while maintaining
strength, but the final displacement was still nearly 1000 tons greater
than planned. Even so, they were the smallest heavy cruisers ever
built. Their protection scheme was rather light for heavy cruisers at
14% of displacement, being designed only against 6" (152mm) shells.
This class introduced the use of a centerline
longitudinal bulkhead. This was controversial because rapid flooding of
one side could capsize the ship. Provisions were added to allow rapid
counterflooding if necessary, and longitudinal bulkheads remained a
feature of many subsequent Japanese warship designs.
They were modernized twice in the 1930s, replacing
the original six single main gun turrets with three twin turrets and
receiving the Long Lance
torpedo. Their antiaircraft
battery was also improved. During the 1932 modernization, it was
discovered that over 3000 hull rivets had been knocked loose on Furutaka, indicating some problems
with the quality of the riveting.
| Guam
Invasion
Force |
Sunk by gunfire and torpedoes
1942-10-11 off Cape Esperance |
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| Guam Invasion Force | Torpedoed 1942-8-10 off Kavieng by S-44 |
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References
Lacroix
and Wells
(1997)
Whitley
(1995)
The Pacific War Online Encyclopedia © 2007, 2009-2010, 2015 by Kent G. Budge. Index
