Japanese cruiser Nagara
![]() Japanese light cruiser Nagara
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History | |
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Name | Nagara |
Ordered | 1919 Fiscal Year |
Builder | Sasebo Naval Arsenal |
Laid down | 9 September 1920 |
Launched | 25 April 1921 |
Commissioned | 21 April 1922 |
Stricken | 10 October 1944 |
Fate | Torpedoed and sunk by USS Croaker, 7 August 1944 |
General characteristics | |
Class and type | Nagara-class light cruiser |
Displacement | 5,570 long tons (5,659 t) |
Length | 162.1 m (531 ft 10 in) |
Beam | 14.2 m (46 ft 7 in) |
Draft | 4.8 m (15 ft 9 in) |
Installed power |
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Propulsion | 4 shafts; geared steam turbines |
Speed | 36 knots (67 km/h; 41 mph) |
Range | 9,000 nmi (17,000 km; 10,000 mi) at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph) |
Complement | 450 |
Armament |
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Armor |
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Aircraft carried | 1 × floatplane |
Aviation facilities | 1 aircraft catapult |
Nagara (長良) was the lead ship of her class of light cruiser in the Imperial Japanese Navy.[1] She was named after the Nagara River in the Chūbu region of Japan.
Background
Nagara, as with the other vessels of her class, was intended for use as the flagship of a destroyer flotilla, and it was in that role that she participated in the invasions of the Philippines and the Dutch East Indies after the attack on Pearl Harbor.
Design
The Nagara-class vessels were essentially identical to the earlier Kuma-class cruisers, using the same hull design, powerplant and layout of armament. The main differences were in the design of the bridge, which was raised to allow for an aircraft hangar and launch platform above the No.2 gun in front of the bridge. Another change was the installation of the new, larger Type 93 torpedoes, which required an extension of the main deck.
All vessels in the class were modified extensively during their operational lives, with no two vessels modified in the same way.[2]
Service career
Early career
Nagara was
As the
Invasion of the Philippines and Dutch East Indies
On 10 September 1941. Nagara was assigned to
From 11–12 December 1941, Nagara covered the landings of troops at Legaspi, Luzon, Philippines, returning again from 24–30 December 1941 to cover additional landings at several points on southeast Luzon.[4]
In January 1942, Nagara was tasked with escorting the convoy landing the Sasebo No. 1
On 10 March 1942, the Third Fleet was replaced by the Second Southern Expeditionary Fleet under Vice Admiral Takahashi. Nagara remained in Rear Admiral Kenzaburō Hara's[6] 16th Cruiser Division with the light cruisers Kinu and Natori.[4] On 29 March 1942, Nagara was part of the force sent to capture Christmas Island.[7] During the operation, the submarine USS Seawolf fired three torpedoes at Nagara, but all missed.[4]
Nagara departed for Japan on 2 April 1942, where she was in drydock at Maizuru Naval Arsenal from 12 to 24 April 1942.[4]
Nagara was assigned as flagship of Rear Admiral
Battle of Midway
In the Battle of Midway Nagara accompanied Admiral Nagumo's Carrier Striking Force, with the aircraft carriers Akagi, Kaga, Sōryū, Hiryū, battleships Haruna and Kirishima and cruisers Tone and Chikuma. On 4 June 1942 Nagara unsuccessfully counter-attacked the submarine USS Nautilus after the latter attempted to torpedo Kirishima. After Akagi was hit and set afire by dive bombers from USS Enterprise, Vice-Admiral Nagumo transferred his flag to Nowaki and then to Nagara.[4]
Nagara returned safely to Japan on 13 June 1942. She brought about 500 wounded to
Battle of the Solomon Islands
On 14 July 1942, the 10th Destroyer Flotilla with Nagara was reassigned to the Third Fleet, which departed for Truk, Caroline Islands on 16 August 1942. The fleet included the aircraft carriers Shōkaku, Zuikaku, Ryūjō, battleships Hiei and Kirishima, cruisers Tone and Chikuma, and destroyers Akigumo, Makigumo, Kazagumo, Yūgumo, Akizuki, Hatsukaze, Nowaki, Amatsukaze, Maikaze, Tanikaze and Tokitsukaze.[4]
On 25 August 1942, Nagara participated in the Battle of the Eastern Solomons, which it survived without damage, arriving at Truk on 5 September 1942. From Truk, Nagara made a number of sorties towards the Solomon Islands in September. On 25–26 October 1942, Nagara participated in the Battle of Santa Cruz, and again returned to Truk undamaged.[4]
On 9 November 1942, Rear Admiral Kimura and the Nagara squadron was assigned to screen Hiei and Kirishima during a reinforcement plan to land 14,500 men, heavy weapons and supplies on
For her part, Nagara combined fire with the destroyer
Vice Admiral Gunichi Mikawa sortied from the Shortland Islands for Guadalcanal in Chōkai with the Kinugasa, light cruiser Isuzu, and destroyers Arashio and Asashio to carry out Kondō's original plan and bombard Henderson Field with his cruisers where Abe failed with his battleships. The cruisers Maya, Suzuya, Tenryū and destroyers Kazagumo, Makigumo, Michishio and Yūgumo accompanied, while Kirishima, Atago, Takao, Nagara and six destroyers formed a screening unit.[4]
This led to the
On 20 November 1942, Nagara became flagship of Rear Admiral Takama's 4th Destroyer Flotilla. The newly commissioned Agano replaced Nagara as flagship of 10th Destroyer Flotilla. The 4th Destroyer Flotilla consisted of three divisions of nine destroyers: 2nd Destroyer Division with three destroyers, 9th Destroyer Division with two and 27th Destroyer Division with four.
After returning to Maizuru for refit at the end of 1942, Nagara's No. 5 140 mm gun was removed. During gunnery exercises off
In early February, Nagara participated in the evacuation of Guadalcanal, recovering 11,700 surviving Imperial Japanese Army troops.
In June 1943, Nagara transported the Yokosuka No. 2 Special Naval Landing Force for the occupation of Nauru.
Operations in the South Pacific
In July 1943, Nagara was involved in escorting the aircraft carrier
On 20 July 1943, the 4th Destroyer Flotilla was deactivated and Nagara replaced the
On 1 November 1943, Nagara relieved Kashima as flagship of the Fourth Fleet under Vice Admiral Masami Kobayashi. On 14 November 1943, she assisted in towing the light cruiser Agano back to Truk after it had been torpedoed by the submarine USS Skate.[4]
On 22 November 1943, Nagara sortied from Truk in response to the American
At Maizuru Naval Arsenal from 26 January 1944, Nagara was again modified. The No. 7 140 mm gun mount was removed and replaced by a 127 mm unshielded HA gun mount. The fore and aft twin torpedo tubes were removed and replaced by two quadruple mounts aft. The aircraft catapult was removed and replaced by two triple-mount Type 96 25 mm AA gun mounts bringing the Nagara's 25 mm total to 22 barrels (2x3, 6x2, 4x1). Depth charge rails were installed in the stern and a Type 93 hydrophone set was fitted in the bow.[4]
On 15 May 1944, Nagara replaced the cruiser
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/94/Nagara_Sinking.jpg/220px-Nagara_Sinking.jpg)
On 7 August 1944, en route from
Notes
- ISBN 0-87021-893-X. page 107
- ^ Stille, Imperial Japanese Navy Light Cruisers 1941-45 , pages 20-27;
- ^ a b Nishida, Hiroshi (2002). "Nagara class light cruisers". Imperial Japanese Navy. Archived from the original on 4 December 2012. Retrieved 18 June 2007.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v Bob Hackett & Sander Kingsepp (1997–2009). "IJN Nagara: Tabular Record of Movement". Imperial Japanese Navy Page.
- ^ L, Klemen (1999–2000). "Rear-Admiral Kyuji Kubo". Forgotten Campaign: The Dutch East Indies Campaign 1941-1942.
- ^ L, Klemen. "Rear-Admiral Kenzaburo Hara". Forgotten Campaign: The Dutch East Indies Campaign 1941-1942.
- ^ L, Klemen (1999–2000). "The Mystery of Christmas Island, March 1942". Forgotten Campaign: The Dutch East Indies Campaign 1941-1942.
- ^ Hackett, Bob; Kingsepp, Sander; Cundall, Peter (1998–2011). "IJN Hospital Ship Hikawa Maru: Tabular Record of Movement". Japanese Hospital Ships. Retrieved 16 April 2013.
- ISBN 9781846032806.
- ^ "Long Lancers". www.combinedfleet.com. Retrieved 27 February 2024.
- ^ "USS Preston (DD-379) DANFS History". destroyerhistory.org. Retrieved 27 February 2024.
References
- Jentschura, Hansgeorg; Jung, Dieter & Mickel, Peter (1977). Warships of the Imperial Japanese Navy, 1869–1945. Annapolis, Maryland: United States Naval Institute. ISBN 978-0-87021-893-4.
- L, Klemen (1999–2000). "Forgotten Campaign: The Dutch East Indies Campaign 1941-1942". Archived from the original on 26 July 2011.
- Nishida, Nishida (2002). "Nagara class light cruisers". Imperial Japanese Navy. Archived from the original on 4 December 2012. Retrieved 18 June 2007.
- Parshall, Jon; Bob Hackett; Sander Kingsepp; Allyn Nevitt. "Imperial Japanese Navy Page (Combinedfleet.com)". Retrieved 14 June 2006. tabular record: CombinedFleet.com: Nagara history
- Lacroix, Eric & ISBN 0-87021-311-3.
- Stille, Mark (2012). Imperial Japanese Navy Light Cruisers 1941-45. Osprey. ISBN 978-1-84908-562-5.
Further reading
- 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.
- Howarth, Stephen (1983). The Fighting Ships of the Rising Sun: The drama of the Imperial Japanese Navy, 1895-1945. Atheneum. ISBN 0-689-11402-8.
- Lundgren, Robert (2008). "Question 39/43: Loss of HIJMS Kirishima". Warship International. XLV (4): 291–296. ISSN 0043-0374.
- Roscoe, Theodore (1949). United States Submarine Operations in World War II. Naval Institute Press. ISBN 0-87021-731-3.
- Tamura, Toshio (2004). "Correcting the Record: New Insights Concerning Japanese Destroyers and Cruisers of World War II". Warship International. XLI (3): 269–285. ISSN 0043-0374.
- ISBN 1-55750-141-6.