Tenryū-class cruiser
![]() Tenryū in 1921
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Class overview | |
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Builders | |
Operators | ![]() |
Preceded by | Chikuma class |
Succeeded by | Kuma class |
Built | 1917–1919 |
In commission | 1919–1944 |
Planned | 8 |
Completed | 2 |
Cancelled | 6 |
Lost | 2 |
General characteristics | |
Type | Light cruiser |
Displacement |
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Length | 142.9 m (468 ft 10 in) o/a |
Beam | 12.3 m (40 ft 4 in) |
Draught | 4 m (13 ft 1 in) |
Installed power | 110kW 110V electrical[1] |
Propulsion |
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Speed | 33 knots (38 mph; 61 km/h) |
Range | 5,000 nmi (9,300 km) @ 14 kn (16 mph; 26 km/h) |
Complement | 327 |
Armament |
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Armour |
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The two Tenryū-class cruisers (天龍型軽巡洋艦, Tenryū-gata keijun'yōkan) were the first light cruisers operated by the Imperial Japanese Navy. They participated in numerous actions during World War II.
The Tenryū class was followed by the larger and more versatile Kuma class.
Background
The Tenryū class was designed to act as flagships for destroyer flotillas. The design represented an intermediate class between the light cruiser (e.g.Chikuma class of 5,000 t) and the destroyer (e.g. Kawakaze-class destroyers of 1,300 t), which had few counterparts in other navies of the time, although it was inspired by a similar concept to the Royal Navy Arethusa class and C-class cruisers.[2] The Imperial Japanese Navy and Japanese shipbuilding industry were still closely associated with the British due to the Anglo-Japanese Alliance, and were able to improve on the British experience.
Plans for the small cruisers were developed in 1915, with orders placed in the 1916 fiscal year. The cost of construction was approximately 4.55 million
Soon after completion, the drawbacks of the small design became apparent to the Imperial Japanese Navy General Staff. Newer Japanese destroyers, such as the Minekaze class had a design speed of 39 knots, much higher than that of the Tenryū. Newer American cruisers, such as the Omaha class also exceeded it in firepower.[3] Plans for an additional six ships were later abandoned in favor of a series of medium-sized (5500 ton class) cruisers, based on an enlarged version of the Tenryū design. From 1935-1936, plans were considered to convert the class into a dedicated anti-aircraft / anti-submarine platforms, using eight 127 mm guns in dual turrets, eight 25-mm guns, and four depth charge launchers with 36 depth charges. The redesign would also have involved combining the smokestacks into a single stack. Funding was approved for fiscal 1937, but the plan was cancelled due to an overload in the capacity of Japanese shipyards.[3] The plan was floated again in 1938-1939 using eight Type 98 76.2 mm guns, but eventually abandoned in favor of the Akizuki-class destroyers.
Design
The Tenryū-class vessels, termed "small-model" (or "3,500-Ton") cruisers, were designed as fast flotilla leaders for the Imperial Navy's new first- and second-class destroyers.[4] With improvements in oil-fired turbine engine technology and the use of Brown Curtiss geared turbine engines, the Tenryū class had more than twice the horsepower of the previous Chikuma class, and were capable of 33 knots (61 km/h).[2] Three sets of turbines were used, with ten boilers fitted into three boiler rooms. Two of the boilers were mixed-firing, using a combination of oil and coal, but were converted to oil firing before the start of World War II.[3]
However, in terms of weaponry, the Tenryū class was weaker than any other contemporary cruiser. The main battery for the Tenryū class consisted of four 14 cm/50 3rd Year Type naval guns, which were also utilized as the secondary battery on the Ise-class battleships. However, the guns were situated in single mounts on the centerline, with only a limited angle of fire, and could fire only one gun at a target immediately in front or aft of the vessel. Ammunition handling was entirely manual. There were 2 magazines at the lowest deck level (4 decks below the guns), one between mounts 1 and 2 below the bridge, one below mount 3, reachable by bucket chain hoists. Loading and training was all manual as well. A Type 13 fire-control director was mounted above the bridge and two 2.5m range finders were used, one mounted on the compass bridge, the other just ahead of gun mount 3.[5]
A further weakness was the lack of room for
In service modifications
In 1930 (Tenryū) and in 1933 (Tatsuta), the ships were renovated with a modified bow superstructure, replacing the canvas sides of the bridge with steel plate, and lowering the mast for increased stability. In 1936, the bridge was further reinforced with steel plate as protection against
Ships in Class
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/24/Tenryu_ONI.jpg/300px-Tenryu_ONI.jpg)
Two vessels were built in the Tenryū class, neither of which survived the Pacific War.
- Tenryū (天龍)
Tenryū was laid down on 7 May 1917 and completed on 20 November 1919, at the
- Tatsuta (龍田)
Tatsuta was laid down on 24 July 1917 and completed at the
Notes
References
- Brown, David (1990). Warship Losses of World War Two. Naval Institute Press. ISBN 1-55750-914-X.
- Dull, Paul S. (1978). A Battle History of the Imperial Japanese Navy, 1941-1945. Naval Institute Press. ISBN 0-87021-097-1.
- ISBN 0-87021-907-3.
- 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.
- Lacroix, Eric & ISBN 0-87021-311-3.
- Stille, Mark (2012). Imperial Japanese Navy Light Cruisers 1941-45. Osprey. ISBN 978-1-84908-562-5.
External links
Media related to Tenryū class cruisers at Wikimedia Commons
- DiGiulian, Tony. "14 cm/50 (5.5") 3rd Year Type". NavWeaps.com.
- DiGiulian, Tony. "8 cm/40 (3") 3rd Year Type". NavWeaps.com.
- Nishida, Hiroshi. "Materials of IJN". Imperial Japanese Navy.
- Parshall, Jon; Bob Hackett; Sander Kingsepp; Allyn Nevitt. "Imperial Japanese Navy Page (Combinedfleet.com)".
- Parshall, Jon; Bob Hackett; Sander Kingsepp; Allyn Nevitt. "Imperial Japanese Navy Page (Combinedfleet.com)".
- Parshall, Jon; Bob Hackett; Sander Kingsepp; Allyn Nevitt. "Tenryu class Imperial Japanese Navy Page (Combinedfleet.com)".