IJN Chikuma

IJN Chikuma Story

The Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) Tone-class cruiser fleet during World War II (1939-1945) consisted of only two ships - IJN Tone and IJN Chikuma. This class represents a heavy cruiser design, designed to combine the powerful armament of the previous top class cruisers with a lighter displacement range of 8,500 tons.

This was done to create a more powerful warship within the constraints of the naval treaties of the time.

The end result is a class that displaces 11,215 tons under standard load, but is heavily armed with 8 x 203 mm main guns, in four turrets with two guns, 8 x 127 Millimeter guns were supported in a similar tower arrangement. The other 6 guns were 25mm caliber (96 series) for anti-aircraft and carried 12 x 610mm torpedo tubes. Armor protection reaches 3.9 inches at the waistband and 2.6 inches on the deck.

Six seaplanes were transported for over-the-horizon (OtH) work, launched from two catapults and recovered by onboard cranes. The typical crew size is 874.

Installed power comes from 8 boiler units providing 152,000 hp to 4 Gihon geared turbines and driving 4 shafts. Under ideal conditions, the speed reaches 35 knots and the range is up to 8,000 nautical miles.

Chikuma ordered in 1932 and laid on 1 October 1935. The ship was launched on March 19, 1938 and commissioned on May 20, 1939.

Both IJN Tone and Chikuma participated in the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, and the latter in the subsequent invasion of Wake Island (December 8-23, 1941). From there, she provided cover and support for various IJN operations throughout the Pacific Theater.

She provided impressive firepower in the decisive Battle of Midway (June 4-7, 1942), which ended in a decisive American victory - and the loss of four major Japanese aircraft carriers.

After her defeat, the ship participated in the Battle of the Eastern Solomons (25-25 August 1942), the Battle of Santa Cruz (26 October 1942), the Battle of the Philippine Sea (19-20 June 1942) ), 1944), and finally the Battle of Leyte Gulf (23-26 October 1944), which ended there.

On October 25, 1944, she was hit by an American aerial torpedo (TBM Avenger fighter from USS Manila Bay) on the port side, disabling propulsion and control while reducing speed. Two more torpedoes were then fired, causing extensive flooding. The extra air force arrived to fire two more port torpedoes on Chikuma, rendering her almost useless.

She was then sunk and the survivors to be collected were picked up by IJN Nowaki. On October 26, a U.S. warship arrived, scuttled her completely, and her name was officially removed from the Naval Register on April 20, 1945.

Her sister, IJN Tone, was doomed herself when she was sunk by an American airstrike near Wu on July 24, 1945.

Specification

Basic

Roles

Dimensions

Weight

Performance

Performance

Armor

Wing