Heavy Cruisers: Furutaka Class

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Brian James
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Re: Heavy Cruisers: Furutaka Class

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Furutaka Class Heavy Cruiser Kako pictured on completion and commissioning off Kawasaki Shipbuilding Yards, Kobe on July 20th 1926...On August 8th 1942, north of Guadalcanal a three-seat Aichi E13A1 'Jake' reconnaissance floatplane launched from Kako was shot down by an SBD Dauntless of VS-72 from the Aircraft Carrier USS Wasp. This was the prelude to the Battle of Savo Island the following day...On August 9th, the four Heavy Cruisers of Cruiser Division 6 (Aoba, Kako, Furutaka and Kinugasa), the Heavy Cruiser Chōkai, Light Cruisers Tenryū and Yūbari and Destroyer Yūnagi engaged the Allied forces in a night gun and torpedo action. At about 2300, Chōkai, Furutaka and Kako all launched their reconnaissance floatplanes. The circling floatplanes dropped flares illuminating the targets and all the Japanese ships opened fire. The Cruisers USS Astoria, Quincy, Vincennes and HMAS Canberra were sunk. The Cruiser USS Chicago was damaged as were the Destroyers Ralph Talbot and Patterson. Kako's gunfire hit Vincennes in the hangar and destroyed all of her Curtiss SOC Seagull floatplanes. On the Japanese side, Chōkai was hit three times, Kinugasa twice, Aoba once; Furutaka and Kako were not damaged...On August 10th, Cruiser Division 6's four Cruisers were ordered unescorted to Kavieng, while the remainder of the striking force returned to Rabaul. At 0650 the American Submarine USS S-44 sighted Cruiser Division 6 on a track less than 900 yards away and fired four Mark 10 torpedoes from 700 yards at the rear ship in the group, which happened to be Kako. At 0708, three torpedoes hit Kako. The first struck to starboard abreast the No. 1 turret. The other torpedoes hit further aft, in the vicinity of the forward magazines and boiler rooms 1 and 2. Kako had all of her portholes open, and within 5 minutes she rolled over on her starboard side and exploded as sea water reached her boilers. At 0715, Kako disappeared bow first in the sea off Simbari Island in about 130 feet of water. Aoba, Furutaka and Kinugasa rescued Captain Takahashi and most of Kako's crew, but thirty-four crewmen were killed.
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Brian James
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Joined: Sun Aug 12, 2018 6:58 am

Re: Heavy Cruisers: Furutaka Class

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Lead Ship, Heavy Cruiser Furutaka pictured departing Mitsubishi Shipyards, Nagasaki, on completion, April 5th 1926...She was sunk October 12th 1942 by USS Salt Lake City and USS Duncan at the Battle of Cape Esperance.
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Brian James
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Joined: Sun Aug 12, 2018 6:58 am

Re: Heavy Cruisers: Furutaka Class

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Lead Ship, Heavy Cruiser Furutaka pictured on sea trials in Sukumo Bay on June 9th 1939, post her major reconstruction refit....The six single 7.87 inch main battery was replaced by three twin-turrets housing the 8 inch/50-cal guns. Light Anti-Aircraft protection was augmented with eight 25 mm automatic cannons in four twin mounts. The six pairs (three per side) of fixed torpedo tubes mounted on the middle deck were replaced with two quadruple mounts using the powerful Type 93 Long Lance torpedo, located on the upper deck, one on each side of the catapult.
The bridge structure was completely rebuilt to accommodate the latest rangefinders and fire control equipment for the main battery, antiaircraft and torpedoes. Platforms were redesigned for aircraft spotters. The twelve original mixed-fuel boilers were replaced by 10 large oil-fired units, along with a redesign of all the boiler rooms, and replacement of coal bunkers with fuel-oil tanks.
All of the new equipment resulted in increased electrical power requirements, so three more generators were added to increase power output from 315 kW to 885 kW. These modifications added 560 tons to the ships. To prevent the draft from increasing even more, and to improve stability, bulges were added, simultaneously enhancing antitorpedo protection. As a result, the ships' beam was increased to 55.5 ft...Furutaka was sunk at the Battle of Cape Esperance on October 11th 1942.
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Brian James
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Re: Heavy Cruisers: Furutaka Class

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Furutaka Class Heavy Cruiser Kako pictured on completion at Kawasaki Shipyards, Kobe on July 20th 1926. She was sunk off Simbari Island by S Class Submarine USS S-44 on August 10th 1942.
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Brian James
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Re: Heavy Cruisers: Furutaka Class

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Furutaka Class Heavy Cruiser Kako pictured at Kure Naval Arsenal on July 31st 1926.
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