Japanese cruiser Abukuma

Abukuma in 1941, showing Kawanishi E7K1 "Alf" floatplane on catapult, ready to launch
History
Empire of Japan
Name:	Abukuma
Ordered:	1920 Fiscal Year (1918 “8-6 Fleet” Plan)
Builder:	Uraga Dock Company
Laid down:	8 December 1921
Launched:	16 March 1923
Commissioned:	26 May 1925
Struck:	20 December 1944
Fate:	sunk 26 October 1944 bombed by USAAF B-24 Liberator bombers off Negros Island, Mindanao Sea 09°20′N 122°32′E / 9.333°N 122.533°E / 9.333; 122.533
General characteristics
Class and type:	Nagara-class cruiser
Displacement:	5,570 long tons (5,659 t) normal
Length:	162.1 m (531 ft 10 in) o/a 158.6 m (520 ft 4 in) w/l
Beam:	14.2 m (46 ft 7 in)
Draft:	4.8 m (15 ft 9 in)
Propulsion:	4 shaft Gihon geared turbines 12 Kampon boilers 90,000 shp (67,000 kW)
Speed:	36 knots (41 mph; 67 km/h)
Range:	6,000 nmi (11,000 km) at 14 kn (26 km/h)
Complement:	450
Sensors and processing systems:	Type 21 air-search radar
Armament:	(Initial) 7 × 14 cm/50 3rd Year Type naval guns 2 × 8 cm/40 3rd Year Type naval gun s 8 × 533 mm (21.0 in) torpedo tubes (4x2) 48 naval mines (Final) 5 × 14 cm/50 3rd Year Type naval guns 2 × 12.7 cm/40 Type 89 naval gun s 4 × triple, 2x twin,24x single Type 96 25 mm AA guns 10 × Type 93 13.2 mm machine guns 8 × 533 mm (21.0 in) torpedo tubes (2x4)
Armor:	Belt: 60 mm (2.4 in) Deck: 30 mm (1.2 in)
Aircraft carried:	1 x floatplane
Aviation facilities:	1x aircraft catapult

Abukuma (阿武隈^?) was the sixth and last of the vessels completed for the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) in the Nagara class of light cruisers, and like other vessels of her class, she was intended for use as the flagship of a destroyer flotilla. She was named after the Abukuma River in the Tōhoku region of Japan. She saw action during World War II in the Attack on Pearl Harbor and in the Pacific, before being disabled in the Battle of Surigao Strait in October 1944, then bombed and sunk by the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) off the coast of the Philippines.

Following the production of the five Kuma-class cruisers, an additional three 5,500-ton class light cruisers authorized under the 8-4 Fleet Program were ordered by the Imperial Japanese Navy in 1920. Due to minor changes in design, primarily due to advances in torpedo technology, these three vessels were initially designated as “modified Kuma-class”, or “5500-ton class Type II”, before being re-designated as a separate class named after the lead vessel, Nagara. A second set of three vessels was authorized in late 1920.

The Nagara-class vessels were essentially identical to the previous Kuma-class cruisers, retaining the same hull design, engines and main weaponry, with the addition of the new 610 mm Type 93 Long Lance Torpedoes, which required a larger launcher. However, in silhouette, a major difference from the Kuma class was in the configuration of the bridge, which incorporated an aircraft hangar. Initially, a 33-foot platform was mounted above the No.2 turret, extending over the forward superstructure below the bridge. This was later replaced by an aircraft catapult. Even so, the arrangement proved unwieldy, and the catapult was moved to the rear of each ship in the class, between the No.5 and No.6 turrets during retrofits in 1929-1934. Abukuma and Kinu, were scheduled to receive the new Type 93 torpedoes in early 1941. However, shortages meant that only Abukuma was refitted quadruple mounts in place of the aft twin mounts between March and May 1941, and her forward twin mounts were removed. Abukuma carried sixteen Type 93 torpedoes, including eight reloads.Abukuma was also the first vessel in her class to receive radar (in 1943) .