Japanese cruiser Chikuma (1938)

History
Japanese heavy cruiser Chikuma
Empire of Japan
Name:	Chikuma
Namesake:	Chikuma River
Ordered:	1932 Fiscal Year
Laid down:	1 October 1935
Launched:	19 March 1938
Commissioned:	20 May 1939
Struck:	20 April 1945
Fate:	Scuttled 25 October 1944 after Battle off Samar 11°25′N 126°36′E / 11.417°N 126.600°E / 11.417; 126.600
General characteristics
Class and type:	Tone-class cruiser
Displacement:	11,213 tons (standard); 15,443 (final)
Length:	189.1 m (620 ft 5 in)
Beam:	19.4 m (63 ft 8 in)
Draught:	6.2 m (20 ft 4 in)
Propulsion:	4-shaft Gihon oil geared turbines 8 boilers 152,000 shp (113,000 kW)
Speed:	35 knots (65 km/h)
Range:	8,000 nmi (15,000 km) at 18 knots (33 km/h)
Complement:	874
Armament:	8 × 20 cm/50 3rd Year Type naval guns (4x2) 8 × 127 mm (5-inch) guns 6 × 25 mm (1-inch) AA guns 12 × 610 mm (24-inch) torpedo tubes
Armor:	100 mm (3.9 in) (belt) 65–30 mm (2.6–1.2 in) (deck)
Aircraft carried:	6 x floatplanes

Chikuma (筑摩重巡洋艦, Chikuma jūjun'yōkan^?) was the second and last vessel in the Tone class of heavy cruisers in the Imperial Japanese Navy. The ship was named after the Chikuma River, in Nagano prefecture of Japan. Entering service in 1939, Chikuma saw battle during World War II in the Pacific. She was scuttled on 25 October 1944 after the Battle off Samar.

Chikuma was designed for long-range scouting missions and had a large seaplane capacity. She was extensively employed during World War II in conjunction with an aircraft carrier task force, or as part of a cruiser squadron with her sister ship, Tone.

The Tone-class cruisers were originally envisaged as the 5th and 6th vessels in the Mogami class. However, by the time construction began, serious weaknesses in the Mogami-class hull design had become clear following the Fourth Fleet Incident in 1935. As Japan no longer was obligated to abide by the limitations of the London Naval Treaty, a new design was created and new means of construction were utilized. Though the external dimensions were close to the Mogami class, the design was quite different, with all the main battery of guns placed forward of the bridge, reserving the entire stern area as a large sea plane hangar. Unlike the United States Navy, the Japanese did not have a dual role attack/scout aircraft. No reconnaissance units were assigned to the Japanese carriers, and little emphasis was placed on this aspect of carrier warfare. Instead the Japanese reserved all of their carrier aircraft for attack roles. Reconnaissance was left up to float planes carried by cruisers.Chikuma was intended to provide the long range scout planes needed for their carrier Air Fleets.

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