Japanese cruiser Kinu
Kinu in 1931
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| History | |
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 Empire of Japan
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| Name: | Kinu |
| Namesake: | Kinu River |
| Ordered: | 1920 Fiscal Year (1918 “8-6 Fleet” Plan) |
| Builder: | Kawasaki Shipyards, Kobe |
| Laid down: | 17 January 1921 |
| Launched: | 29 May 1922 |
| Commissioned: | 10 November 1922 |
| Struck: | 20 December 1944 |
| Fate: |
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| General characteristics | |
| Class and type: | Nagara-class cruiser |
| Displacement: |
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| Length: | 534 ft 9 in (162.99 m) |
| Beam: | 48 ft 5 in (14.76 m) |
| Draught: | 16 ft (4.9 m) |
| Propulsion: | |
| Speed: | 36 knots (41 mph; 67 km/h) |
| Range: | 9,000 nautical miles (17,000 km) at 10 knots (19 km/h) |
| Complement: | 438 |
| Armament: |
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| Armor: | |
| Aircraft carried: | 1 x floatplane |
| Aviation facilities: | 1x aircraft catapult |
Kinu (鬼怒?) was the fifth of the six ships completed Nagara-class light cruiser in the Imperial Japanese Navy, named after the Kinu River in Japan. She was active in World War II in various campaigns in Malaya, the Dutch East Indies and New Guinea before being sunk by United States Navy carrier-based aircraft in the Philippines in 1944.
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 as flagships for submarine squadrons. 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 (10 m) 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.
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Wikipedia