Japanese cruiser Kinugasa

Heavy cruiser Kinugasa on commissioning at Kobe
History
Empire of Japan
Name:	Kinugasa
Namesake:	Mount Kinugasa
Ordered:	1923 Fiscal Year
Builder:	Kawasaki Heavy Industries
Laid down:	24 October 1924
Launched:	24 October 1926
Commissioned:	30 September 1927
Struck:	15 December 1942
Fate:	sunk 13 November 1942 by United States Navy and USMC aircraft during Naval Battle of Guadalcanal at 08°45′S 157°00′E / 8.750°S 157.000°E / -8.750; 157.000
General characteristics
Class and type:	Aoba-class heavy cruiser
Displacement:	8,300 long tons (8,400 t) (standard); 9,000 long tons (9,100 t) (final)
Length:	185.17 m (607 ft 6 in)
Beam:	15.83 m (51 ft 11 in) (initial) 17.56 m (57 ft 7 in) (final)
Draft:	5.71 m (18 ft 9 in) (initial) 5.66 m (18 ft 7 in) (final)
Installed power:	102,000 shp (76,000 kW)
Propulsion:	4 × Brown Curtis geared turbines 12 × Kampon boilers 4 × shafts
Speed:	36 kn (67 km/h; 41 mph) – 33.43 kn (61.91 km/h; 38.47 mph)
Range:	As Built: 7,000 nmi (13,000 km; 8,100 mi) at 14 kn (26 km/h; 16 mph) Final: 8,223 nmi (15,229 km; 9,463 mi) at 14 kn (26 km/h; 16 mph)
Complement:	643 (initial); 657 (final)
Armament:	As Built: 6 × 7.9 in (200 mm)/50 cal guns (3x2) 4 × 4.7 in (120 mm)/45 cal guns (4x1) 12 × 24 in (610 mm) torpedo tubes (6x2) Final: 6 × 7.9 in (200 mm)/50 cal guns (3x2) 4 × 4.7 in (120 mm)/45 cal guns (4x1) 8 × 24 in (610 mm) torpedo tubes (2x4) 50 × 25 mm (0.98 in) anti-aircraft guns
Armor:	Belt: 76 mm (3.0 in) (belt) Deck: 36 mm (1.4 in) (deck)
Aircraft carried:	1 × floatplane (initial) 2 × floatplanes (final)
Aviation facilities:	1 × catapult

Kinugasa (衣笠 重巡洋艦, Kinugasa jūjun'yōkan^?) was the second vessel in the two-vessel Aoba class of heavy cruisers in the Imperial Japanese Navy. The ship was named after Mount Kinugasa, located in Yokosuka, Kanagawa, Japan.

Kinugasa and her sister ship Aoba were originally planned as the third and fourth vessels in the Furutaka class of heavy cruisers. However, design issues with the Furutakas resulted in modifications including twin turrets and an aircraft catapult. These modifications created yet more weight to an already top-heavy design, causing stability problems. Nevertheless, Kinugasa played an important role in the opening stages of World War II.

Kinugasa was completed on 30 September 1927 at the Kawasaki shipyards in Kobe. Her early service was as flagship of the Fifth Squadron (Sentai), and she operated for virtually her entire career with that unit and the Sixth and Seventh Squadrons. In 1928, she became the first Japanese combat ship to carry an aircraft catapult.

During a training exercise on 11 July 1929, the Japanese submarine I-55 accidentally collided with Kinugasa while using Kinugasa as a target. I-55 suffered damage to her bow plating in the collision.

Kinugasa served off the China coast in 1928-1929 and on several occasions during the 1930s. Placed in reserve in September 1937, Kinugasa was extensively modernized at the Sasebo Navy Yard and not recommissioned until the end of October 1940.