Japanese cruiser Yura

Light cruiser Yura of the Imperial Japanese Navy
History
Empire of Japan
Name:	Yura
Ordered:	1920 Fiscal Year
Builder:	Sasebo Naval Arsenal
Laid down:	21 May 1921
Launched:	15 February 1922
Commissioned:	20 March 1923
Struck:	20 November 1942
Fate:	Scuttled 25 October 1942 after bombing by USAAF aircraft off Savo Island 08°15′S 159°07′E / 8.250°S 159.117°E / -8.250; 159.117
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
Armament:	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
Armor:	Belt: 60 mm (2.4 in) Deck: 30 mm (1.2 in)
Aircraft carried:	1 x floatplane, 1 catapult

Yura (由良^?) was the fourth of the six ships completed in the Nagara class of light cruisers for the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN), and like other vessels of her class, she was intended for use as the flagship of a destroyer flotilla. She was named after the Yura River near Kyoto, Japan. She served in the early stages of World War II, and was the first Japanese light cruiser to be lost in that conflict.

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.