Tenryū-class cruiser
Tenryū in 1921
|
|
| Class overview | |
|---|---|
| Builders: | |
| Operators: |
 Imperial Japanese Navy
|
| Preceded by: | Chikuma class |
| Succeeded by: | Kuma class |
| Built: | 1917–1919 |
| In commission: | 1919–1944 |
| Planned: | 8 |
| Completed: | 2 |
| Cancelled: | 6 |
| Lost: | 2 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type: | Light cruiser |
| Displacement: |
|
| Length: | 142.9 m (468 ft 10 in) o/a |
| Beam: | 12.3 m (40 ft 4 in) |
| Draught: | 4 m (13 ft 1 in) |
| Propulsion: |
|
| Speed: | 33 knots (38 mph; 61 km/h) |
| Range: | 5,000 nmi (9,300 km) @ 14 kn (16 mph; 26 km/h) |
| Complement: | 327 |
| Armament: |
|
| Armour: |
|
The two Tenryū-class cruisers (天龍型軽巡洋艦 Tenryū-gata keijun'yōkan?) were the first light cruisers operated by the Imperial Japanese Navy. They participated in numerous actions during World War II.
The Tenryū class was followed by the larger and more versatile Kuma class.
The Tenryū class was designed to act as flagships for destroyer flotillas. The design represented an intermediate class between the light cruiser and the destroyer, which had few counterparts in other navies of the time, although it was inspired by a similar concept to the Royal Navy Arethusa class and C-class cruisers. The Imperial Japanese Navy and Japanese shipbuilding industry were still closely associated with the British due to the Anglo-Japanese Alliance, and were able to improve on the British experience.
Plans for the small cruisers were developed in 1915, with orders placed in the 1916 fiscal year. The cost of construction was approximately 4.55 million yen.
Soon after completion, the drawbacks of the small design became apparent to the Imperial Japanese Navy General Staff. Newer Japanese destroyers, such as the Minekaze class had a design speed of 39 knots, much higher than that of the Tenryū. Newer American cruisers, such as the Omaha class also exceeded it in firepower. Plans for an additional six ships were later abandoned in favor of a series of medium-sized (5500 ton class) cruisers, based on an enlarged version of the Tenryū design. From 1935-1936, plans were considered to convert the class into a dedicated anti-aircraft / anti-submarine platforms, using eight 127 mm guns in dual turrets, eight 25-mm guns, and four depth charge launchers with 36 depth charges. The redesign would also have involved combining the smokestacks into a single stack. Funding was approved for fiscal 1937, but the plan was cancelled due to an overload in the capacity of Japanese shipyards. The plan was floated again in 1938-1939 using eight 76.3 mm guns, but eventually abandoned in favor of the Akizuki-class destroyers.
...
Wikipedia