Z26 JAPANESE LIGHT CRUISER YAHAGI "OPERATION TEN-ICHI-GO 1945"

Yahagi was a Japanese light cruiser the keel of which was laid in 1941, launched in October 1942, and commissioned in the Imperial Japanese Navy in December 1943. The ship was 174.5 meters long, 15.2 meters wide, and had a full displacement of 8,500 tons. The cruiser Yahagi's maximum speed was 35 knots. The main armament at the time of the launch was 6 152 mm guns in three turrets, two guns each, and the additional armament included: 4 80 mm guns and two quadruple 610 mm torpedo tubes. Yahagi was the third Agano-class cruiser. This type of cruisers was created in connection with the need to expand the Japanese light forces, which occurred in the late 1930s. Agano type units were to serve as the so-called "Leaders" or units that lead the destroyer flotillas. This type of task led the Japanese designers to put emphasis on powerful torpedo armament and high top speed in these cruisers, including Noshiro. As a result, very successful ships were created, but less armored than their British or American counterparts. Light cruiser Yahagi took a small part in the Battle of the Philippine Sea in June 1944 and a very active part in the Battle of Leyte in October of the same year. Cruiser Yahagi's final combat mission was Operation Ten-Go, in which she sailed with battleship Yamato to fight the American invasion force fighting in Okinawa. Yahagi was sunk in the course of this operation by American on-board airliners on April 7, 1945.