KUMANO -JAP.LEKKI KRĄŻOWNIK

The Kumano was a Japanese heavy cruiser the keel of which was laid in 1934, launched in October 1936, and commissioned in the Imperial Japanese Navy in October 1937. The length of the ship at the time of launching was 201 m, width 18 m, and the actual full displacement, after modifications - 13,400 tons. The maximum speed of the cruiser Kumano was up to 35 knots. At the outbreak of World War II, the main armament was 10 203 mm guns in five twin turrets, and the additional armament included: 8 127 mm guns and 12 610 mm torpedo tubes. The Kumano was the fourth and final cruiser of the Mogami class. Cruisers of this type were originally built light to meet the requirements of the Washington Disarmament Treaty of 1922. Moreover, at the time of launch, they displaced only 9,500 tons, instead of the 10,000 tons provided for by this treaty for cruisers. At the same time, they had powerful artillery in the form of as many as 15 155 mm cannons in five turrets of three guns each! The Japanese designers, however, assumed a later retrofitting of this type of units with 203 mm guns already at the design stage, which actually happened later. As one of the first Japanese ships, welding techniques were used in their construction, but due to the low experience of the shipyards in this field, it led to problems in operation - as did the wrong center of gravity. In the course of modernization, these defects were removed on all units of this type. The cruiser Kumano's combat trail in World War II began in December 1941 with support for Japanese landings in Malaya. In April 1942, he took part in a Japanese fleet raid on the Indian Ocean, where four British ships were sunk, including the aircraft carrier HMS Hermes. Kumano also took part in the Battle of Midway in June 1942. Then he fought in the Guadalcanal area - until 1943. The last combat mission of the cruiser Kumano was the Battle of Leyte Bay (October 1944), during which it was severely damaged. After the battle, while being repaired in the port of Santa Cruz, it was sunk by American on-board planes - on November 25, 1944.