TOKU-99 IJN HEAVY CRUISER IBUKI

The Ibuki was a Japanese heavy cruiser, the keel of which was laid in 1942, launched in May 1943, but its conversion into a light carrier was started that same year. The total length of the ship at the time of launching was 200.6 m, width 20.2 m, and the actual full displacement - 14,820 tons. The top speed was up to 35 knots! The main armament at the time of the launch was 10 203 mm guns in five twin turrets, and the secondary armament was: 4 twin 127 mm guns, 4 twin 25 mm AA guns and 4 quadruple 610 mm torpedo tubes. The Ibuki was the first of two ships in the class of the same name (i.e. the Ibuki), the last type of Japanese heavy cruisers to be built during World War II. The Ibuki-class ships were ordered as part of the Japanese rapid reinforcement program of November 1941, and in their assumptions they duplicated the Mogami-class units in many fields. It can even be assumed that they were only a kind of modernization of this class of heavy cruisers. It is worth pointing out, however, that the Ibuki was never commissioned in its original role, as its conversion into a light aircraft carrier began shortly after its launch. However, the conversion clearly dragged on and was finally abandoned in March 1945, and Ibuki never entered service until the end of the war.