IJN HEAVY CRUISER SUZUYA 1944/SHO ICHIGO OPERATION

Suzuya was a Japanese heavy cruiser the keel of which was laid in 1933, launched in November 1934, and commissioned in the Imperial Japanese Navy in October 1937. The length of the ship at the time of launching was 200.6 m, width 20.2 m, and the actual full displacement, after modifications - 13,700 tons. The maximum speed of the Suzuya cruiser was up to 37 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. Suzuya was the third Mogami-class cruiser. 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! 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 combat trail of cruiser Suzuya in World War II began in December 1941 with support for Japanese landings in Malaya. From December 1941 to March 1942, he supported further Japanese landings in Southeast Asia: mainly in Sumatra and Java. In April of the same year, he took part in a Japanese fleet rally to the Indian Ocean. Suzuya also took part in the Battle of Midway in June 1942. For a large part of 1943, Suzuya was modernized at the base in Kure - first of all, it received a new radar and significantly more powerful anti-aircraft armament. In 1943, however, the cruiser managed to take part in the Battle of Augusta's Bay. In 1944 he took part in the Battle of the Philippine Sea and in the Gulf of Leyte. The cruiser was sunk on October 25, 1944.