JAPANESE LIGHT CRUISER NAGARA

The Nagara was a Japanese light cruiser whose keel was laid in 1920, launched in April 1921, and commissioned in the Imperial Japanese Navy in April 1922. The length of the ship at the time of launching was 162.1 m, width 14.2 m, and the actual full displacement - 5,800 tons. The maximum speed of the cruiser Nagara was 36 knots. The main armament for launching was 7 140 mm guns in single positions, and the additional armament was, among others: 2 80 mm cannons and 8 610 mm torpedo tubes. The Nagara was the first cruiser of the type to bear the same name - ie the Nagara. The cruisers of this type were built on the basis of the successful design of the Kuma class ships. In fact, the two types differ slightly, and often the Nagara type is referred to as the modified Kuma type. The main differences were in the construction of superstructures, which allowed Nagara-type units to operate seaplanes. Already at the time of launching, they also received better torpedo tubes of a new type and larger caliber. Nagara-class cruisers were built from the very beginning as the so-called "Leaders" of the destroyer flotillas, which resulted in the creation of very fast ships, with good artillery armament, but relatively poorly armored. The combat career of cruiser Nagara began during the Sino-Japanese fights in the 1930s. Nagara's combat route in World War II began in December 1941 with support for Japanese landings in the Philippines. In January 1942, it took part in landing operations in the north of Indonesia, during which it was slightly damaged. In June 1942, he took part in the Battle of Midway. In the second half of this year, he fought in the area of the Solomon Islands and Guadalcanal. In 1943, the cruiser did not take any active part in the fighting. Nagara was sunk on August 7, 1944 by the American submarine USS Croaker.