JAPANESE LIGHT CRUISER NAKA

Naka was a Japanese light cruiser whose keel was laid in 1922, launched in March 1925, and commissioned in the Imperial Japanese Navy in November 1925. The ship was 152.4 m long, 14.2 m wide, and her displacement was 5,200 tons. Cruiser Naka's maximum speed was 35.3 knots. At the time of launching, the main armament was 7 140 mm guns in single positions, and the additional armament was, among others: 2 80 mm anti-aircraft guns and 8 610 mm torpedo tubes. Naka was the third and final Sendai-class cruiser. Cruisers of this type were designed from the beginning as the so-called "Leaders" or guides of a destroyer flotilla. Therefore, when designing them, the emphasis was on high speed at the expense of armor. They were also very often the flagships of the light ships of the Japanese fleet. The combat career of cruiser Naka in World War II began in December 1941 with the support of the Japanese landing in the Philippines and the protection of convoys heading towards those islands. In January 1942, Naka successfully covered convoys heading towards the Dutch East Indies - mainly towards the islands of Balikpapan and Borneo. In February 1942, along with his twin Jintsu, he played a significant role in the Battle of the Java Sea, which was victorious for Japanese forces. In the first half of 1943, Naka escorted mainly convoys to the Marshall Islands and Nauru. The cruiser was sunk in the course of a major attack by American cabin air forces on the Truk Island base on February 17-18, 1944.