WL335 IJN CRUISER HAGURO

Haguro was a Japanese heavy cruiser the keel of which was laid in 1925, launched in March 1928, and commissioned in the Imperial Japanese Navy in April 1929. The ship was 202 m long, 20.7 m wide, and the actual full displacement was 13,500 tons. The maximum speed of the cruiser Haguro was 36 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. Haguro was the third Myoko-class cruiser. Cruisers of this type were officially built to meet the requirements of the Washington Disarmament Treaty signed by the authorities in Tokyo in 1922, but in fact significantly exceeded its displacement and armament limits. Undoubtedly, the Myoko-type units were very successful: at the time of launching, they had clearly more powerful artillery weapons than their Royal Navy or US Navy counterparts, and also had very high speed. The combat trail of the cruiser Haguro in World War II began in February 1942 with fighting in the area of the Dutch East Indies and with fighting in the area of Makasar. Shortly thereafter, he took part in the Battle of the Java Sea, making a major contribution to Japanese victory. In May 1942 he took part in the Battle of the Coral Sea. Later, he fought in the waters surrounding the island of Guadalcanal, and in 1944 he took part in the battles: in the Philippine Sea and in the Gulf of Leyte. The cruiser Haguro was sunk by the British on May 16, 1945 as a result of artillery fire and torpedo attacks.