Recognition Guide Warships of the Second World War
Imperial Japanese Navy — Cruiser

Japanese cruiser Katori

Katori-class cruiser

Japanese cruiser Katori
Imperial Japanese Navy official photograph per naval achives kept at museum — Mikasa Memorial Museum, Yokosuka, Japan — Public domain — Wikimedia Commons Plate Japanese cruiser Katori commissioning at Yokohama, April 20 1940

Service

  1. Imperial Japanese Navy as Katori20 April 1940 — 31 March 19441,438 days of the war
Katori-class cruiser Particulars
Name
Katori
Namesake
Katori Shrine
Builder
Mitsubishi
Ordered
1938
Laid down
24 August 1938
Launched
17 June 1939
Commissioned
20 April 1940
Struck
31 March 1944
Fate
sunk 19 February 1944
by USS Iowa (BB-61) off Truk
151 (1944)
Status
Wreck

Specifications

Displacement, standard
5,890 long tons (5,985 t)
Displacement, full load
6,180 long tons (6,279 t)
Length
129.77 m (425.8 ft)
Beam
15.95 m (52.3 ft)
Draught
5.75 m (18.9 ft)
Speed
18 knots (33.3 km/h, 20.7 mph)
Range
9,000 nmi (16,668 km)
Complement
315
Main gun
140 mm (5.5 in)

Katori was a Katori-class cruiser, operated by the Imperial Japanese Navy. She was named for Katori Shrine. Her keel was laid at Mitsubishi on 24 August 1938. Launched on 17 June 1939, she entered service on 20 April 1940.

Three ships of the class were built.

She displaced 5,890 long tons standard and 6,180 long tons at full load. She measured 129.8 m (426 ft) long with a beam of 15.9 m (52 ft). Her designed speed was 18 knots, and she carried a complement of 315.

Her main battery was four 140 mm (5.5 in) guns. She carried one aircraft.

She was in commission for 1,438 days of the Second World War. She was struck from the register on 31 March 1944.

She was sunk on 19 February 1944, at 7°45′N 151°20′E. The wreck survives.

Written from the harvested record. Every figure above is sourced; the wording is this site's own.

Armament and machinery

Armament and machinery
Propulsion
  • 2-shaft geared turbines plus diesel motors
  • 3 Kampon boilers
  • 8000 shp
Armament
  • 4 × 140 mm/50 caliber guns(2x2)
  • 2 × 127 mm/40 caliber AA guns (1x2)
  • 4 × 25 mm Type 96 AA guns (later increased to 30)
  • 8 × 13.2 mm AA guns
  • 4 × 533 mm torpedo tubes (2x2)
Aircraft
  • 1 x floatplane, 1 catapult

Sister ships

Sources

  • Facts harvested from Japanese cruiser Katori on Wikipedia. Figures only — no wording is taken from it.
  • Photograph: Imperial Japanese Navy official photograph per naval achives kept at museum — Mikasa Memorial Museum, Yokosuka, Japan — Public domain — Wikimedia Commons