Japanese cruiser Aoba

	Japanese heavy cruiser Aoba
History
Empire of Japan
Name	Aoba
Namesake	Mount Aoba
Ordered	1923 Fiscal Year
Builder	Mitsubishi
Laid down	23 January 1924
Launched	25 September 1926
Commissioned	20 September 1927
Out of service	1945
Stricken	20 November 1945
Fate	Sunk 24 July 1945 by US aircraft, raised and scrapped in 1946–47
General characteristics
Class and type	Aoba-class cruiser
Displacement	8,300 tons (standard); 9,000 (final)
Length	185.17 m (607 ft 6 in)
Beam	15.83 m (51 ft 11 in) (initial); 17.56 m (57 ft 7 in) (final);
Draught	5.71 m (18 ft 9 in) (initial); 5.66 m (18 ft 7 in) (final);
Propulsion	4-shaft Brown Curtis geared turbines; 12 Kampon boilers; 102,000 shp (76,000 kW);
Speed	33.43–36 kn (61.91–66.67 km/h)
Range	7,000 nmi (13,000 km) at 14 kn (26 km/h) (initial); 8,223 nmi (15,229 km) at 14 knots (final);
Complement	643 (initial) – 657 (final)
Armament	(initial); 6 × 20 cm (7.9 in)/50-cal Mark I guns (3×2),; 4 × 12 cm (4.7 in)/45 (4x1),; 12 × 610 mm (24 in) torpedo tubes (6x2); (final); 6 × 8 in (203 mm)/50-cal Mark II guns (3×2),; 4 × 120 mm (4.7 in)/45-cal (4x1),; 8 × 610 mm (24 in) torpedo tubes (2x4); 50 × Type 96 25 mm (0.98 in) AA guns;
Armor	76 mm (belt); 36 mm (deck);
Aircraft carried	1 × floatplane (initial); 2 × floatplane, 1 catapult (final);

Aoba (青葉) was the lead ship in the two-vessel Aoba class of heavy cruisers in the Imperial Japanese Navy. Launched in 1926 and heavily modernized in 1938-40, Aoba initially served as a patrol craft, largely along the China coast, and saw extensive service during World War II. Repeatedly heavily damaged and repaired, she was finally crippled by bombing and settled on the bottom of shallow Kure harbor in April 1945; two raids in late July reduced her to an unsalvageable hulk. During the attack on 24 July 1945, future Vice admiral Dick H. Guinn dropped the 2,000 lb (910 kg) bomb which contributed to her sinking.^[2]

Named after Mount Aoba, a volcano located behind Maizuru, Kyoto, she was formally removed from the Navy List on 20 November 1945, and her wreck scrapped in 1946–47.

^ Lacroix & Wells, Japanese Cruisers, p. 794
^ Calloway, James R. (1972). Department of Defense appropriations for 1972: hearings before a Subcommittee of the Committee on Appropriations House of Representatives. Washington, D.C.: United States Government Printing Office. pp. 742–744. Retrieved 9 April 2017.

[1] Lacroix & Wells, Japanese Cruisers, p. 794

[United_States_Congress_Senate-2] Calloway, James R. (1972). Department of Defense appropriations for 1972: hearings before a Subcommittee of the Committee on Appropriations House of Representatives. Washington, D.C.: United States Government Printing Office. pp. 742–744. Retrieved 9 April 2017.

[1]

[2]

History
Japanese heavy cruiser Aoba
Empire of Japan
Name	Aoba
Namesake	Mount Aoba
Ordered	1923 Fiscal Year
Builder	Mitsubishi
Laid down	23 January 1924
Launched	25 September 1926
Commissioned	20 September 1927^[1]
Out of service	1945
Stricken	20 November 1945
Fate	Sunk 24 July 1945 by US aircraft, raised and scrapped in 1946–47
General characteristics
Class and type	Aoba-class cruiser
Displacement	8,300 tons (standard); 9,000 (final)
Length	185.17 m (607 ft 6 in)
Beam	15.83 m (51 ft 11 in) (initial) 17.56 m (57 ft 7 in) (final)
Draught	5.71 m (18 ft 9 in) (initial) 5.66 m (18 ft 7 in) (final)
Propulsion	4-shaft Brown Curtis geared turbines 12 Kampon boilers 102,000 shp (76,000 kW)
Speed	33.43–36 kn (61.91–66.67 km/h)
Range	7,000 nmi (13,000 km) at 14 kn (26 km/h) (initial) 8,223 nmi (15,229 km) at 14 knots (final)
Complement	643 (initial) – 657 (final)
Armament	(initial) 6 × 20 cm (7.9 in)/50-cal Mark I guns (3×2), 4 × 12 cm (4.7 in)/45 (4x1), 12 × 610 mm (24 in) torpedo tubes (6x2) (final) 6 × 8 in (203 mm)/50-cal Mark II guns (3×2), 4 × 120 mm (4.7 in)/45-cal (4x1), 8 × 610 mm (24 in) torpedo tubes (2x4) 50 × Type 96 25 mm (0.98 in) AA guns
Armor	76 mm (belt) 36 mm (deck)
Aircraft carried	1 × floatplane (initial) 2 × floatplane, 1 catapult (final)