Japanese cruiser Mikuma

Mikuma in Kagoshima Harbor, 1939
History
Empire of Japan
NameMikuma
NamesakeMikuma River
Ordered1931 Fiscal Year
BuilderMitsubishi
Laid down24 December 1931
Launched31 May 1934
Commissioned29 August 1935
Stricken10 August 1942
FateSunk by American aircraft during Battle of Midway, 6 June 1942 29°20′N 173°30′E / 29.333°N 173.500°E / 29.333; 173.500
General characteristics
Class and typeMogami-class cruiser
Displacement
  • 8,500 tons (official, initial)
  • 13,668 tons (final)
Length
  • 197 metres (646 ft 4 in) (initial)
  • 198 metres (649 ft 7 in) (final)
Beam
  • 18 metres (59 ft 1 in) (initial)
  • 20.2 metres (66 ft 3 in) (final)
Draught
  • 5.5 metres (18 ft 1 in) (initial)
  • 5.9 metres (19 ft 4 in) (final)
Propulsion
  • 4-shaft geared turbines
  • 10 Kampon boilers
  • 152,000 shp (113,000 kW)
Speed
  • 37 knots (69 km/h; 43 mph) (initial)
  • 34.9 knots (64.6 km/h; 40.2 mph) (final)
Range8,000 nmi (15,000 km; 9,200 mi) at 14 knots (26 km/h; 16 mph)
Complement850
Armament
Armor
  • Belt 100–125 mm (3.9–4.9 in)
  • Deck 35–60 mm (1.4–2.4 in)
  • Turret 25 mm (0.98 in)
Aircraft carried3 x floatplanes

Mikuma (三隈, Mikuma) was a heavy cruiser of the Imperial Japanese Navy. The second vessel in the four-ship Mogami class,[3] she was laid down in 1931 and commissioned in 1935. During World War II she participated in the Battle of Sunda Strait in February 1942 and the Battle of Midway in June 1942, and was sunk the last day of the latter engagement, on 6 June.

The ship was named after the Mikuma river in Oita prefecture, Japan.

  1. ^ a b Watts, Japanese Warships of World War II, p. 99
  2. ^ Campbell, Naval Weapons of World War Two, pp. 185-187
  3. ^ Whitley, Cruisers of World War Two, pp. 181-184

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