Naka (cruiser)

Naka (cruiser) was a *Sendai*-class light cruiser built for the Imperial Japanese Navy during the 1920s. She served as the flagship of the 4th Destroyer Squadron and later the 4th Cruiser Division, seeing extensive action in the Pacific War. The vessel participated in numerous campaigns, including the invasion of the Philippines and the Battle of the Java Sea, before being sunk by United States Navy aircraft in 1944.

Design and description

The *Sendai*-class cruisers were improved versions of the preceding *Nagara*-class, designed as fast flagships for destroyer flotillas. *Naka* had a length of 163 meters overall and displaced 7,100 tons at full load. Her propulsion system consisted of four Brown-Curtis geared steam turbines powered by ten Kampon boilers, driving four shafts for a top speed of 35.25 knots. Primary armament consisted of seven 14 cm/50 3rd Year Type naval guns mounted in single gun turrets. Anti-aircraft defense evolved during her career, eventually including Type 96 25 mm AT/AA Guns and 13.2 mm Hotchkiss machine guns. She was also equipped with eight 610 mm torpedo tubes for the potent Type 93 torpedo and could carry up to 80 naval mines. A single Nakajima E8N floatplane was operated from a forward catapult.

Construction and career

*Naka* was laid down on 10 June 1922 at the Yokosuka Naval Arsenal, but construction was halted following the 1923 Great Kantō earthquake. Damaged on the slipway, her hull was scrapped and a new vessel was laid down in 1924. Launched on 24 March 1925, she was commissioned into the Imperial Japanese Navy on 30 November 1925. Initially assigned to the Sasebo Naval District, she spent the interwar period in training and patrol duties, serving as flagship for destroyer squadrons. In 1937, she was modernized, receiving improved anti-aircraft armament and a strengthened hull. On the eve of the Pacific War, she was flagship of the 4th Destroyer Squadron, part of the IJN 4th Fleet under Vice Admiral Shigeyoshi Inoue.

Operational history

At the start of World War II, *Naka* covered the invasion of Guam and the Battle of Wake Island in December 1941. During the Dutch East Indies campaign, she participated in the landings in the Philippines at Legazpi and later supported operations in the Celebes and Ambon. As flagship of Rear Admiral Takeo Takagi's covering force, she played a key role in the Battle of the Java Sea in February 1942, contributing to the Allied defeat. She later participated in the Indian Ocean raid in April, attacking merchant shipping. After a refit in late 1942, she was reassigned to the 4th Cruiser Division and deployed to the South Pacific, engaging in the arduous Tokyo Express supply runs during the Guadalcanal campaign and the subsequent Solomon Islands campaign. She was damaged by air attacks multiple times, including at the Battle of Empress Augusta Bay.

Fate

In early 1944, *Naka* was part of the fleet defending the Truk naval base. During Operation Hailstone, the massive United States Navy carrier raid on Truk on 17 February 1944, she was attacked by aircraft from Task Force 58. While attempting to escape the lagoon, she was struck by bombs and aerial torpedos from Grumman TBF Avenger torpedo bombers from the USS *Bunker Hill*. *Naka* broke in two and sank northwest of Truk, with the loss of 240 crewmen. The cruiser was removed from the naval register on 31 March 1944.

Legacy

*Naka*'s career exemplified the role of Japanese light cruisers as destroyer squadron leaders in the expansive naval campaigns of the Pacific War. Her wreck was discovered in the 1970s and has since been a popular site for technical diving, lying in deep water off Truk Lagoon. The ship's operational history is studied in works on the Pacific War, such as those by historians Samuel Eliot Morison and Paul S. Dull, detailing the intense naval combat in the Southwest Pacific. Category:Ships of the Imperial Japanese Navy Category:Sendai-class cruisers Category:World War II cruisers of Japan