The were a
class of three warships operated by the
Imperial Japanese Navy
The Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN; Kyūjitai: Shinjitai: ' 'Navy of the Greater Japanese Empire', or ''Nippon Kaigun'', 'Japanese Navy') was the navy of the Empire of Japan from 1868 to 1945, when it was dissolved following Japan's surrend ...
. The vessels in the class were named after rivers according to the navy's light cruiser naming rule. They participated in numerous actions during the
Pacific War and were mainly used as destroyer flotilla leaders.
Design
The ''Sendai''-class light cruisers were a development of the preceding . Their boilers were better located, and they had four funnels instead of three. Each ship was designed with a flying-off platform and hangar, but did not actually carry aircraft until a
catapult system was installed in 1929.
Ships in class
Eight additional 5,500-ton cruisers were planned to be built under the
Eight-eight fleet
The was a Japanese naval strategy formulated for the development of the Imperial Japanese Navy in the first quarter of the 20th century, which stipulated that the navy should include eight first-class battleships and eight armoured cruisers or ba ...
Program. Four ''Sendai''-class light cruisers were authorised to be constructed in
Japan in 1921 and were laid down, but the last — ''Kako'' — was scrapped on the slipway in accordance with the regulations of the 1922
Washington Naval Treaty
The Washington Naval Treaty, also known as the Five-Power Treaty, was a treaty signed during 1922 among the major Allies of World War I, which agreed to prevent an arms race by limiting naval construction. It was negotiated at the Washington Nav ...
. The other three were sunk during
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
. Another four units were authorised to be built to the same design in 1922, but were cancelled following the signing of the Treaty after Japan decided that future cruiser construction would focus on heavy cruisers (the heavy cruisers
''Furutaka'' and
''Kako'' were built in place of two of the five cancelled ''Sendai'' Class cruisers).
References
Books
*
*''Model Art Ship Modelling Special No.29, 5,500 tons class cruisers'', Model Art Co. Ltd. (Japan), September 2008, Book code 12319-09
*'', History of Pacific War Vol.32 Light cruiser Kuma/Nagara/Sendai classes'',
Gakken (Japan), August 2001,
*Daiji Katagiri, ''Ship Name Chronicles of the Imperial Japanese Navy
Combined Fleet
The was the main sea-going component of the Imperial Japanese Navy. Until 1933, the Combined Fleet was not a permanent organization, but a temporary force formed for the duration of a conflict or major naval maneuvers from various units norm ...
'', Kōjinsha (Japan), June 1988,
*''The Maru Special, Japanese Naval Vessels No.27 Sendai class cruisers'', Ushio Shobō (Japan), May 1979, Book code 68343-27
External links
CombinedFleet.com: ''Sendai'' class
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sendai
Cruiser classes
World War II cruisers of Japan