Eaglemoss Collections

Historical:

The Furutaka class cruisers were the first heavy cruisers in the Imperial Japanese Navy, also referred to as “A class” cruisers in the I.J.N. Their design was the work of Constructor Captain Yuzuru Hiraga, assisted by Lt. Cmdr. Fujimoto Kikuo.

Designed to beat the U.S. Omaha-class cruisers and the British Hawkins class cruisers, they were as fast as the Omahas (and nearly 4 knots faster than the Hawkins class), while firing a heavier broadside, and carrying a larger torpedo battery than either one.

Their flush deck resulted in both weight savings and increased strength by allowing the hull's longitudinal members to be continuous. The design featured side and deck armour integrated into the ship's structure, saving additional weight.

Despite the weight-saving efforts, as built the Kako was more than 900 tons heavier than its design weight. As a result, draft was increased by more than 1 metre, subsequently reducing top speed, and the height of the belt armour above the waterline. The portholes of the lowest-level crew quarters were near enough to the waterline that they needed to be closed when the ships were at sea, reducing ventilation and making the living spaces less habitable.

They were the first of the I.J.N. cruisers to feature a substantial bridge, with 6 distinct levels, providing support for navigation, fire control, communication and command.

Due to the high freeboard of these ships, mounting the torpedo tubes on the main deck would have caused the torpedoes to enter the water at too steep of an angle. Instead, they were mounted on the middle deck in 3 pairs of fixed tubes on each side. Captain Hiraga argued against this kind of mounting, concerned that during battle either a direct hit or fires could detonate the torpedoes, causing severe damage, as indeed happened with Furutaka of this class during WWII; additionally, the cruisers Mikuma, Suzuya, all of which featured similar arrangements, would all be sunk or severely damaged by their own exploding torpedoes.

Info: Furutaka-class Heavy Cruiser Diecast Model IJN, Furutaka, 1926