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, Potsdam Declaration, when it was dissolved followin ...

. 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 The Pacific War, sometimes called the Asia–Pacific War or the Pacific Theatre, was the Theater (warfare), theatre of World War II fought between the Empire of Japan and the Allies of World War II, Allies in East Asia, East and Southeast As ...

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 The flight deck of an aircraft carrier is the surface on which its aircraft take off and land, essentially a miniature airfield at sea. On smaller naval ships which do not have aviation as a primary mission, the landing area for helicopters ...

and hangar, but did not actually carry aircraft until a

catapult A catapult is a ballistics, ballistic device used to launch a projectile at a great distance without the aid of gunpowder or other propellants – particularly various types of ancient and medieval siege engines. A catapult uses the sudden rel ...

system was installed in 1929.

Ships in class

Eight additional 5,500-ton cruisers were planned to be built under the Eight-eight fleet Program. Four ''Sendai''-class light cruisers were authorised to be constructed in

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

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 signed during 1922 among the major Allies of World War I, Allies of World War I, which agreed to prevent an arms race by limiting Navy, naval construction. It was negotiated at ...

. The other three were sunk during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. 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 is a Japanese publishing company founded in 1947 by Hideto Furuoka, which also produces educational toys. Their annual sales are reported at ¥ 90 billion ($789 million US). Gakken publishes educational books and magazines and produces othe ...

(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