Nihon Kaigun 1946

My thanks to BB1987 for drawing these...I gave him the idea for the original concept and he took it and ran with it. As always, he has proven himself to be a Shipbucket Master, and I eagerly look forward to more IJN-related drawings from him in the future, whether they're AU, Never-Built, or Real Designs. Thanks again, my friend.

By the end of World War II, the Japanese heavy cruiser force had been annihilated. None of the pre-war-built cruisers had survived, and only one (Komaki) remained of the four built during the war. With the U.S. Navy currently building one Baltimore-class, eight Oregon City-class, and twelve Des Moines-class heavy cruisers of their own, the Naval General Staff wanted some ships to compensate.

The resulting design was the Fuji-class heavy cruisers. The ships took several design features from preceding ships, such as the bridge structure, which was modeled after those of the wartime-built battle cruisers. The stack was modeled after the preceding Ibuki-class, but was reworked so as to look like a single stack instead of two trunked together. The main armament was twelve 8-inch guns (four triple turrets) in a Japanese version of the U.S. Navy's Mark XVI guns carried by the upcoming Des Moines-class ships. The secondary armament was sixteen 3.9-inch quick-firing guns (eight twin turrets) like those mounted on the Akizuki-class DDs. The guns were a Mark II version of the wartime builds; they were now free of their short-life barrel problems, and proved to be excellent for antiaircraft defense. (All remaining Akizuki-class DDs were rearmed with these turrets, and the upcoming Yamazuki-class DDs sported these mounts as well.

The fire-control system was derived from the one fitted by the wartime cruisers and battleships, especially the Settsu-class battleships then just entering service. Three Sikorsky "Dragonfly" helicopters were carried, and they had their own hangar below the quarterdeck. The first ship, Fuji, was laid down at Kawasaki's Kobe Shipyard in mid-September 1949, and was launched in mid-October of the following year, entering service in mid-October 1951. A further five ships of the class would follow her.

Fuji as commissioned on 12 October 1951. Aoba, commissioned on 18 August 1952, was identical.

Ships three and four of the class looked very similar to the first two vessels, but the 3.9-inch guns sported the U.S. Navy's Mark XXV radar dish, and their helicopters sported the IJN's new paint scheme for their shipboard aircraft.

Ashigara as commissioned on 25 June 1953. Chokai, commissioned on 2 May 1954, was identical.

Ship five, Mogami, featured updated radars and a different foremast, and a new aircraft complement: two Sikorsky H-34s, which replaced the three Dragonflies carried by her sister ships.

Mogami as commissioned on 11 March 1955.

The last ship of the class, Chikuma was the most advanced of them all, and was the last all-gun heavy cruiser ever built. She sported a completely different radar suite than her five sisters, an updated fire-control system for her main guns, and a slightly different arrangement for her 3.9-inch secondary turrets, permitting her to carry a full lifeboat davit set on each beam, and the 40-mm. machine guns were eliminated altogether.

Chikuma as commissioned on 15 January 1957.

The six ships served quite well with the fleet, performing offshore fire-support duties during 3rd Sino-Japanese War, but by the early 1960s it was obvious that refits were going to be necessary to stay with the times. As such, it was decided to convert the four older ships to missile cruisers.

Fuji emerged from the shipyard first. As expected she looked completely different than when she went in. Her aft turrets were removed and replaced by a twin-arm launcher for the RIM-8 TALOS missile, and her radar suite was updated accordingly. Aircraft-wise one of her Dragonflies was replaced by a Sikorsky SH-3.

Fuji in 1966, upon completion of her refit.

Aoba was next out of the shipyard, sporting the new twin-arm RIM-2 TERRIER missile system. Again, her radar suite was updating accordingly, and she landed her H-34s altogether, replacing them with Sikorsky SH-3s.

Aoba upon completion of her refit, 1967. Ashigara looked identical.

Chokai's refit was the most extensive of them all. The original plan was to rebuild her as a double-ended TALOS ship, but the Naval General Staff chose to abandon the plan due to the obsolescence of said missile. Therefore, the refit was carried out in a different sense. All main guns and all but two of the 3.9-inch turrets were still removed, and were replaced instead by three RIM-2C Terrier launchers and two Mark XIII launchers fitted on her beams, each of these carried the newer RIM-66 1MR missiles.

Even more startling was the complete rebuild of her bridge structure and funnel. The designers were given free reign with the former, and chose to acknowledge her pre-war namesake by giving Chokai an updated version of the massive bridge structure that was a trademark of the now-long-gone Maya-class ships. Upon recommissioning, Chokai was not only made flagship of 3rd Fleet, she was also honored with a special visit by retired Fleet Admiral Genda Minoru, former CinC Combined Fleet.

Chokai upon completion of her rebuild, 1970.

The ships received further modifications beginning in the early 1980s, as by then even the most-advanced version of the Terrier missile system had become obsolete. As such, two of the ships received the newer RIM-67 STANDARD missile system, as well two quadruple-mount armored box Tomahawk launchers and two quadruple-mount Harpoon missile launchers. Other improvements included Japanese-built radars designed off the U.S. Navy's SPS-48 and SPS-49 radar sets, and Block-0 Phalanx CWIS systems.

Ashigara as refitted in 1982. Aoba was refitted the same way.

Chokai's refit consisted of her RIM-2C Standard missiles being replaced with RIM-67 Standards and her RIM-66 1MRs replaced by RIM-66 2MRs. She also received Harpoons for her beam missile launchers, and the Block-0 Phalanx system.

Chokai as she appeared following her 1983 refit.

Fuji received a reconstruction along with her refit, although not on the scale of Chokai's. With her TALOS missile systems now completely obsolete, the Naval General Staff decided to rebuild her as a helicopter cruiser. As such, her aft missile launchers were removed and replaced by a hangar capable of housing up to four CH-46 Seaknights or SH-3 Seakings, and a CH-53 Skydragon could also be operated for minesweeping purposes. A sonar was fitted in the bow, and a Mark IV ASROC missile launcher was also installed, carrying eight warheads total, with the same number of reloads. She also received the same Harpoon and Tomahawk missile launchers as her sisters, but instead of the Phalanx system she received the RIM-7 Sea Sparrow.

Fuji as a helicopter cruiser, 1985.

The two remaining all-gun ships of the class also received a refit in the late 1980s, giving them one last lease on life. The two ships received the Phalanx CWIS system and missiles, and two of their 3.9-inch secondary turrets were landed in order to install four quadruple-mount Harpoon and two quadruple-mount Tomahawk launchers.

Chikuma as she appeared after her final refit in 1987. Mogami looked identical.

The Fuji-class ships had served their country well, but not even refits could halt the passage of time. It was soon apparent that the ships were nearing the end of their active service lives, and one by one, they started leaving the fleet. Mogami was the first to go, being decommissioned in May 1990, with Ashigara following her in February 1991. She was struck from the Navy List that December.

Chokai, probably the most up-to-date of the six ships, would receive one last refit. This consisted of one of her RIM-67 Standard launchers being removed and replaced by two quadruple-mount Tomahawk launchers, with the Standard launcher's former magazine being used for Tomahawk reloads. In place of the Standard launcher's missile directors, a RIM-7 Sea Sparrow launcher was fitted, sitting alongside the previously-installed Phalanx CWIS. Her air wing was also updated one last time, with Mitsubishi SH-60 helicopters replacing the now-worn-out SH-3 Sea Kings.

Chikuma, one of the last all-gun cruisers in service anywhere in the world, followed her two sister ships into inactivation in March 1992. That October, Fuji herself was decommissioned and struck from the Navy List the same date. She was sent to the scrapyard on 10 August 1993, with Aoba being decommissioned and struck from the Navy List just three days later. Chikuma was struck from the Navy List in May 1994, and Ashigara followed Fuji to the scrapyard that September. Chokai, the last ship of the class in service, soldiered on until finally being decommissioned and struck from the Navy List on Christmas Day 1999.

Chokai as decommissioned in December 1999.

Aoba was scrapped in November 2000, and Chikuma followed her to the scrapyard in November 2006. Chokai was spared the scrapper's torch, and opened as a museum in Kobe in September 2010. Mogami, surprisingly, remains on the Reserve List, and there is strong support among her former crewmembers for her preservation once she is finally struck, as - with Chikuma's scrapping - she is one of only two remaining all-gun Japanese heavy cruisers. However, the Naval General Staff - for reasons unknown - has stated Mogami will remain on the Reserve List until at least May 2017.

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