Крейсер "Юра": Описание и характеристики.

Yura (由良) was the fourth of the six ships completed in the of light cruisers for the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN), and like other vessels of her class, she was intended for use as the flagship of a destroyer flotilla. She served in the early stages of World War II.

The second batch of three Nagara class cruisers, including Yura, was authorized by the Diet as part of the 8 6 Fleet Completion Program on 12 March 1918 although they were not funded until the Fiscal Year 1920 Naval Estimates. The ships were intended to serve as flagships for destroyer and submarine squadrons, long range scouts for the battlefleet, and to protect Japanese merchant shipping. The Nagara class was intended to displace at (standard load) and at normal load, but was slightly overweight and actually displaced They had an overall length of , a beam of , and a draft of Their crew numbered 37 officers and 413 enlisted men. When serving as a flagship, an additional 5 officers and 22 enlisted men were embarked. The Nagaras propulsion system consisted of four geared steam turbines, each driving one propeller shaft using steam from a dozen Kampon water tube boilers. All of the boilers but two were oil fired and those used a mixed firing system where fuel oil was sprayed onto the coal to increase power. The turbines developed a total of and were intended to give the cruisers a speed of Yura only reached from when the ship ran her sea trials on 18 February 1923. The ships carried enough fuel oil and coal to give them a range of at , an increase of from their designed range.

The cruisers' main battery consisted of seven 3rd Year Type guns in single gun mounts protected by gun shields. Five of the guns were mounted on the centerline, one pair mounted back to back forward of the bridge and three aft of the funnels, on the aft superstructure. The remaining guns were positioned abreast the bridge, one on each broadside. For anti aircraft defense, the ships were fitted with a pair of 3rd Year Type anti aircraft (AA) guns abreast the middle funnel and two Type 3 heavy machine guns on a platform between the middle and rear funnels, one on each broadside. The ships were equipped with four rotating Type 8 twin tube mounts for Type 8 torpedoes, two mounts on each broadside. Each tube was provided with a single reload torpedo forward of the mount. The Nagara class ships were fitted with two rails at the stern that could accommodate 48 No. 1 naval mines These were actually a pair of mines that were connected by a cable and were intended to be dropped ahead of ahead of enemy ships so that hitting the cable would draw one or both mines in towards the ship's hull. The main guns were controlled by a Type 13 director located at the top of the tripod mast. To determine the distance to the target, a pair of rangefinders were fitted, one on the bridge and the other near the 6.5 mm machine guns. An additional rangefinder was positioned on a platform between the forward and middle funnels. The armor of the 5,500 ton cruisers was designed to protect against American shells and the ships were equipped with a waterline armor belt thick amidships that protected the propulsion machinery. Made from high tensile steel, it consisted of a inner plate and an outer plate. The belt connected to the armored deck at the top and the double bottom below. The deck armor was also high tensile steel, thick. During Yuras September 1933 – January 1934 refit, the hangar was converted into offices for the admiral's staff, radio rooms and storage compartments, the flying off platform, its catapult and the derrick was removed and a rotating Kure Type 2, Model 3 catapult was installed forward of the mainmast, between two gun mounts. The pole mainmast was converted into a tripod mast with a stronger derrick to handle the aircraft. The cruiser operated a Nakajima E4N2 floatplane until the end of 1934 when a Kawanishi E7K floatplane was embarked.

During her September 1933 – January 1934 refit, the ship's anti aircraft suite was upgraded; the 76 mm AA guns was replaced by twin mounts for Type 93 machine guns and the 6.5 mm machine guns were replaced by Lewis guns. In addition a quadruple mount for Type 93 machine guns was installed in front of the bridge and the 2.5 meter rangefinder on the bridge was replaced by a model. After the torpedo boat Japanese torpedo boat Tomozuru capsized during a storm in 1934, the IJN realized that many of its ships were top heavy and began modifying them to make them more stable. Yura began her modifications in October that included reducing the amount of equipment above the upper deck, shortening the foremast, and adding of ballast. The IJN took advantage of the ship's time in the shipyard to convert the mixed firing boilers to fuel oil only and converting the lower coal bunkers to oil storage and the upper bunkers to a radio room and storage compartments. The ship was also modified to pump of seawater aboard to her improve her stability as necessary. After several of the 5,500 ton cruisers suffered structural damage during the Fourth Fleet Incident in 1935, the ship's hull was strengthened by reinforcing the joints and adding Ducol steel plates to the deck and sides in 1936–1937. A single BI machine gun was installed on the bridge in July 1937. The 13.2 mm machine gun mounts were replaced by four 2.5 cm Type 96 AA guns in twin mounts in 1938.

Yura, named after the Yura River, was laid down on 21 May 1921 at the Sasebo Naval Arsenal, launched on 15 February 1922 and completed on 20 March 1923. The ship became the flagship of the 5th Cruiser Squadron (Sendai) which included her sister ships Japanese cruiser Nagara, Japanese cruiser Natori, and Japanese cruiser Kinu on 1 April. Together with 2nd Destroyer Squadron, the 5th Squadron patrolled Chinese waters between 25 August and 4 September. The squadron, now consisting of Yura, Nagara and Natori, was assigned to the Second Fleet on 1 December. Reinforced by the light cruiser Japanese cruiser Sendai in May, the division made a cruise to Hahajima Island in October 1924. On 1 December, Yura became a private ship in the 5th Squadron which patrolled Chinese waters off the Yangtze River delta, Qingdao (Tsingtao) and Dalian (Dairen) from 25 March to 23 April 1925. The squadron made another cruise off Qindao beginning on 29 March 1926, but Yura returned to Sasebo on 1 April. She was commanded by Captain Soemu Toyoda from November 1926 to November 1927

On 10 December 1928, the ship was reactivated with Captain Otagaki Tomisaburō Captain Wada Senzō replaced Otagaki on 1 November. under the command of Captain Umataro Tanimoto. The IJN dispatched the Third Cruiser Squadron, consisting of Yura, and her sisters Japanese cruiser Naka and Japanese cruiser Abukuma to the Shanghai area on 28–29 January. On 4 February, the squadron bombarded Chinese fortifications and positions at Wusong, near the confluence of the Huangpu River and the Yangtze River estuary. Yura and the Japanese cruiser Yubari supported attacks by the 9th Division and continued to provide gunfire support until their departure on 20 March. Upon her arrival back in Sasebo, Yura was docked for several months to repair damage inflicted by the muzzle blast of her own guns. Captain Rokuzō Sugiyama commanded the ship from 15 June to 15 November 1933. The squadron visited ports in Japanese Taiwan on 5–15 July and then patrolled southern Chinese waters until returning to Japan on 21 August, after which it participated in a fleet review off Yokohama four days later. Yura became the flagship of the Second Submarine Squadron on 1 November, although she had begun a lengthy refit in September that lasted until 25 January 1934. The squadron made a brief visit to Qingdao between 27 September and 5 October. After her return, the ship had a refit that improved her stability that lasted until January 1935 and Captain Wakabayashi Seisaku assumed command on 1 November. Yura became the flagship of Cruiser Squadron 8, commanded by Rear Admiral Chūichi Nagumo, of the First Fleet when she was recommissioned in March. The squadron made a cruise to Qingdao, returning to Japan on 6 April. After the beginning of the Second Sino Japanese War on 7 July, the cruisers departed Sasebo for a brief patrol in northern Chinese waters on 22 July, returning eight days later. The squadron was deployed to the Shanghai area on 10 August and supported operations there until returning home on 23 October. It was redeployed to that area a week later to support the amphibious landings by the IJA on the northern coast of Hangzhou Bay, south of Shanghai, in early November and arrived back at Sasebo on 22 November, after Captain Ichioka Hisashi had taken command on 15 November. As of 1 September 1941, Yura was the flagship of Rear Admiral Daigo Tadashige, commander of the Fifth Submarine Squadron. The squadron was ordered to proceed to Palau with four submarines, Japanese submarine I 62, Japanese submarine I 64, Japanese submarine I 65, and Japanese submarine I 66 on 26 November. They were diverted to Sanya, Hainan Island, where they arrived on 3 December and assigned to the Malaya Invasion Force.

When the attack on Pearl Harbor began on 8 December (Japanese time), Yura was covering the first troop convoy south of the Cape of Camau, French Indochina, while her submarines were part of a patrol line north of the Anambas Islands. Yura unsuccessfully searched for the British ships west of Poulo Condore Island until they were located and sunk by IJN torpedo bombers based in Indochina on 10 December, after which the ship proceeded to Cam Ranh Bay. On 1 March 1942, the Dutch submarine fired two torpedoes at Yura, but both either missed or were duds. On 4 March, the ship rescued the crew of the oil tanker Erimo that had been sunk by the American submarine S 39. Assigned to the No. 1 Escort Unit on 6 March, Yura escorted the invasion convoy for and covered the landings in Northern Sumatra (Operation T) until 15 March when she arrived at Penang, Occupied Malaya. Yura arrived at Mergui, Burma, on 28 March. These attacks reignited Yuras fires. At 18:30, after her crew was taken off, Japanese destroyers Harusame and Yūdachi scuttled Yura with torpedoes. She broke in two and her forward portion sank. At 19:00, her stern portion was sunk by gunfire from Yudachi at Yura was removed from the navy list on 20 November 1942.