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In December 1941, Mikuma was tasked with the invasion of British Borneo, together with Mogami, covering landings of Japanese troops at Miri and Kuching. At the time of the attack on Pearl Harbor, Mikuma was assigned to cover the invasion of Malaya as part of Cruiser Division 7 under Vice Admiral Jisaburo Ozawa's First Southern Expeditionary Fleet, providing close support for landings of Japanese troops at Singora, Pattani and Kota Bharu. Mikuma participated in the occupation of Cochinchina, French Indochina, after Japan and Vichy French authorities reached an understanding on use of its air facilities and harbors from July 1941, from its forward operating base on Hainan. Torpedo bulges were also added to improve stability, but the increased displacement caused a reduction in speed. īeginning in 1939, Mikuma was brought in for substantial reconstruction, replacing the triple 155-millimetre (6 in) turrets with twin 203 mm (8 in) guns (the 155 mm turrets going to the battleship Yamato).

Mikuma was completed at Mitsubishi's Nagasaki shipyards on 29 August 1935.

However, the Mogami class was also plagued with technical problems due to its untested equipment and proved to be unstable and top-heavy as well, due to cramming too much equipment into a comparatively small hull. New impulse geared turbine engines, coupled with very heavy anti-aircraft protection, gave the class a very high speed and protection. To save weight, electric welding was used, as was aluminum in the superstructure, and the use of a single funnel stack. This resulted in the choice of a 155 mm dual purpose (DP) main battery in five triple turrets capable of 55° elevation. The ship was named after the Mikuma river in Oita prefecture, Japan.īuilt under the 1931 Fleet Replenishment Program, the Mogami-class cruisers were designed to the maximum limits allowed by the Washington Naval Treaty, using the latest technology. During World War II she participated in the Battle of Sunda Strait in February 1942 and the Battle of Midway in June 1942, being sunk the last day of the latter engagement, on 6 June.

The second vessel in the four-ship Mogami class, she was laid down in 1931 and commissioned in 1935. Mikuma ( 三隈, Mikuma) was a heavy cruiser of the Imperial Japanese Navy.

Warship navy ijn heavy cruiser takao history gunzo pacific ocean war book