Japanese cruiser Ashigara

	Heavy cruiser Ashigara photographed visiting a port in Germany, 1937
History
Empire of Japan
Name	Ashigara
Namesake	Mount Ashigara
Ordered	1924
Builder	Kawasaki Shipyards, Kobe, Japan
Laid down	11 April 1925
Launched	22 April 1928
Commissioned	20 August 1929
Fate	Sunk by HMS Trenchant in Bangka Strait, 8 June 1945
General characteristics
Class & type	Myōkō-class cruiser
Displacement	13,000 long tons (13,209 t) (design); 14,743 long tons (14,980 t) (actual);
Length	203.76 m (668 ft 6 in)
Beam	19 m (62 ft 4 in) (as built); 20.73 m (68 ft 0 in) (final);
Draft	5.9 m (19 ft 4 in) (as built); 6.37 m (20 ft 11 in) (final);
Propulsion	4-shaft geared turbines; 12 Kampon boilers; 130,000 shp;
Speed	35.5 knots (40.9 mph; 65.7 km/h)(as built); 33 knots (38 mph; 61 km/h) (final);
Range	7,000 nmi (13,000 km) at 14 kn (16 mph; 26 km/h)
Complement	920–970
Armament	(as built); 10 × 200 mm (7.9 in) guns (5×2); 6 × Type 10 120 mm AA Guns; 2 × 7.7 mm (0.30 in) machine guns; 12 × 610 mm (24 in) torpedo tubes; (final); 10 × 203 mm (8.0 in) guns (5×2); 8 × 12.7 cm/40 Type 89 naval guns; 8 × Type 96 25mm AA guns; 2 × quadruple 13.2 mm (0.52 in) machine guns; 16 × 610 mm (24 in) torpedo tubes;
Aircraft carried	3
Aviation facilities	2x aircraft catapults
Service record
Part of:	Imperial Japanese Navy
Operations:	Pacific War; Battle of the Philippines (1941–42); Battle of the Java Sea (1942); Battle of Leyte Gulf (1944);

Ashigara (足柄) was the final vessel of the four-member Myōkō class of heavy cruisers of the Imperial Japanese Navy, which were active in World War II. The other ships of the class were Nachi, Myōkō, and Haguro. Ashigara was named after Mount Ashigara on the border of Kanagawa and Shizuoka Prefectures.

History
Heavy cruiser Ashigara photographed visiting a port in Germany, 1937
Empire of Japan
Name	Ashigara
Namesake	Mount Ashigara
Ordered	1924
Builder	Kawasaki Shipyards, Kobe, Japan
Laid down	11 April 1925
Launched	22 April 1928
Commissioned	20 August 1929
Fate	Sunk by HMS Trenchant in Bangka Strait, 8 June 1945
General characteristics
Class & type	Myōkō-class cruiser
Displacement	13,000 long tons (13,209 t) (design) 14,743 long tons (14,980 t) (actual)
Length	203.76 m (668 ft 6 in)
Beam	19 m (62 ft 4 in) (as built) 20.73 m (68 ft 0 in) (final)
Draft	5.9 m (19 ft 4 in) (as built) 6.37 m (20 ft 11 in) (final)
Propulsion	4-shaft geared turbines 12 Kampon boilers 130,000 shp
Speed	35.5 knots (40.9 mph; 65.7 km/h)(as built) 33 knots (38 mph; 61 km/h) (final)
Range	7,000 nmi (13,000 km) at 14 kn (16 mph; 26 km/h)
Complement	920–970
Armament	(as built) 10 × 200 mm (7.9 in) guns (5×2) 6 × Type 10 120 mm AA Guns 2 × 7.7 mm (0.30 in) machine guns 12 × 610 mm (24 in) torpedo tubes (final) 10 × 203 mm (8.0 in) guns (5×2) 8 × 12.7 cm/40 Type 89 naval guns 8 × Type 96 25mm AA guns 2 × quadruple 13.2 mm (0.52 in) machine guns 16 × 610 mm (24 in) torpedo tubes
Aircraft carried	3
Aviation facilities	2x aircraft catapults
Service record
Part of:	Imperial Japanese Navy
Operations:	Pacific War Battle of the Philippines (1941–42) Battle of the Java Sea (1942) Battle of Leyte Gulf (1944)