 Agano off Sasebo, October 1942
| |
| History | |
|---|---|
 Empire of Japan | |
| Name | Agano |
| Namesake | Agano River |
| Ordered | 1939 Fiscal Year |
| Builder | Sasebo Naval Arsenal |
| Laid down | 18 June 1940 |
| Launched | 22 October 1941 |
| Commissioned | 31 October 1942 |
| Stricken | 31 March 1944 |
| Fate | Sunk by USS Skate, 15 February 1944 |
| General characteristics (as built) | |
| Class and type | Agano-class light cruiser |
| Displacement | |
| Length | 174.1 m (571 ft 2 in) (o/a) |
| Beam | 15.2 m (49 ft 10 in) |
| Draft | 5.63 m (18 ft 6 in) |
| Installed power |
|
| Propulsion | 4 shafts; 4 geared steam turbine sets |
| Speed | 35 knots (65 km/h; 40 mph) |
| Range | 6,300 nmi (11,700 km; 7,200 mi) at 18 knots (33 km/h; 21 mph) |
| Complement | 51 officers, 649 sailors; 57 and 669 when serving as a flagship |
| Sensors and processing systems |
|
| Armament |
|
| Armor | |
| Aircraft carried | 2 × floatplanes |
| Aviation facilities | 1 × aircraft catapult |
Agano (阿賀野) was the lead ship of her class of four light cruisers built for the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) during World War II. Completed in 1942, she escorted a troop convoy to New Guinea in December. In early 1943 the ship participated in Operation Ke, the evacuation of Japanese troops from Guadalcanal. Six months later Agano transported troops and supplies to New Guinea and she played a role in the Battle of Empress Augusta Bay in early November where she damaged the destroyer USS Spence. A few weeks later, the ship was badly damaged by American airstrikes and she sailed for Truk under her own power the following day. While en route, Agano was torpedoed by an American submarine and had to be towed to her destination. After several months of repairs, she left for Japan, but was intercepted and sunk by another American submarine in February 1944. Most of her crew was rescued by her escorting destroyer, but that ship was sunk with the loss of most of her crew and all of Agano's survivors by an American airstrike the following day.