Japanese cruiser Maya

Maya underway in the 1930s
History
Empire of Japan
NameMaya
NamesakeMount Maya
OrderedFY 1927
BuilderKawasaki Shipyards, Kobe
Laid down4 December 1928
Launched8 November 1930
Commissioned20 June 1932
Stricken20 December 1944
FateTorpedoed and sunk by USS Dace, 23 October 1944
General characteristics
Class and typeTakao-class cruiser
Displacement9,850 t (9,690 long tons) (standard), 15,490 t (15,250 long tons) (full load)
Length
Beam19 m (62 ft) – 20.4 m (67 ft)
Draft6.11 m (20.0 ft) – 6.32 m (20.7 ft)
Propulsion4-shaft geared turbine, 12 Kampon boilers, 132,000 shp (98,000 kW)
Speed35.5 kn (65.7 km/h; 40.9 mph)
Range8,500 nautical miles (15,740 km) at 14 knots (26 km/h)
Complement921–996
Armament
Armour
  • main belt: 38 to 127 mm
  • main deck: 37 mm (max)
  • upper deck: 12.7 to 25 mm
  • bulkheads: 76 to 100 mm
  • turrets: 25 mm
Aircraft carried3x floatplanes (1x Aichi E13A1 "Jake" & 2x F1M2 "Pete")
Aviation facilities2 aircraft catapults

Maya (摩耶) was one of four Takao-class heavy cruisers, active in World War II with the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN). These were the largest and most modern cruisers in the Japanese fleet, and were intended to form the backbone of a multipurpose long-range strike force. These ships were fast, powerful and heavily armed, with enough firepower to hold their own against any cruiser in any other navy in the world. Her sister ships were Takao, Atago and Chōkai.[1]

  1. ^ Jentsura, Hansgeorg (1976). Warships of the Imperial Japanese Navy, 1869–1945. Naval Institute Press. ISBN 0-87021-893-X. page 84