Gentlemen,
if one put an IJN Takao class cruiser (10X8 + torpedoes) against a US Baltimore (9 x8") (or similar class) cruiser in a one to one, who would win/
US and IJN heavy cruisers
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Re: US and IJN heavy cruisers
The Takao's are ten years older, give or take a bit, than the Baltimore's, bit unfair I think
The armour on the Baltimore's is thicker in most parts
The American gun is better, giving a AP penetration of 6 inch belt armour at 20,000+ yds, while the Japanese gun is only penetrating 4.7 inch at just under 20,000 yds
The Japanese ship is slightly quicker, but not enough imo to matter tactically.
So the Baltimore should win hands down, however
She only has three turrets, meaning losing one hurts her far more that the Japanese ship, who has five
Secondly, there is the big question over the type 93 oxygen torpedoes. They can reach the Baltimore at 20,000 yds easily, but the accuracy given they will take about 12 minutes at 50 knots to reach the Baltimore is very doubtful, and secondly, the Japanese captain would want to fire these off soon, a hit on loaded torpedo tubes may well sink her.
The armour on the Baltimore's is thicker in most parts
The American gun is better, giving a AP penetration of 6 inch belt armour at 20,000+ yds, while the Japanese gun is only penetrating 4.7 inch at just under 20,000 yds
The Japanese ship is slightly quicker, but not enough imo to matter tactically.
So the Baltimore should win hands down, however
She only has three turrets, meaning losing one hurts her far more that the Japanese ship, who has five
Secondly, there is the big question over the type 93 oxygen torpedoes. They can reach the Baltimore at 20,000 yds easily, but the accuracy given they will take about 12 minutes at 50 knots to reach the Baltimore is very doubtful, and secondly, the Japanese captain would want to fire these off soon, a hit on loaded torpedo tubes may well sink her.
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Re: US and IJN heavy cruisers
Many thanks for your reply,
I didn't realise that the Japanese ships were that much older, did they have any more modern heavy cruisers that might have made a worthwhile opponent to the US ships?
I didn't realise that the Japanese ships were that much older, did they have any more modern heavy cruisers that might have made a worthwhile opponent to the US ships?
- marcelo_malara
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Re: US and IJN heavy cruisers
The Baltimore class is quiet unique in being the only (AFAIK) cruiser class that has adequate protection against its own caliber, making it a kind of a scaled down battleship. Friedman´s British Cruisers mentions that the RN commissioned a study to know how big would be a cruisers with this kind of protection, it concluded in a 20.000 t monster which was out of reach for the British war economy. Well, the Baltimores are just that monster.