Tatsuta
| Country | Japan |
| Ship Class | Tenryu-class Light Cruiser |
| Builder | Sasebo Naval Arsenal |
| Laid Down | 24 Jul 1917 |
| Launched | 29 May 1918 |
| Commissioned | 31 May 1919 |
| Sunk | 13 Mar 1944 |
| Displacement | 3,948 tons standard; 4,350 tons full |
| Length | 468 feet |
| Beam | 40 feet |
| Draft | 13 feet |
| Machinery | 10 Kampon boilers with three shaft geared turbine engines |
| Bunkerage | 920t oil, 150t coal |
| Power Output | 51,000 shaft horsepower |
| Speed | 34 knots |
| Range | 5,000nm at 14 knots |
| Crew | 327 |
| Armament | 4x140mm, 3x80mm, 2x13mm anti-aircraft, 3x550mm torpedo tubes |
| Armor | 50mm belt, 25mm deck |
Contributor: C. Peter Chen
ww2dbaseDesigned as an enlarged cruiser, Tatsuta was a fast cruiser meant to lead destroyers into battle, providing heavier firepower. Along with the lead ship, the Tenryu-class light cruisers were also the first Japanese ships to be equipped with triple torpedo tubes, further hinting their role as destroyer leaders. For an extended period between 1927 and 1930 she underwent an extensive overhaul. After the outbreak of the Second Sino-Japanese War in Jul 1937, she served off the Chinese coast in support of Japanese landing operations. In May 1938, she participated in the Battle of Amoy in Fujian, China, which deprived the Chinese the use of the port. In 1939 she received two 13-mm anti-aircraft mounts. Tatsuta participated in the opening chapters of the Pacific war by supporting the invasion of Wake Island in Dec 1941. In May 1942, she supported landing operations at New Guinea and Tulagi. In Jul 1942, she landed troops in Buna in eastern New Guinea. On 13 Mar 1944, she was sunk by American submarine Sand Lance off Hachijojima.
ww2dbaseSource: Wikipedia.
Last Major Revision: Oct 2006
Light Cruiser Tatsuta Interactive Map
Photographs
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Tatsuta Operational Timeline
| 31 May 1919 | Tatsuta was commissioned into service. |
| 13 Mar 1944 | US submarine USS Sand Lance (SS-381) attacked a Japanese convoy in the Pacific Ocean off Hachijojima, 150 miles south-south-west of Yokosuka, Japan, sinking the 4,350-ton light cruiser Tatsuta and the troop transport Kokuyo Maru, which had been carrying 1,029 men. A total of six torpedoes were expended, and San Lance claimed five hits. Following the attack, Japanese escort vessels drop 105 depth charges and keep Sand Lance at deep submergence for 18.5 hours. |
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