Japanese cruiser Ibuki (1943)
1943 Ibuki-class cruiser
The Japanese cruiser Ibuki (伊吹) was a heavy cruiser built for the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) during World War II. The lead ship of her class of two ships, she was ordered to be converted into a light aircraft carrier in 1943 before completion to help replace the aircraft carriers sunk during the Battle of Midway in mid-1942. The conversion was delayed and finally stopped in March 1945 in order to concentrate on building small submarines. Ibuki was scrapped in the Sasebo Naval Arsenal beginning in 1946.
Background
The Ibuki-class cruisers were ordered in the Rapid Naval Armaments Supplement Programme of November 1941, and they were slightly improved versions of the preceding Mogami class after those ships had been upgraded during the late 1930s. After the heavy losses suffered in the Battle of Midway in early June 1942, the IJN reorganized its current building programs to emphasize aircraft carrier construction. Ibuki, which had only been laid down a few months earlier, had all work suspended while the IJN decided what to do with her. The navy ordered the shipyard to resume and accelerate construction the following month in order to launch her hull as soon as possible to free her slipway for new carriers. After she was launched in May 1943, construction was suspended again in July while the IJN decided what to do with her. The navy considered completing Ibuki as a high-speed replenishment oiler, but decided to convert her into a light aircraft carrier on 25 August.
Description as a cruiser
As originally designed the Ibukis had a length of 200.6 meters (658 ft 2 in) overall, a beam of 20.2 meters (66 ft 3 in) and a draft of 6.04 meters (19 ft 10 in).
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