Koko Kyouwakoku (Republic of Koko)

Yasaka Class Light cruiser:

As good as the six Kazamis were as the first Kokoan light cruisers built in a decade, they were also on the small side when it came to size, armor and armament, so something larger was desired. A design similar to that of the Japanese Agano class was considered valid but still too small and lightly armed at the same time by Koko no Kaigun naval staff. Thus designers aptly procured a larger ship that fulfilled most, if not all, requirements: more guns, more armor and more speed. The same 152mm/60 triple turrets that mad up the secondary battery on the Yashima class Battleship were chosen as the cruiser main armament. Three turrets, two forward and one aft amounted to a total of nine barrels. Two twin 100mm placed abreast the bridge made the secondary dual-purpose armament, augmented by six triple 25mm and three quadruple 13mm machine guns spread in platforms around the ship superstructure. Torpedo arament was the same two quadruple 610mm torpedo tubes with a total of 16 warheads, half of them housed in armoured reload boxes, that was featured on the Kazami class as well. The torpedo launchers were fitted on centerline, with the aircraft-handling deck built above the forward set, the reload boxes were placed in a diagonal arrangement between the rotating tubes. The aircraft catapult, this time a 26m piece instead of the standard 19m one, was placed aft of the torpedo tubes, served by a boat and aircraft crane attched to the aft pole-mast. The forward mast, placed between the bridge and funnel structures, housed the radar and radio room and was topped by a Type22 surface search double conical antenna. A Type21 air-search radar was instead integrated in the main gun director and rangefinder on top of the bridge. The class was also fitted with an hydrophone forward and two depth charge rails at the stern. Concerning the armor protection the main belt thickness was increased to 75mm and decks to 50mm. Main turrets had 50mm of armor on all surfaces, with slightly thicker 55mm barbettes, hoists for the secondary guns were of similar values. There was no torpedo protecion given the limited beam, with the exception of a 0,5m void space on each side. The ship was 185,6m long, had a beam of 16,4 and a draft of 5,9m, displacing 8.290t standard and 10.123t full load. Eight oil firing boilers generated a total of 120.000shp powering four turbines which in turn drove four three-bladed propellers to propel the ship to a top speed of 36knots. Range was 6.000 nautical miles (11.100km) at 18 knots. Two Aichi E13A floatplanes for reconnaissance were carried. Usual complement was 615 officers and men.
Five ships were ordered in total, all to be built at Toumachi Naval Arsenal. The first, Yasaka, was laid down in 1941 and commissioned by spring of 1943.
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By summer, the brand new cruiser was in the Solomons, supporting carrier operations in the area. She took part in the battles of the Solomon Sea and Stewart Islands in June 1943 and February 1944 and kept supporting the steadily dwindling Kokoan operations as the bulk of the fleet slowly redeployed north to face the increasing American threath around the western Hawaiian inslands and the Aleutians.
Second ship of the class, Moriya, joined her sisters in the solomons by fall of 1944, shortly after being commissioned. Moriya featured a reduced number of portholed and a different layout for scupper and draining pipes on her hull. A more compact main gun director/rangefinder set, relocated Type21 and Type22 radars and the addition of a TypeR2FA air search set -of Thiarian design and license-produced after a technology exchange- as a backup radar on the foremast. aType4R4CA fire-conrol radar was installed on the secondary gun director with new deckhouses added at midship and behind the bridge to house the necessary radar and plotting rooms. The aircraft deck platform was modified in size and simplified in shape for easier and quicker construction. The anti-aircraft suite had been increased to ten triple and twenty single 25mm machine guns, for a total of 50 barrels.
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Yasaka recieved the increased machine gun complement shortly after but this did not save her. On October 23rd 1944 she had departed with other Kokoan and Japanese units to intercept a possible US troop transport flotilla as intelligence notified of an incoming enemy operation against Bouganville island (something that would actually happen a week later). The Axis formation was instead located and intercepted by US and Recerchean aircrafts and attacked. Yasaka was hit by a torpedo, crippling her engines and cutting her speed to nine knots. Despite all the efforts she fell behind and was bombed relentlessly during the day, sinking with 473 of her crew. Moriya suffered light damage during the same action, missing the naval action of Empress Augusta bay while being repaired. She would be damaged again, this time more seriously, during the November 5th carrier raid on Rabaul. Hit by two bombs aft Moriya spent another week in port before sailing home for more repair and refits.
The third sister, Nagae, was commissioned in early 1945. She featured even less portholes, increased anti-air armament, no torpedo reloads, sonar and new electronics. Type R5CD surface and TypeR12CAD air fire-control radars. Type24 air-csearch and Type33-kai surface-search radars and TypeA8TR jammer. She also swapped the two E13As to Aichi E16As. Both Moriya and Nagae took part in the Battle of the Philippine sea, then both got refitted. Nagae recieved a Type64 HFDF and fifteen of the new twin 40mm machine gun mounts, plus thirty-two single of the older 25mm pieces. Moriya got a more extensive refit to recieve the same fit as Nagae but eventually both were completed by September 1945 after getting a two-tone blue camouflage scheme, with the main turrets painted black.
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Both ships joined Shima and Nishimura southern force during the Leyte gulf operations in late October. During the battle of Surigao Strait Nagae was sunk by a combination of torpedoes and gunfire with great loss of life (only nineteen of her crew of 759 survived), while Moriya managed to escape once again with relatively minor damage.
Moriya returned home and berthed in Toumachi harbor where it fell into loyalist hands when Koko uprisings started on November 6th 1945. The cruiser became the de-facto flagship of the small flotilla Morimoto and his men still had at their disposal, something which ironically kept the ship in port for most of the time. The rebels bombed Toumachi harbor four times during the uprisings but Moriya escaped most of the damage, the most serious case being a wrecked -empty- torpedo launcher. Her crew ultimately deserted in February 1946 when, instead of Joning Morimoto and his inner circle by retrating to Fuyuki, the ship took to the sea and surrendered in nearby Akemi (Gemmei island) instead. The ship was interned to Midway island for the rest of the conflict.
After the end of WWII the incomplete Hinanawi and Kurodani were scrapped on the ways, while Moriya was partially demilitarized and tasked with repatriation duties. All light anti-air armament, forward -wrecked- torpedo launcher and aicraft facilities were removed. Returning to active duties in 1948 with the reformed Koko Kaijou Moriya was refitted in 1952. She had all her portholes closed, recieved new searchlights, SPS-4 and SPS-6 radars, eight quad 40mm bofors and six twin 20mm Oerlikon machine guns, new depth charge rails and racks and other US provided electronics. She then took part in the closing stages of the Wonsan blockade and Korean war.
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Assigned to the Hokuto Naval district (also known as 5th Fleet or Northern Fleet), of which she became the Flagship, Moriya started her mostly uneventful patrol and excercise drills as a deterrent against Soviet naval forces in Kamchatka before entering the yards again for another more significant refit in 1966. She was fitted with a new sonar and landed her depth charge racks leaving only the stern rails. The two 100mm guns were replaced with 76mm pieces and all light anti-air weapons removed. The midship aircraft platform, unused since the end of WWII and repuprosed as an oversized anti-air deck, was removed, the deckhouses abrest the funnel enlarged and the aft superstructure modified to fit a landing pad capable of handling up to an SH-3 Sea King helicopter. An ASROC launcher was fitted at midship, together with two SVTT triple tubes, one port, one starboard. Both masts were removed and replaced with two new larger lattice masts, the aft one shifted forward to make space for the helicopter spot. Kokoan built KMS-3 surface and KMS-4 air search radars were fitted, together with an extensive comunication and ECM suite.
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Moriya's life of patrols and excercises in the northern fleet kept going even after her refit. As Kokoan major units started doing tours off Vietnam others had to remain near the home islands to keep the Soviets in check, and Moriya was alsways chosen as one of them. She would eventually be decommissioned in 1978, remaining in the mothball fleet until 1992, before being finally stricken and scrapped.

Ships in class: (laid down-launched-commissioned - fate)

Yasaka 1941-1942-1943 - Sunk 1944
Moriya 1942-1944-1944 - Decommissioned 1978
Nagae 1943-1944-1945 - Sunk 1945
Hinanawi 1944-1945-/ - Not completed
Kurodani 1945-/-/ - Not completed

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