IJN Kako

From War Thunder Wiki
Jump to: navigation, search
Rank VI Israel | Premium | Golden Eagles
Merkava Mk.2D Pack
This page is about the Japanese heavy cruiser IJN Kako. For other members of the class, see Furutaka (Family).
jp_cruiser_kako.png
GarageImage IJN Kako.jpg
ArtImage IJN Kako.png
IJN Kako
AB RB SB
4.7 4.7 4.7
Research:48 000 Specs-Card-Exp.png
Purchase:180 000 Specs-Card-Lion.png
Show in game

Description

The Furutaka-class, IJN Kako, (1935) is a rank III Japanese heavy cruiser with a battle rating of 4.7 (AB/RB/SB). It was introduced in Update 1.89 "Imperial Navy".

Designed to meet the 7,500-tons displacement restrictions of the Washington naval treaty, the early refit Kako features several unique quirks for a heavy cruiser. To save the weight of the ship, the Kako features only few secondary and AA mounts. While this made her particularly vulnerable against aerial threats, the result is that the Kako has only 8,640 tons of displacement - comparable to most of the post-treaty light cruisers - while having greater protection compared to ships of a similar or higher displacement, as well as similar good mobility.

General info

Survivability and armour

Armourfront / side / back
Citadel76 / 76 / 35 mm
Main fire tower25 / 25 / 7 mm
Hull25 mm (steel)
Superstructure8 mm (steel)
Number of section9
Displacement8 640 t
Crew616 people

For a heavy cruiser, the Kako's protection is average. The main citadel is covered with 76.2 mm of RHA and citadel deck armour varies between 31.75 to 34.925 mm. The armour can withstand a fair amount of beatings from mid-to-long ranges (6 km or more), thought became much more vulnerable when not angled.

While the Kako features a low crew count of 616 men, she is able to maintain most of her crew due to the lack of secondary and AA mounts, which means she will only lose her sailors when the crew compartment is damaged.

Along with her sister ship Furutaka, the Kako has a unique perk that she's able to withstand fire damage with little to no crew loss due to her crew compartments is located further away from the deck and are spaced from each other. This made the Kako's stock grind much more bearable for her new captains who doesn't have FPE, and allows experienced captain to focus on repairing the more serious damage on the ship.

Mobility

Speedforward / back
AB76 / 21 km/h
RB65 / 18 km/h

Due to her low displacement, the Kako features good mobility that is comparable to a light cruisers. She can accelerate and decelerate faster compared to other heavy cruisers and turns quite well when upgraded.

Mobility Characteristics
Game Mode Upgrade Status Maximum Speed (km/h) Turn Time (s) Turn Radius (m)
Forward Reverse
AB Stock ___ ___
Upgraded 76 21
RB/SB Stock ___ ___
Upgraded 65 18

Modifications and economy

Repair costBasic → Reference
AB5 749 → 7 795 Sl icon.png
RB5 987 → 8 118 Sl icon.png
Total cost of modifications45 700 Rp icon.png
97 600 Sl icon.png
Talisman cost1 300 Ge icon.png
Crew training52 000 Sl icon.png
Experts180 000 Sl icon.png
Aces700 Ge icon.png
Research Aces390 000 Rp icon.png
Reward for battleAB / RB / SB
380 / 600 / 100 % Sl icon.png
154 / 154 / 154 % Rp icon.png
Modifications
Seakeeping Unsinkability Firepower
Mods new ship hull.png
Dry-Docking
Research:
2 300 Rp icon.png
Cost:
4 900 Sl icon.png
190 Ge icon.png
Mods new ship rudder.png
Rudder Replacement
Research:
2 000 Rp icon.png
Cost:
4 300 Sl icon.png
165 Ge icon.png
Mods new ship screw.png
Propeller Replacement
Research:
2 300 Rp icon.png
Cost:
4 900 Sl icon.png
190 Ge icon.png
Mods new ship engine.png
Engine Maintenance
Research:
3 000 Rp icon.png
Cost:
6 400 Sl icon.png
250 Ge icon.png
Mods ship damage control crew.png
Damage Control Division
Research:
2 300 Rp icon.png
Cost:
4 900 Sl icon.png
190 Ge icon.png
Mods ship fire control crew.png
Fire Division
Research:
2 000 Rp icon.png
Cost:
4 300 Sl icon.png
165 Ge icon.png
Mods engine smoke screen system.png
Smokescreen
Research:
2 000 Rp icon.png
Cost:
4 300 Sl icon.png
165 Ge icon.png
Mods ship anti fragmentation protection.png
Shrapnel Protection
Research:
2 300 Rp icon.png
Cost:
4 900 Sl icon.png
190 Ge icon.png
Mods ship venting.png
Ventilation
Research:
2 300 Rp icon.png
Cost:
4 900 Sl icon.png
190 Ge icon.png
Mods new ship pumps.png
New Pumps
Research:
3 000 Rp icon.png
Cost:
6 400 Sl icon.png
250 Ge icon.png
Mods ship ammo wetting.png
Ammo Wetting
Research:
3 000 Rp icon.png
Cost:
6 400 Sl icon.png
250 Ge icon.png
Mods new aa caliber turrets.png
Anti-Air Armament Targeting
Research:
2 300 Rp icon.png
Cost:
4 900 Sl icon.png
190 Ge icon.png
Mods tank ammo.png
200mm_jp_type88_navy_apc_ammo_pack
Research:
2 300 Rp icon.png
Cost:
4 900 Sl icon.png
190 Ge icon.png
Mods new aux caliber turrets.png
Auxiliary Armament Targeting
Research:
2 000 Rp icon.png
Cost:
4 300 Sl icon.png
165 Ge icon.png
Mods he frag dist fuse ship.png
120mm_jp_type0_distant_fuse_naval_he_ammo_pack
Research:
2 000 Rp icon.png
Cost:
4 300 Sl icon.png
165 Ge icon.png
Mods new main caliber turrets.png
Primary Armament Targeting
Research:
2 300 Rp icon.png
Cost:
4 900 Sl icon.png
190 Ge icon.png
Mods ship rangefinder.png
Improved Rangefinder
Research:
2 300 Rp icon.png
Cost:
4 900 Sl icon.png
190 Ge icon.png
Mods torpedo.png
Torpedo Mode
Research:
3 000 Rp icon.png
Cost:
6 400 Sl icon.png
250 Ge icon.png
Mods shipSupportPlane.png
Hydroplane
Research:
3 000 Rp icon.png
Cost:
6 400 Sl icon.png
250 Ge icon.png

Armament

Primary armament

6 х Turret20 cm/50 3rd year type No.1 cannon
Ammunition120 rounds
Vertical guidance-5° / 25°

Provide information about the characteristics of the primary armament. Evaluate their efficacy in battle based on their reload speed, ballistics and the capacity of their shells. Add a link to the main article about the weapon: {{main|Weapon name (calibre)}}. Broadly describe the ammunition available for the primary armament, and provide recommendations on how to use it and which ammunition to choose.

Secondary armament

4 х Turret120 mm/45 10th year type cannon
Ammunition250 rounds

Some ships are fitted with weapons of various calibres. Secondary armaments are defined as weapons chosen with the control Select secondary weapon. Evaluate the secondary armaments and give advice on how to use them. Describe the ammunition available for the secondary armament. Provide recommendations on how to use them and which ammunition to choose. Remember that any anti-air armament, even heavy calibre weapons, belong in the next section. If there is no secondary armament, remove this section.

Anti-aircraft armament

2 х Turret2 x 13.2 mm Type 93 machine gun
Ammunition3600 rounds
Belt capacity30 rounds
Fire rate476 shots/min
Main article: Type 93 (13.2 mm)

An important part of the ship's armament responsible for air defence. Anti-aircraft armament is defined by the weapon chosen with the control Select anti-aircraft weapons. Talk about the ship's anti-air cannons and machine guns, the number of guns and their positions, their effective range, and about their overall effectiveness – including against surface targets. If there are no anti-aircraft armaments, remove this section.

Additional armament

Setup 124 x 610 mm Type 8 No.2 wet-heater torpedo
Main article: Type 8 No.2 (610 mm)

Describe the available additional armaments of the ship: depth charges, mines, torpedoes. Talk about their positions, available ammunition and launch features such as dead zones of torpedoes. If there is no additional armament, remove this section.

Usage in battles

Describe the technique of using this ship, the characteristics of her use in a team and tips on strategy. Abstain from writing an entire guide – don't try to provide a single point of view, but give the reader food for thought. Talk about the most dangerous opponents for this vehicle and provide recommendations on fighting them. If necessary, note the specifics of playing with this vehicle in various modes (AB, RB, SB).

Pros and cons

Pros:

  • Great main armament
    • 6 powerful 200 mm (7.9 inch) cannons
    • Guns have separate turrets which allows to keep more firepower active as a turret gets taken out
    • Able to do full boardsides from very steep angles
  • Good top speed and agility
  • Good survivability
    • Very durable against destroyer
    • Can bounce several shots when angled properly
    • Resilient against fire damage
  • Carries large amount of torpedoes, albeit very tricky to use

Cons:

  • Torpedo launchers are fixed, unable to be traversed without moving the hull
  • 7.9 inch guns are very inaccurate especially compared to her sistership (IJN Furutaka) with the newer, larger guns.
  • Early war Japanese fit
    • Weak anti-air capability
    • Slow turret traverse
  • Large target and usually priority targeted over other vessels

History

Created as a counter to the American Omaha and British Hawkins class cruisers, the Furutaka class was designed to act as a scouting cruiser capable of protecting the main fleet from enemy scouts. While the ship was designed before the Washington Naval Treaty, she still fell within the displacement and calibre limits with 7,500 tons of displacement and the main armament of six 7.9 in/20 cm cannons mounted in single turrets; she also had a torpedo armament of 12 x 21-inch torpedo tubes mounted in the hull. These armaments would change as both Furutaka and Kako were modernized shortly after being completed, with their single mounted guns being replaced with three twin turrets and two quad-torpedo launchers being added near the aft.

During the first months of the Pacific War against the United States, Kako was assigned to Sentai 6 and tasked in covering the invasions of several islands including Guam, Wake, and New Guinea. Sentai 6 was then assigned to Operation MO, the invasion of Port Morseby, and partook in the Battle of the Coral Sea on May 7, 1942. Their next major action would not be until August, but would also be their largest. Kako and Sentai 6 had been assigned to the new Eighth Fleet. In response to the American invasion of Guadalcanal, the Eighth Fleet sortied out to counter the invasion force. On the night of August 8-9, 1942, Kako and the fleet of 4 heavy cruisers, 2 light cruisers, and a destroyer surprised the Allied Fleet in a night attack off Savo Island.

Fighting at close ranges with searchlights, flares, and star shells, Japanese naval artillery devastated the Allied fleet, sinking 4 heavy cruisers and forcing the American support ships to abandon the Marines on the island. While the battle was a stunning victory for the Japanese, they failed to sink any of the landing ships and fled the area for fear of retaliation from American carrier planes; However, it was the American submarine S-44 who got revenge. On August 10, while the Eighth fleet was returning to Rabaul, the S-44 fired four torpedoes at Kako, scoring three hits. The Kako quickly took on a list before her boilers detonated, sinking the cruiser but only taking 68 sailors with her. Kako was struck from the Japanese Naval list a month later.

Media

Skins

See also

Links to articles on the War Thunder Wiki that you think will be useful for the reader, for example:

  • reference to the series of the ship;
  • links to approximate analogues of other nations and research trees.

External links

Paste links to sources and external resources, such as:

  • topic on the official game forum;
  • encyclopedia page on the ship;
  • other literature.


Japan heavy cruisers
Furutaka-class  IJN Furutaka · IJN Kako
Aoba-class  IJN Aoba
Myōkō-class  IJN Myoko
Mogami-class  IJN Mogami
Tone-class  IJN Tone