Tone was built at the Nagasaki Shipyard and completed in November 1938. She featured a unique hull layout with four 20.3cm twin main gun turrets concentrated at the front, while the entire rear half served as an aviation deck. It is said that her interior was well-equipped and offered high habitability.
Equipped with six seaplanes and two catapults, Tone—along with her sister ship Chikuma—acted as the high-speed eyes of the fleet with powerful self-defense capabilities. During the attack on Pearl Harbor, Type 0 reconnaissance seaplanes from both ships were deployed to scout the harbor and search for enemy aircraft carriers.Kantai Collection Illustration Column: Encyclopedia of Sunken KanMusuKoruri
Artist's nameNo. 089
Heavy CruiserToneShe later participated in the Battle of the Eastern Solomons and the Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands. At the Battle of Leyte Gulf (Samar), alongside Kongo and Haguro, she sank escort carriers. However, in this battle she lost her sister ship Chikuma, Suzuya, and Kumano, with Kumano also losing her bow to a torpedo and falling behind.Tone — Heavy Cruiser
Standard Displacement: 11,213t
Overall Length: 201.6m
Beam: 19.4m
Power: 152,000 hp
Speed: 35 knots
Armament: 20.3cm Twin Cannons, 12.7cm Twin High-Angle Cannons, 61cm Triple Torpedo Tubes
Aircraft Carried: Seaplanes
Complement: 874 men
Main Operations Participated: Battle of Midway, Battle of the Eastern Solomons, Battle of Leyte Gulf (Samar), etc.During the Battle of Midway, a catapult malfunction delayed the launch of her reconnaissance planes, but it is said that this delay conversely enabled her to discover the enemy fleet.There is also an anecdote that after she moved near the coast of Nomi Island and attempted to camouflage herself using tree branches and fishing nets, enemy aircraft dropped sarcastic leaflets mocking her, reading: "The camouflage trees are withering, you might want to change them!"Afterward, she returned to Maizuru, and while anchored at Kure as a training ship for the Naval Academy, she was damaged in an air attack.On July 24, 1945, she suffered further damage from an air raid, and on July 28, she was hit by another fierce air attack, sustaining heavy damage and settling on the bottom of the sea as the war came to an end.Today, her name is carried on by the sixth Abukuma-class escort ship of the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force, JS Tōka.Concentrated Layout!Catapult malfunction!
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