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Design B-65 was a class of Super Type A cruisers〔According to ''Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1922–1946'', p. 178, the Japanese classified Super Type A cruisers as heavy cruisers; however, Garzke and Dulin assert in ''Battleships: Axis and Neutral Battleships in World War II'', p. 86, that B-65 cruisers "would have satisfied every basic characteristic of the battlecruiser type."〕 planned by the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) before and during World War II. As envisioned by the IJN, the cruisers were to play a key role in the Night Battle Force portion of the "Decisive battle" strategy which Japan hoped, in the event of war, to employ against the United States Navy. Begun in 1939, plans were far enough along that tests were conducted with the main armament and against the underwater protection. Even though the ships were approved for construction under a 1942 fleet replenishment program, the prioritizing of aircraft carriers and smaller ships due to the war, followed by Japan's defeat, killed any chance of the B-65's construction. ==Mission and plan== The Japanese navy's experience in the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-1905, especially the Battle of Tsushima, strongly influenced the creation of the IJN's "Decisive Battle" doctrine, which guided the development and deployment of the IJN's battle fleet into World War II. The Decisive Battle concept was the IJN's primary strategy for defeating the navies of the major Western powers, such as Great Britain or the United States, in the event of war. The strategy consisted of four main components: a decisive surface fleet engagement determined by big guns, attrition tactics against a numerically superior enemy, a reliance on quality over quantity in naval weaponry, and the employment of nighttime torpedo attacks.〔Evans and Peattie, pp. 129–130〕 After the Washington Naval Treaty of 1922 and the London Naval Treaty of 1930, each of which placed restrictions on the size of the IJN's fleet in comparison with the fleets of the western powers, notably the United States, the decisive battle strategy received increased emphasis within the IJN. In 1936, the IJN formed the Night Battle Force (Yasen Butai). As designed, the night battle force was to attack the hypothetical enemy's, usually envisioned by the Japanese to be the US Pacific Fleet, outer defense ring of cruisers and destroyers at night. After cracking the outer defense ring, IJN cruisers and destroyers were to launch torpedo attacks on the enemy's battleships. What remained of the enemy fleet was then to be finished-off by the IJN's main battleship line the following day.〔Evans and Peattie, pp. 273-276.〕 The IJN assigned one division of fast battleships or battlecruisers to give additional firepower to the nocturnal attacks. The were initially assigned to this role and were upgraded to fast battleships over a seven-year period from 1933-1940. The IJN planned to eventually replace the four ''Kongō'' battleships with four heavy, "super" cruisers. As envisioned by the IJN in 1936, these ships, the B-65 cruisers, would mount 12-inch guns, carry armor designed to withstand hits from 8-inch shells, and be capable of speeds up to 40 knots. They would be designated as "super-A-class cruisers" to signify their greater status than the A-class ships (heavy cruisers).〔Garzke and Dulin (1985), p. 86〕〔Evans and Peattie, pp. 275-277, 294; Lacroix and Wells II, pp. 250, 606.〕〔''Perfect Guide to Japanese Battleships'', p. 140〕 The plan for the cruiser class was finalized as part of the IJN's Circle Five and Circle Six warship construction plans of 7 January 1941. The plan called for six B-65s to be built in two increments, with the first two to be constructed in Circle 5 with the remainder in Circle 6.〔 By this time, Japanese intelligence had learned the specifications for the United States Navy's large cruisers,〔Garzke and Dulin (1985), pp. 86–87〕 which had been authorized for creation by the passage of the Two-Ocean Navy Act and ordered on 5 September 1940.〔 The Japanese believed that these ships would form part of the American battle fleet's screen in times of war. Thus, the B-65s were now intended to counter the threat posed by the ''Alaska''-class cruisers.〔〔Evans and Peattie, pp. 359-360.〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Design B-65 cruiser」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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