Yahagi, the second Japanese warship of that name, was the third of the four Agano-class vessels (the other three being Agano, Noshiro and Sakawa). Construction of the Agano-class cruisers was approved by the Japanese parliament (Diet) in March 1939 under the Fourth Naval Armaments Enhancement Program (Dai-Yon-Ji Kaigun Gunbi Jujitsu Keikaku), also known as "Four-in-Circle" Program (Maru Yon Keikaku), or simply Maru 4. Under the terms of the program, the four light cruisers (kei jun'yokan), also referred to as type B cruisers (otsu-gata jun'yokan, or simply otsu jun) and officially classed as second-class cruisers (ni-to jun'yokan), were to fulfill the role of destroyer squadron flagships. At that time destroyer squadrons (DesRon), called literarily torpedo squadrons (suirai sentai), consisted of four four-ship destroyer divisions (DesDiv, or kuchiku-tai).


Skoryi-Class Destroyer

by Mariusz Motyka

Published 10 October 2019
Destroyers of Project 30bis, also referred to as the Smelyi-class (NATO: Skoryi-class), is a series of 70 Soviet destroyer ships built after the Second World War in the years 1950-1953. It was the most extended postwar series of destroyers in the world.

The ships of Project 30bis were created as a continuation of large destroyers from World War II, which were part of Projects 30 and 30K. However, in comparison to the 30 and 30K project destroyers, the new ships were slightly larger, and their hull was welded entirely. Moreover, the appearance of the superstructures changed, the armament was slightly modified, and more sophisticated electronic equipment was installed. The propulsion system was also modernized, increasing the power of the boilers. The project was developed in 1946 and approved in January 1947. The construction of ships commenced in 1948.

Although the first completed and commissioned on February 5, 1950, destroyer was Bditielnyi (Watchful), the entire series was named after the eighth destroyer Smelyi (Courageous), which was commissioned on March 19, 1950. This ship was used in the Gdansk Bay in the region of Baltijsk, Russia, for both state tests, and project qualifications. On the other hand, in the West, this type of ship began to be referred to as Skoryi-class, after the first identified ship.

The battleships were built in four shipyards: Leningrad, Komsomolsk, Nikolayev, and Severodvinsk. The construction of 85 vessels commenced, of which 70 vessels were completed, and the remaining ones were resigned.

In 1939 the Japanese Navy General Staff demanded to develop a project of a destroyer with a speed of 40 knots. The project was called "Project F52" and was included in the plan called Maru Yon. In connection with this, a project was prepared and the construction of the Japanese destroyer with number 125 (later named Shimakaze) began.



M16 Half-Track

by Mariusz Motyka

Published 31 January 2020
The M16 Multiple Gun Motor Carriage (M16 MGMC) also known as M16 half-track, was a US self-propelled antiaircraft gun built during World War Two. The chassis of the half-rack armored personnel carrier was used to build various variants of self-propelled guns. They were tested on training grounds. Some of them were accepted for military service, series production and then they would see combat. These mainly included self-propelled antiaircraft guns armed with large-caliber 12.7 mm machine guns. In the Autumn of 1941, the first vehicles of this type were tested. The basic requirement of their design was to combine the half-track transporter chassis with a self-propelled revolving turret, the very same as the ones mounted on the bomber aircraft.

The Japanese Destroyer Suzutsuki Drawings sheets, colour profiles