JAPANESE CRUISER MAYA

At the beginning of 1943, following the defeat in the Guadalcanal campaign, the Navy Technical Department and The High Command of the Imperial Japanese Navy strove to increase the defensive potential of all their warships. Apart from standard refits of the majority of the Imperial Japanese Navy units, a plan was adopted, which called for reconstruction of two Takao-class heavy cruisers into anti-aircraft units. Through a coincidence, only the Maya underwent such conversion. This publication shows the cruiser in her anti-aircraft configuration and briefly describes her career. Includes 152 images.