My Shipyard

- Aki Class Light Cruiser -

≈Ship Version≈

After the project I-10-14 was finally finished, the navy resumed looking into other aspects and ship classes of the navy, especially the ones that had their constructions halted so their resources could be redirected into the project. One of the classes that the navy was particularly interested in was the Yumi class, previously intended to be versatile and agile, and proving to be very capable during the Incident of Izumi. However, a few questions arose among the officers when debating the construction of more Yumi class ships: the old class of light cruisers was outdated, the navy didn't need more versatile warships now that it had gained more numbers with the project I-10-14, and there was one particular problem that made Yumi not very reliable, the ammo and torpedo capacity that had been reduced along with the armor to improve the class's speed. As a result, the navy agreed on creating a new light cruiser class named Aki class, with more focus on being the leader of destroyer flotillas rather than being able to deal with a different array of situations, and with a total of four ships built, Aki, Fuyu, Haru, and Natsu, named after the four seasons of the year.

Abandoning the anti-submarine role to leave them for the destroyers, the Aki class was equipped with four twin mounts of 15.5 cm dual-purpose guns as main weaponry, placed two in the front, two on the aft, armed with both the regular shells and some type 3 shells for anti-aircraft purposes. Additionally, it was equipped with four twin mounts of 13 cm dual-purpose guns that were solely dedicated for AA role, armed only with type 3 shells and supported by the 12 triple mounts of 25 mm Kaze guns and 16 single mounts of 13 mm guns. Though not intended to use as much, the cruiser also carried a single quadruple 610 mm torpedo launcher armed with the infamous Katana torpedoes, but the cruiser carried very few of them in order to leave the torpedo role for the destroyers and open more space as well as weight for the magazines, which allowed Aki to store a larger number of shells than its predecessor, and the lack of variety in the shells also allowed her to carry more of each shell she needs. Since the cruiser was intended to lead destroyers, which were operated the best during night battles, the cruiser was also fitted with several night-time equipment, ranging from a surface radar and two small spotlights to a single seaplane catapult that launched the single seaplane fighter that Aki carried, slightly modified to carry flare shells when needed.

In terms of armoring, Aki was slightly better improved compared to her predecessor, which did not make a very big difference in the defense of the cruiser but could prove to be the difference between certain destruction of the warship and still being afloat to serve the Sun Empire. Her biggest asset, however, is her speed and agility just like Yumi, improved to make smaller and better curves, and have a higher top speed of 36.5 knots, at the cost of giving up on the advantages and disadvantages of an engine boost during battles.

As a class of light cruisers dedicated more towards stealth and speed than armor and tanking, the Aki class did not receive a special appearance scheme, receiving instead a practical green camouflage. However, an appearance scheme was reserved for them in case the cruisers should become museums or just symbols of the navy during peace times, each ship of the class receiving a unique appearance based on their namesake.

Aki, leader of the class, would be painted with a light tone of reddish-orange, complemented by white curvy lines on the sides that simulated wind that carried countless beautifully painted leaves ranging from colors of brown, red, orange, and yellow, outlined with black to make them blend less with the background. Not giving up on patriotism, the second and third main guns of Aki would also be painted with a single bright red circle on their tops, outlined with black and with the kanji "秋" painted in black inside them. 

Fuyu, the second of the class, would be meanwhile painted with dark blue above the waterline and grayish-white below. Three big snowflakes would then be painted on the sides of the bow of the warship, the biggest one on the right side with the kanji "冬" camouflaged in the middle of it, and the other two considerably smaller on the left side, with the symbol of the Origami Flower camouflaged in the middle of it as well. Countless smaller snowflakes would then be added through the rest of the ship, though less noticeable. The red circles on the second and third guns are also present in Fuyu, but with no kanjis inside them.