Sendai class' special feature is the four funnels not seen in other class. This is because in the beginning of the Eight Eight Fleet program, it's predicted that there will be deficit of fuel, so this design is made to enable heavy oil-coal burner engine.
But because of the Washington Naval Treaty, out of the eight planned ship, only three Sendai-class cruisers are constructed.During the repair, Jintsuu's ship bow is upgraded to a double curved bow design. She now matches up with Naka who finished her construction with double curved bow.After that, she is assigned as flagship to the Destroyer Squadron 2, the combined fleet's main raid force. She served the position for 10 years, leading the latest destroyer models and became the face of the torpedo squad.
In the Pacific fleet, she operates mainly in the southern front such as the Battle of Java Seas, Battle of Midway and Battle of Eastern Solomon.Jintsuu is the second of the Sendai class, the latest of Japanese' 5'500 ton-class light cruiser. As part of the Eight-Eight Fleet program, her construction started in August 4th 1922 in Kobe's Kawazaki Shipyard.
Originally she's planned to be the 3rd Sendai class cruiser. But the planned 2nd ship, Naka, is damaged during her construction in Yokohama Dock Company by the 1923 Great Kanto Earthquake, so Jintsuu became the second ship.
By the start of the war, Japan's cruiser fleet is already outdated. But until the introduction of the Agano class, Sendai class are their latest model.Realizing American superiority in number, it's decided to cover the weakness in number with intensive training all week long.
During one of those trainings, an incident occured. August 24th 1927, during a large scale night battle training in complete darkness, Jintsuu rammed into the destroyer Warabi. Warabi is split in half and sunk.
Jintsuu's ship bow suffered major damage.
Naka who is operating with Jintsuu tried to avoid the accident, but she ends up ramming to the destroyer Ashi in a very rare case of double crash.
This incident is known as Mihonoseki Incident.
* After the Japan-Russia war, the Japanese navy train without any rest, IJN Colonel Tsuru Yuuzou commented that it's as if their week consist of 「月月火水木金金」(Monday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Friday). His friend spread it and it became popular in the IJN and even among Japanese citizen during the war.Jintsuu's last battle is in the Battle of Kolombangara in 1943.
To support torpedo attack from her allies, she move to the front and keep shining her search light. This revealed her position and made her target of concentrated fire. But even as fire sets on her, she kept the light and launched torpedoes.
Even as her hull breaks, her surviving crew keep firing her cannons against the enemy.
She sank after sustaining about 2600 hits of big and small size from the enemy.
Jintsuu performed her role as flagship of the squadron even if she had to sacrifice herself. After that, it's said that Jintsuu is the Japanese ship who fought most fiercely in the Pacific War.
