zao (cruiser)
A fictional name for Japan's Tier 10 heavy cruiser in World of Warships. Named for Mount Zaou (蔵王山), in keeping with the IJN naming convention that heavy cruisers were named after mountains in Japan. Zao is known for having guns with very good muzzle velocity, nicknamed "railguns" by players.
History
It is actually debatable as to whether or not plans for Zaou actually existed due to the destruction of sensitive information by the IJN prior to surrender. What is known is that a triple 203 mm gun mount, never actually mounted on any Japanese CA, was considered for eight ships planned under the Sixth Naval Armaments Program but no other information has survived. Certain postwar sources such as Japanese Cruisers of the Pacific War and Uncompleted Fleet Plan - 1917~1950, from where the Zaou design was based from, are informed guesses. These sources also give the class name as the Unzen-class, of which Zaou was supposed to be the third member.
