IJN Amagi

This article contains spoils through book three, Maelstrom.

IJN Amagi
The IJN Amagi was the class leader of the Amagi-class battlecruiser. She was built November 1923 at the Yokosuka Naval Yard. Under the command of Captain Hisashi Kurokawa she crossed into the new world while pursuing the USS Walker and USS Mahan into a squall during the Battle of the Java Sea. The Amagi arrived badly damaged following a defensive torpedo attack from the ships she was pursuing. Unaware his ship and crew had traveled to this alternate world, Kurokawa set course for Singapore, hoping to repair his damaged vessel. Where Singapore should have been the crew of the Amagi made thier first contact with the Grik in the small village which stood at the location instead. After successfully fighting off countless attacks from the Grik the Amagi was approached with an offer to join in an alliance with the Grik, in exchange for fuel, food and labour for repairs. With this alliance formed the Amagi was able to continue her war against the American vessels beside the Grik hunting thier ancient prey, the American allied Lemurians.

Amagi under the Grik Alliance
The Amagi traveled to Grik Ceylon, where she was able to untake repairs. Among the repairs made to the Amagi was a conversion to coal for use as fuel. However, because of the damage to the engines and boilers, which were unable to be fully repaired, she lost her top speed. Following her repairs the Amagi set sail with a large fleet of Grik vessels. During this cruise she came across the USS Walker with the Lemurian Home Nerracca (carrying refugees from B'mbaado City and Aryaal) undertow. During a short battle the Amagi sank the Nerracca; however, the Walker was able to escape.

The Amagi and Grik fleet attacked the American/Lemurian Alliance at Baalkpan. During the battle the Amagi steamed into Baalkpan harbour, where she was able to use her large guns to great effect on the city and the USS Walker. During most of the battle the USS Mahan had been hidden out of sight. She emerged to loose a torpedo at the Amagi, though a Grik vessel got in the way and the torpedo detonated against it instead. With the torpedo attack a failure the Captain of the Mahan instead rammed his own vessel into the Amagi on her port side and detonated a store a depth charges in the Mahan's bow. The explosion ripped a large hole in the Amagi. Severely damaged the Amagi stuggled to retreat from Baalkpan harbour; however, a lucky shot from the Walker damaged her steering gear. Listing badly and without steering the Amagi wandered over a large underwater mine planted by the American/Lermurian Alliance placed in the harbour. This final explosion broke the back of the Amagi and she settled, burning into the waters of Baalkpan Harbour.

Following the Battle of Baalkpan
Several of the Amagi's large guns were able to be salvaged off of her wreck. These salvaged guns were used to outfit and arm several Alliance vessels, and her salvaged steel was used to make most things using steel through Deadly Shores including two Walker clones.

First Appearance

 * Into the Storm (Book One)

Other Appearances

 * Crusade (Book Two)
 * Maelstrom (Book Three)
 * Mentioned in other books by name

IJN Amagi's Original Timeline
The IJN Amagi was one of four planned ships of the Amagi-class battlecruisers. These were to be named the Amagi, Akagi, Atago, and Takao. Construction of the Amagi began December 16, 1920. However, before work was completed the 1922 Washington Naval Treaty was signed and placed restrictions which did not allow the vessels to be completed as designed. At this point Rather than being completed as battlecruisers, the ships were to be converted to aircraft carriers. The Amagi was undergoing work on these conversions in the Yokosuka Naval Yard when the Great Kanto earthquake struck in September 1923. The damages to the structure of the Amagi as a result of the earthquake were too severe to allow completion of her conversion. Demolition of the Amagi began April 14, 1924 and her remains were sold off as scrap. Of the three remaining Amagi-class battlecruisers only the Akagi completed the conversion to an aircraft carrier, the Atago and Takao being broken up from scrap in July 1924.

Author Taylor Anderson gives his reason for made up ships thus on his Discussion Blog http://www.taylorandersonauthor.com/blog/discussions/ On January 06, 2015 he wrote :

"... I would personally prefer to “add” a destroyer to the list of those involved for the same reason that I have always used ships with no wartime record: Any ship actually there would have had an actual CREW of real people, and I would–personally–feel uncomfortable with shanghaiing their lives, so to speak. I’ve come close a time or two, in a manner of speaking, with Santa Catalina (Blackhawk) and Amerika, both of which DID have “post divergence” records, but the way I used them, they are NOT the same ship. I may even IMPLY that some . . . mysterious ship could be a well-known one, leaving it to the imagination of the reader to decide, but that’s as far as I’ll go. Even Surcouf is an analog. They CALL it Surcouf, because that’s what she looked like, but . . . wherever she came from, either that was not her name, or she was one of the other planned vessels of the same design. This is a rule I’ve always tried to keep, and I mean to continue doing so in this series. Maybe it’s because I grew up with so many veterans of WW2 and the inter-war years. I have known too many of them to change their service records."

Possible in-universe explanations of "Amagi" design alterations
The in-universe reason for the "Amagi" existence in Destroyermen's original world by 1942 (the real-world cruiser was scrapped in 1924), and her rather odd main armament (ten-inch guns instead of originally supposed sixteen-inch guns) never have been explained. The possible explanation is:

– The Japanese accidently lost one of their battleships or battlecruisers in early 1920s.

– According to the Treaty of 1922, they were allowed to immediately replace the lost ship with a new (Part 3, Section I, article (c) ) ''(c) In case of loss or accidental destruction of capital ships or aircraft carriers, they may immediately be replaced by new construction subject to the tonnage limits prescribed in Articles IV and VII and in conformity with the other provisions of the present Treaty, the regular replacement program being deemed to be advanced to that extent.''

– Japanese probably argued, that they could use the incomplete (supposed to be scrapped due to the Treaty) “Amagi” hull to build a replacement ship, instead of building the complete new ship - and save a lot of money.

- By replacing the five 16-inch turrets with similar number of smaller guns, they could save enough weight to actually fit the "Amagi" displacement into the 38000 tons (35000 tons with 3000 additional, allowed for installation of anti-torpedo bulges), allowed by Treaty as a maximum for any battleship.

– The USA may agreed to allow that, but demanded that the new japanese battlecruiser, if allowed, should be armed with the guns less than 12-inch. The Japanese already have 10-inch guns – from their old semi-dreadnoughts “Aki” and “Satsuma” – so they may decide to save money, and put them on “Amagi”.