A lot what some say here is untrue - example: Japanese Heavy cruisers had bad welding etc., were outclassed by the Baltimore class early in the pacific war is not factual. Early Japanese Heavy Cruisers of WW2 vintage like the Mogami was overweight(true), and suffered welding problems but this was overcome. THE MAJORITY of Japanese Heavy Cruisers were some of the best and toughest of cruisers of any nation in WW2. What the biggest fault of IJN cruisers was the very poor anti aircraft guns. Also excessive torpedo mounts and storage although early in the war was a factor in their victories. SO people read for example Osprey books and many like historical books and please get your facts correct before generalising and going on national pride ours is better than theirs please. By the way I think Japanese Heavy Cruisers look the most modern and best looking of just about any WW2 combatants. Mark AUSTRALIA.
Who's talking about a 40-page read by Osprey? Many of the Japanese heavy cruisers were over weight on completion, which led to severe stability problems. Things were rectified, but given the length/width ratio for speed, they were over-gunned and always suffered draught problems.
