This book is the bound version of the two Hors-Séries Navires & Histoire No. 48 and 49 published in 2023 and which were very successful.
Well before the signing of the Washington Naval Treaty, Japanese engineers had developed a project
that would lead to the construction of the first cruisers called, at that time in the Empire of the Rising Sun, ‘Ittō junyōkan’ or 1st class cruisers. At the end of the twenties, the Imperial Japanese Navy could boast of having the ‘Jū-junyōkan’, better known as the most powerful heavy cruisers in the world with the ‘Myōkō’ class. From 1939, it will have put into service
eighteen of these ships. Within the world's most important navies, these legendary ships will only distinguish themselves during
the Second World War, but the Japanese cruisers will undoubtedly be those that will have the most to
suffer from American maritime and air-naval power.
The genesis and history of the Japanese heavy cruisers will be reported to you in a book bringing together
356 photos, 38 plans, 20 profiles and 12 maps.