Katori was a recently built ship, but her design served training requirements rather than high-speed fleet combat. The class came from the 1937 and 1939 supplementary naval budgets and also served as administrative flagships, including submarine command duties. With a top speed of about 18 knots and four 5.5-inch guns in twin mountings, these ships had limited speed and armament for a cruiser. Katori's presence among the ships damaged in the raids therefore needs to be understood in terms of her actual role and capability.
Notable Point · 2:14:13-2:15:53
Katori's training role and limited combat capability
Katori's recent construction did not make the training cruiser a modern fleet combatant.