Aoba was a Japanese heavy cruiser the keel of which was laid in 1924, launched in September 1926, and commissioned in the Imperial Japanese Navy in September 1927. The ship was 185 m long, 15.8 m wide, and had a full displacement of 10,900 tons. Cruiser Aoba's maximum speed was 36 knots. At the time of launching, the main armament was 6 203 mm guns in three twin turrets, and the additional armament included: 4 120 mm cannons and 12 610 mm torpedo tubes.
Aoba was the first cruiser of the type to bear the same name - ie Aoba. Cruisers of this type They were initially designed as further Furutaka units, but during construction, the plans were modified with the addition of twin artillery turrets and seaplane operation capabilities. This led to some ship instability at high waves. The cruiser Aoba underwent modernization in the years 1938-1940, which mainly consisted in adding a new fire control system and strengthening the anti-aircraft weapons. The combat career of cruiser Aoba in World War II began in December 1941 with supporting the Japanese landing on the island of Guam and - a little later - on the island of Wake. The cruiser took part in the Battle of the Coral Sea (May 1942), in which it was severely damaged. However, it was quickly renovated and in August 1942 he fought in the victorious battle near the island of Savo. From August to October 1942, he protected the convoys sailing to Gudalcanal - in the course of these operations, he was badly damaged and sent back to Japan. In October 1943, shortly after the repairs were completed, it was damaged again and was then declared unfit for repair. Until the end of the war, he did not take part in combat operations. Cruiser Aoba was sunk in July 1945 as a result of an attack by American on-board planes.