During WWII the coastal defense ship classification was also used for the two former Chinese light cruisers Ning Hai and Ping Hai, in late 1943 the IJN decided to rebuild the two idle ships into escorts with a radically altered superstructure and armament analogous to the Type C & D kaiboukan, they were respectively renamed Iaoshima and Isoshima. These relatively large ships were also supposed to serve as tenders for aircraft bases, for this purpose they were equipped with a crane on the mainmast, trucks, one Daihatsu (14 m), and one Shohatsu (10 m) landing craft. Yasoshima was re-rated as a light cruiser for administrative reasons on the 25th of September 1944, it had been decided to appoint her as flagship for the newly organized First Transport Squadron, a role that required her to be rated as a light cruiser. | During WWII the coastal defense ship classification was also used for the two former Chinese light cruisers Ning Hai and Ping Hai, in late 1943 the IJN decided to rebuild the two idle ships into escorts with a radically altered superstructure and armament analogous to the Type C & D kaiboukan, they were respectively renamed Iaoshima and Isoshima. These relatively large ships were also supposed to serve as tenders for aircraft bases, for this purpose they were equipped with a crane on the mainmast, trucks, one Daihatsu (14 m), and one Shohatsu (10 m) landing craft. Yasoshima was re-rated as a light cruiser for administrative reasons on the 25th of September 1944, it had been decided to appoint her as flagship for the newly organized First Transport Squadron, a role that required her to be rated as a light cruiser. |