The Japanese Light Cruiser Yubari : Kagero : 9788366673908 : 8366673901 : 28 May 2022 : Yubari, the smallest of Japanese cruisers built after World War I, was in fact an experimental design. The ship was intended as a test bed for new technologies to be employed in the construction of the future Furutaka class heavy cruisers. The ship's lead designer Fujimoto Kikuo, working under the supervision of the Imperial Navy's chief naval architect Hiraga Yuzuru, set out to create a fast and heavily armed cruiser with the lightest displacement possible. What emerged was a vessel capable of the same speed, range and broadside weight as those of 5,500 ton ships, but with a significantly lower displacement. The construction of the cruiser was initially authorized under the 1917 8-4 Fleet Program, but funding wasn't available until the launch of the 1921 8-6 Fleet Program, where the ship was listed under the name Ayase. The blueprints were formally approved in October 1921 and on December 23, 1921