 The Ibuki @-@ class ( 伊吹型 , Ibuki @-@ gata ) cruisers were the last class of heavy cruisers built for the Imperial Japanese Navy ( IJN ) . In order to save design time , the ships were essentially repeats of the earlier Mogami class . Begun during World War II , only the lead ship , Ibuki , was launched , but was in the process of being converted into a light aircraft carrier when construction was suspended in 1945 . She was scrapped beginning in 1946 . The unnamed second ship was scrapped less than a month after being laid down in order to clear her slipway for an aircraft carrier . 
