Built by the Sasebo Naval Arsenal and commissioned on 22 April 1922, "Nagara" served in the initial battles of the Second Sino-Japanese War, including the Battle of Shanghai and the Invasion of French Indochina. After the attack on Pearl Harbor, "Nagara" covered the landings of Japanese troops in Malaya and the Dutch East Indies. She accompanied Admiral Nagumo's Carrier Striking Force during the Battle of Midway, at the end of which she took over from the destroyer as the flagship of Admiral Nagumo after the loss of his flagship . Afterwards, she participated in the battles of the Eastern Solomons, Santa Cruz , and the First Battle of Guadalcanal (where she is credited with sinking the destroyer ). She was sunk by the submarine en route between Kagoshima and Sasebo on 7 August 1944.