Japanese Battleships 1897-1945: A Photographic Archive

126 Pages·2015·50.22 MB·English

by  R.A. Burt

Mutsu leads Nagato, Ise, Hyuga and heavy cruisers during exercises 1928
Between 1920 and 1939 all navies endeavoured to ‘show the flag’ and the Japanese were no different. Fleet manoeuvres,
exercises and general reviews were a common sight during those years and this photograph shows just such a one . . . a
show of power, which the battleship does splendidly.The battleships’ colossal superstructures rise to well above 120ft
above sea level, giant 16in and 14in guns fore and aft, and the occasional show of smoke deliberately let out just in case
anyone had missed they were there!
Satsuma off Sasebo 1919
The transitional period experienced by the Japanese Navy in the first decade of the twentieth century resulted in the
building of Satsuma and Aki, both of which were practically all big gunned ships.They were built in Japan, but at least fifty
per cent of material for them was ordered from England, including the guns and turntables.

Copyright © R A Burt 1989 and 2015
First published in Great Britain in 2015 by
Seaforth Publishing,
Pen & Sword Books Ltd,
47 Church Street,
Barnsley S70 2AS
www.seaforthpublishing.com
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
ISBN: 978 1 84832 234 9
EPUB ISBN: 978 1 47384 545 9
PRC ISBN: 978 1 47384 544 2
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CONTENTS
Introduction
Fuji Class
Fuji
Yashima
Asama Class
Asama
Tokiwa
Shikishima Class
Shikishima
Hatsuse
Idzumo Class
Idzumo
Iwate
Asahi
Azuma
Yakumo
Mikasa
Kasuga Class
Kasuga
Nisshin
Tsukuba Class
Tsukuba
Ikoma
Tango
Suwo Class
Suwo (ex-Pobieda)
Sagami (ex-Peresviet)
Hizen (ex-Retvizan)
Iwami (ex-Orel)
Iki (ex-Imperator Nikolai)
Katori Class
Katori
Kashima
Satsuma Class
Satsuma
Aki
Kurama Class
Kurama
Ibuki
Settsu Class
Settsu
Kawachi
Kongo Class
Kongo
Haruna
Hiei
Kirishima
Drawings
Kongo class appearance changes
Ise and Hyuga appearance changes
Fuso and Yamashiro appearance changes
Nagato and Mutsu appearance changes
Fuso Class
Fuso
Yamashiro
Ise Class
Hyuga
Ise
Nagato Class
Nagato
Mutsu
Yamato Class
Yamato
Musashi
Nagato’s bow 1926.
See page 113.
INTRODUCTION
Although a relative newcomer to the ‘modern’ naval scene, the origins of the Japanese Battle
Fleet can be traced back as far as 600 . Like the British, the Japanese are an island race
BC
who quickly recognised the fact that to protect themselves properly a strong maritime force
was needed. This prompted urgent demands for information about naval matters from foreign
sea powers that continued down the centuries until as late as 1910.
Until about 1870, most Japanese warships were built primarily for coastal defence, but in
1875 the Japanese finally decided to stretch their abilities and order first-class seagoing
vessels. They naturally turned to Great Britain for the most advanced shipbuilding technology
of that time and placed an order in London with Samuda Bros of Poplar for a steel-hulled,
armoured frigate. Designed by the ex-Director of Naval Construction, Sir Edward Reed, the
resultant Fuso can be regarded as the genesis of the modern Japanese Navy. She proved very
successful as completed and set the pattern for future investment.
Many ships were laid down in Great Britain, France and at home to build the fleet up
numerically, and by 1894 Japan was able to adequately protect her own interests. The first
real test came in that same year when war broke out with China, and the sea battles of Asan,
Yalu and Wei-Hai-Wei proved the soundness of investing in good naval forces. This can also
be said of the following war with Russia, when the Japanese fleet practically annihilated the
Russian battleships at the Yellow Sea and Tsushima, in 1904 and 1905 respectively, with
what was, in all essentials, a British-built squadron.
The Japanese were quick to learn and they began major construction in their home yards.
Their progress in just thirty years was quite remarkable, and they entered the intermediate
dreadnought era with Satsuma and Aki laid down in Japan in 1903 (although fifty per cent of
the material was ordered from abroad). In 1913, the battlecruiser Kongo was ordered from
Vickers in England in order to learn the very latest in technical developments, but she was the
last major warship built abroad. The thread was broken and Japan was at last able to embark
on her own shipbuilding programmes.
From 1914–20 ten units were added to an ever-growing fleet – all first-class warships and
equal to the best contemporary foreign construction. This was hardly surprising because
nearly all Japanese naval constructors had studied and trained at Greenwich Naval College in
England, where they were given access to the newest technology and many official files
showing intelligence reports on the fleets of the world.
After the First World War, in which the Japanese took little part, Japan decided, in the
light of the Royal Navy’s achievements, that the whole infrastructure of her own fleet needed
revising if the country of the imperial rising sun was to be considered impregnable. A massive
programme was proposed, so big that other major powers were practically forced to follow
suit. The ultimate aim of the Japanese government was to have three squadrons, each
consisting of eight battleships and eight battlecruisers making a total of twenty-four
battleships and twenty-four battlecruisers – formidable array indeed.
Irrespective of financial considerations, however, there were factors that did not bode too
well for the attainment of such a force. Since the war Japan had been seriously hampered by
the difficulty of obtaining suitable steel. She was dependent primarily on Great Britain and
America, but supplies had dropped off to Japan; from America because of transportation
problems and from Great Britain because she found the exchange rate prohibitive and thus
wished to sell her steel only in Europe.
So far as technical qualities were concerned, the Japanese stood out as excellent
shipbuilders. In rapidity of construction they were first-class; the battleship Ise, built by the
Kawasaki Co in just thirty-one months, showed what they could do, provided that the
necessary material was forthcoming. When the warship boom was at its peak in Japan, new
yards sprang up with a mushroom-like pace of growth – just prior to 1921 there were no less
than seventy yards in the Osaka area alone. A constant demand for high wages from the
dockyard staff did, however, tend to restrict maximum output and this, together with the
problems with raw materials, took the edge off the great advances that the Japanese had
made.
Their designs, nevertheless, showed imaginative style and were very often innovatory.
They were the first to have a 16in-gunned warship at sea (Nagato-class, 1918), and they then
laid down improved versions (Kaga-class, 10 x 16in) in 1919.
In 1920, just after the design of Amagi was finished, the following four ships of the so-
called ‘8-plus-8 Fleet’ were designed. Although the first step was to build a main fleet
consisting of eight battleships and eight battlecruisers, there was an international tendency at
that time towards higher speed with better protection – high-speed battleships in fact. This
tendency was clearly shown in the British HMS Hood that was actually a battlecruiser, but
seen by the Japanese to be a high-speed battleship. By 1921, super-battleships were being
proposed and seriously undertaken. Vessels with displacements of up to 47,500 tons and 18in
armaments were being mooted by all the leading sea powers of the day. These plans and
actual construction terminated, however, when a treaty was signed (Washington Treaty of
1921) restricting further building beyond normal fleet expansion. This brought to an end the
ridiculous escalation which might well have resulted in confrontation, years before the
Second World War.
Throughout the late 1920s and early 1930s Japan contented herself with a huge
reconstruction programme, so as to keep what they had in modern condition, and looked
forward to the time when fresh building could resume. During those years the Japanese
constantly asked for equal terms regarding naval tonnage, but this was always refused by
Great Britain and America. So, in 1934 Japan dropped out of further naval agreements. She
also ignored the London Treaty of 1936 (which called for limitations on displacement at
35,000 tons and nothing larger than 16in guns).
In 1937 all the major sea powers resumed battleship construction along the lines set down
by the 1936 treaty, but Japan had been working on designs for new battleships since 1930
and fully intended to make them the most powerful warships ever seen. This resulted in the
giant Yamato-class, the largest and possibly most powerful battleships ever built. They were
designed for the classic gun duel, in which the Japanese still had faith.
Changing policies and technology, however, saw the coming of aircraft in overwhelming
numbers and it was the Japanese themselves who delivered the second successful bombing