Warships of Japan: Imperial Japanese Navy battleships of the Second World War

Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) battleships of the Second World War

(IJN Photo)

IJN battleship Yamato running machinery trials off Bungo Strait (outside Sukumo Bay) on 20 October 1941.

In December 1941, at the beginning of the Second World War in the Pacific, the Imperial Japanese Navy was the third most powerful navy in the world, and its naval air service was one of the most potent air forces in the world.  During the first six months of the war, the Imperial Japanese Navy enjoyed spectacular success inflicting heavy defeats on Allied forces, being undefeated in every battle.  The Japanese attack on American fleet resting at Peral Harbor, Hawaii, on 7 Dec 1941, crippled the battleships of the US Pacific Fleet while Allied navies were devastated during Japan's conquest of Southeast Asia.  Japanese naval aircraft were also responsible for the sinkings of Britains warships HMS Prince of Wales and HMS Repulse.  This was the first time that capital ships were sunk by aerial attack while underway.  In April 1942, the Japanese conducted an Indian Ocean raid that drove the Royal Navy from South East Asia.  After these successes, the Japanese then concentrated on the elimination and neutralization of strategic points from where the Allies could launch counteroffensives against the Japanese onquests.  The Japanese were initially checked during the Battle of the Coral Sea, and were forced to abandon their attempts to isolate Australia.  Their defeat in the Battle of Midway forced them onto the defensive.  The campaign in the Solomon Islands led to furthers losses and the attrition of their forces was decisive in the outcome of the war.

Throughout 1943, the Allies were able to reorganize their forces and American industrial strength.  American forces eventually gained the upper hand through a vastly greater industrial output and a dramatic modernization of its air and naval forces.  That same year, the Japanese redirected their attention to the defensive perimeters of their previous conquests.  Forces on Japanese held islands in Micronesia were directed to absorb and wear down an expected American counteroffensive.  As American industrial power became apparent, the military forces that faced the Japanese in 1943 began to be equipped with overwhelming firepower and equipment.  From the end of 1943 to 1944, Japan's defensive perimeter failed to hold.  The Battle of the Philippine Sea was a disaster for Japanese naval air power with American pilots terming it, the Great Marianas Turkey Shoot.  The Battle of Leyte Gulf led to the destruction of a large part of the Japanese surface fleet, with the consequences that the Japanese lost control of the Western Pacific theatre of war.  During the last phase of the war, the Japanese resorted to a series of desperate measures, including the implementation of a variety of Special Attack Units, named "kamikaze".  By May 1945, most of the Imperial Japanese Navy had been sunk and the remnants had taken refuge in Japan's harbors.  By July 1945, all but one of its capital ships had been sunk in US Navy air raids.  By the end of the war, the IJN had lost 334 warships and 300,386 officers and men.  Wikipedia.  Dull, Paul S.  A Battle History of The Imperial Japanese Navy (reprint 1978 ed.).  (Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press, 2013); Stille, Mark.  The Imperial Japanese Navy in the Pacific War.  (Osprey Publishing, 2014)

Imperial Japanese Navy battleships, Fuso-class

Two Fuso-class battleships, Yamashiro and Fuso, were built for the IJN before the First World War and completed during it.  Both patrolled briefly off the coast of China before being placed in reserve at the war's end.  In 1922, Yamashiro became the first battleship in the IJN to successfully launch aircraft.

During the 1930s, both ships underwent a series of modernizations and reconstructions.  Fuso underwent her modernization in two phases (1930–33, 1937–41), while Yamashiro was reconstructed from 1930 to 1935.  The modernization increased their armour, replaced and upgraded their machinery, and rebuilt their superstructures into the distinctive pagoda mast style.  Despite the expensive reconstructions, both vessels were considered obsolescent by the beginning of the Second World War, and neither saw significant action in the early years of the war.  Fuso served as a troop transport in 1943, while Yamashiro was relegated to training duty in the Inland Sea.  Both underwent upgrades to their anti-aircraft suite in 1944 before transferring to Singapore in August 1944.

‍Imperial Japanese Navy battleship Fuso‍

(IJN Photo)

IJN battleship Fuso running full-power trials on 10 May 1933 after her first reconstruction.

(IJN Photo)

IJN battleship Fuso, bow view, 1929.

(IJN Photo)

IJN battleship Fuso, starboard beam view, c1939.

(IJN Photo)

Imperial Japanese Navy battleship Fuso undergoing rennovation and reconstruction in drydock in Kure, Japan. At this time the rennovation was almost complete. 1933.

(IJN Photo)

IJN battleship Fuso, during maneuvers with Nagato in 1934.

(JN Photo)

Imperial Japanese Navy battleship Fusō undergoes a flooding/drainage of water test at Kure, Japan.

(IJN Photo)

Imperial Japanese Navy battleship Fusō undergoing post-rennovation trials, 1933.

(IJN Photo)

IJN battleship Fuso, starboard beam view, c1939.

(IJN Photo)

IJN battleship Fuso, looking a bit war weary.

IJN battleships Fuso and IJN Yamashiro. Fuso and Yamashiro were the only two Japanese battleships at the Battle of Surigao Strait, the southernmost action of the Battle of Leyte Gulf, and both were lost in the early hours of 25 October 1944 to torpedoes and naval gunfire.  Some eyewitnesses later claimed that Fuso broke in half, and that both halves remained afloat and burning for an hour, but historian Anthony Tully has made the case that she simply sank after forty minutes of flooding.  Six U.S. Navy battleships and eight cruisers were lying in wait for Yamashiro; she did not survive the encounter, and Vice Admiral Sh?jji Nishimura went down with his ship.  Only ten crewmembers from each ship survived.

Imperial Japanese Navy battleship Yamashiro

(IJN Photo)

IJN battleship Yamashiro undergoing post-reconstruction trials off Tateyama, Japan, December 1934. Yamashiro (Japanese: 山城; "Mountain castle", named after the ancient YamashiroProvince) was the second of two Fusō-class dreadnought battleships built forthe Imperial Japanese Navy. Launched in 1915 and commissioned in 1917, sheinitially patrolled off the coast of China, playing no part in the First World War. In 1923, she assisted survivors of the Great Kantō earthquake.

Yamashiro was modernized between 1930 and 1935, with improvements to her armorand machinery and a rebuilt superstructure in the pagoda mast style.Nevertheless, with only 14-inch guns, she was outclassed by other Japanesebattleships at the beginning of the Second World War, and played auxiliaryroles for most of the war.

By 1944, though, she was forced into front-line duty, serving as the flagshipof Vice-Admiral Shōji Nishimura's Southern Force at the Battle of SurigaoStrait, the southernmost action of the Battle of Leyte Gulf. During fiercenight fighting in the early hours of 25 October against a superior American andAustralian force, Yamashiro was sunk by torpedoes and naval gunfire. Nishimurawent down with his ship, and only 10 crewmembers survived. (Wikipedia)

(IJN Photo)

IJN battleship Yamashiro, 1921.

(IJN Photo)

Imperial Japanese Navy battleship Yamashiro anchored during an Imperial navy fleet review. The heavy cruiser Suzuya is seen behind her. 11 Oct 1940.

(IJN Photo)

Imperial Japanese Navy battleships Yamashiro, (foreground), and  Fuso, (background), Fuso class 1938. Japanese battleship Haruna is in the distant background. Fuso and Yamashiro were sunk during the Battle of Surigao Strait, 25 October 1944.

(IJN Photo)

Imperial Japanese Navy battleship Yamashiro, Dec 1934.

(IJN Photo)

Imperial Japanese Navy battleship Yamashiro at Yokosuka upon completion of reconstruction trials, 27 Jan 1935.

(IJN Photo)

Imperial Japanese Navy battleship Yamashiro under renovation at Yokosuka, Japan, 20 Oct 1934.

(IJN Photo)

Imperial Japanese Navy battleship Yamashiro undergoes post-reconstruction trials off Tateyama, Japan, 24 Dec 1934.

(USN Photo)

Imperial Japanese Navy battleship Yamashiro or Fusō under air attack by aircraft from the United States Navy aircraft carrier USS Enterprise hours before the Battle of Surigao Strait during the Battle of Leyte Gulf. Yamashiro was damaged by several near-misses during this attack.

Two Ise-class battleships, Ise and Hyuga, were built for the IJN during the First World War.  They were modernized in 1934–1937 with improvements to their armour and machinery and a rebuilt superstructure inthe pagoda mast style.  They later played a minor role in the Second Sino-Japanese War.  Despite the expensive reconstructions, both vessels were considered obsolete by the eve of the pacific War, and neither saw significant action in the early years of the war.

Following the loss of four of the IJN's large aircraft cariers during the Battle of Midway in mid-1942, they were rebuilt with a flight deck replacing the rear pair of gun turrets to give them the ability to operate an air group of floatplanes.  A lack of aircraft and qualified pilots, however, meant that they never actually operated their aircraft in combat.  While awaiting their air group, the sister ships were occasionally used to ferry troops and material to Japanese bases.  They participated in the Battle off Cape Engano in late 1944, where they decoyed the American carrier fleet supporting the invasion of Leyte away from the landing beaches.  Afterwards both ships were transferred to Southeast Asia.  Early in 1945 they participated in Operation Kita, where they transported petrol and other strategic materials to Japan.  The sisters were then reduced to reserve until they were sunk during American airstrikes in July.  After the war they were scrapped in 1946–1947.

Imperial Japanese Navy battleship Ise

(IJN Photo)

IJN battleship Ise underway after her first refit in 1927. Ise (Japanese: 伊勢; named after the ancient Ise Province) was the lead ship of her class of two dreadnought battleships built for the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) during the 1910s. Although completed in 1917, she played no role in the First World War. Ise supported Japanese forces in the early 1920s during the Siberian Intervention in the Russian Civil War. In 1923, she assisted survivors of the Great Kantō earthquake. The ship was partially modernised in two stages in 1928–1929 and 1931–1932, during which her forward superstructure was rebuilt in the pagoda mast style. Ise was reconstructed in 1934–1937, with improvements to her armour and her propulsion machinery. Afterwards she played a minor role in the Second Sino-Japanese War.Despite the expensive reconstruction, the ship was considered obsolete by the eve of the Pacific War, and did not see significant action in the early years of the war. Following the loss of most of the IJN's large aircraft carriers during the Battle of Midway in mid-1942, she was rebuilt with a flight deck replacing the rear pair of gun turrets to give her the ability to operate an air group of floatplanes; lack of aircraft and qualified pilots meant that Ise never actually operated aircraft in combat. She participated in the Battle off Cape Engaño in late 1944, where she was one of the ships that decoyed the American carrier fleet supporting the invasion of Leyte away from the landing beaches. Afterwards the ship was transferred to Southeast Asia. In early 1945 Ise participated in Operation Kita, where she transported petrol and other strategic materials to Japan. The ship was then reduced to reserve until American airstrikes in July sank her. After the war Ise was scrapped in 1946–1947. (Wikipedia)

(IJN Photo)

IJN battleship Ise at anchor, before her 1935 reconstruction.

(IJN Photo)

IJN battleship Ise after her 1935–1937 reconstruction.

(U.S. Naval History and Heritage Command Photo)

IJN battleship Ise Ise underway during the Battle of Leyte Gulf, 25 October 1944.

(USN Photo)

Imperial Japanese Battleship Ise, sunk at Kure, 8 October 1945.  14" guns.

(IJN Photo)

The wreck of Ise, October 1945

Imperial Japanese Navy battleship Hyuga

(IJN Photo)

Hyuga running her sea trials on 23 August 1943. Hyūga (Japanese: 日向; named after the ancient Hyūga Province) was the second and last Ise-class battleship built for the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) during the 1910s. Although completed in 1918, she played no role in the First World War. Hyūga supported Japanese forces in the early 1920s during the Siberian intervention in the Russian Civil War. In 1923, she assisted survivors of the Great Kantō earthquake. The ship was partially modernised in two stages in 1927–1928 and 1931–1932, during which her forward superstructure was rebuilt in the pagoda mast style. Hyūga was reconstructed in 1934–1936, improvements being made to her armour and propulsion machinery. Afterwards, she played a minor role in the Second Sino-Japanese War.Despite the expensive reconstruction, the ship was considered obsolete by the eve of the Pacific War, and did not see significant action in the early years of the war. After the loss of most of the IJN's large aircraft carriers during the Battle of Midway in mid-1942, she was rebuilt with a flight deck replacing the rear pair of gun turrets to give her the ability to operate an air group of floatplanes; lack of aircraft and qualified pilots meant that Hyūga never operated her aircraft in combat. She participated in the Battle off Cape Engaño in late 1944, where she helped to decoy the American carrier fleet supporting the invasion of Leyte away from the landing beaches. Afterwards, the ship was transferred to Southeast Asia, occasionally serving as a flagship. In early 1945, Hyūga participated in Operation Kita, during which she transported petrol and other strategic materials back to Japan. The ship was then reduced to reserve until she was sunk during American airstrikes in July. After the war, Hyūga was scrapped in 1946–1947. (Wikipedia)

(IJN Photo)

IJN battleship Hyuga, after her conversion.

(IJN Photo)

Hyūga on her sea trials in November 1943 after her conversion.

(IJN Photo)

IJN battleship Hyūga shortly after completion, 18 Dec 1917.

(IJN Photo)

IJN battleship Hyuga, before conversion, 1927.

(SDASM Photo)

IJN battleship Hyūga sunk in shallow waters, cSep 1945.

(USN Photo)

IJN battleship Hyūga sunk in shallow waters, cSep 1945.

Imperial Japanese Navy battleships, Nagato-class

Two Nagato-class battleships, Nagato and Mutsu, were built for the IJN during the First World War, although they were not completed until after the end of the war.  The last of Japan's pre-Treaty capital ships, they were the first class to carry 41-cm (16.1-inch) guns, the largest afloat and the first bigger than 15-inch (381-mm).  As the lead ship of the class, Nagato, frequently served as a flagship.  Both ships were modernized between 1933 and 1936 with improvements to their armour and machinery and a rebuilt superstructure in the pagoda mast style.  Nagato and Mutsu briefly participated in the Second Sino-Japanese War in 1937 and Nagato was the flagship of Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto during the attack on Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941, that began the Pacific War.

Both battleships participated in the Battle of Midway in June 1942, although they did not see any combat.  Mutsu saw more active service than Nagato because she was not a flagship and participated in the Battle of the Eastern Solomons in August before returning to Japan in early 1943.  One of Mutsu's aft magazines detonated in June 1943, killing 1,121 crew and visitors and destroying the ship.  The IJN conducted a perfunctory investigation into the cause of her loss and concluded that it was the work of a disgruntled crewmember.  They dispersed the survivors in an attempt to conceal the sinking to keep up morale in Japan.  Much of the wreck was salvaged after the war and many artifacts and relics are on display in Japan.

Nagato spent most of the first two years of the war training in home waters.  She was transferred to Truk in mid-1943, but did not see any combat until the Battle of the Philippine Sea in mid-1944 when she was attacked by American aircraft.  Nagato did not fire her main armament against enemy vessels until the Battle of Leyte Gulf in October 1944.  She was lightly damaged during the battle and returned to Japan the following month for repairs.  The IJN was running out of fuel by this time and decided not to fully repair her.  Nagato was converted into a floating anti-aircraft platform and assigned to coastal defense duties.  After the war, the ship was a target for U.S. nuclear weapons tests during Operation Crossroads in mid-1946.  She survived the first test with little damage, but was sunk by the second test.

Imperial Japanese Navy battleship Nagato

(IJN Photo)

IJN battleship Nagato, 1920s. Nagato (Japanese: 長門; named after the ancient Nagato Province) was a super-dreadnoughtbattleship built for the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN). Completed in 1920 as thelead ship of her class, she carried supplies for the survivors of the GreatKantō earthquake in 1923. The ship was modernized in 1934–1936 withimprovements to her armor and machinery and a rebuilt superstructure in thepagoda mast style. Nagato briefly participated in the Second Sino-Japanese Warin 1937 and was the flagship of Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto during the attack onPearl Harbor. She covered the withdrawal of the attacking ships and did notparticipate in the attack itself.

Other than participating in the Battle of Midway in June 1942, where she didnot see combat, the ship spent most of the first two years of the Pacific Wartraining in home waters. She was transferred to Truk in mid-1943, but did notsee any combat until the Battle of the Philippine Sea in mid-1944 when she wasattacked by American aircraft. Nagato did not fire her main armament against enemyvessels until the Battle of Leyte Gulf in October. She was lightly damagedduring the battle and returned to Japan the following month. The IJN wasrunning out of fuel by this time and decided not to fully repair her. Nagatowas converted into a floating anti-aircraft platform and assigned to coastaldefense duties. She was attacked in July 1945 as part of the American campaignto destroy the IJN's last remaining capital ships, but was only slightlydamaged and went on to be the only Japanese battleship to have survived theSecond World War. In mid-1946, the ship was a target for nuclear weapon testsduring Operation Crossroads. She survived the first test with little damage,but was sunk by the second. (Wikipedia)

(IJN Photo)

IJN battleship Nagato, c1924.

(IJN Photo)

IJN battleship Nagato, with seaplane on No. 2 turret. July 1927.

(IJN Photo)

IJN battleship Nagato at anchor in Yokosuka, October 1927.

(IJN Photo)

IJN battleship Nagato at anchor in Kure, August 1942.

(USN Photo)

The captured Japanese battleship Nagato steams towards Bikini Atoll in the Pacific, in March 1946. She departed Yokosuka, Japan, for Eniwetok under the command of Captain W.J. Whipple with an American crew of about 180 men supplementing her Japanese crew. The ship was only capable of a speed of 10 knots from her two operating propeller shafts. Her hull had not been repaired from the underwater damage sustained during the attack on 18 July 1945 and she leaked enough that her pumps could not keep up. Her consort, the light cruiser Sakawa, broke down on 28 March and Nagato attempted to take her in tow, but one of her boilers malfunctioned and the ship ran out of fuel in bad weather. The ship had a list of seven degrees to port by the time tugboats from Eniwetok arrived on 30 March. Towed at a speed of 1 knot, the ship reached Eniwetok on 4 April where she received temporary repairs. On her trip to Bikini in May, Nagato reached 13 knots.

(USN Photo)

IJN battleship Nagato off Yokosuka, 1946.

(USN Photo)

IJN battleship Nagato off Yokosuka, 1946.

(USN Photo)

IJN battleship Nagato in US control before it was sunk as a target in Operation Crossroads, 29/30 July 1946.

(U.S. Naval History and Heritage Command Photos)

IJN battleship Nagato, 1946.

(USN Photo)

Aerial view from a U.S. Navy Martin PBM Mariner (callsign "U") of the Crossroads Baker atomic test, less than one second after the detonation. Identifiable ships are (l-r): USS Pensacola (CA-24), USS Saratoga (CV-3), USS Pennsylvania (BB-38), the former Japanese battleship Nagato, USS New York (BB-34), and USS Salt Lake City (CA-25). 25 July 1946.

Imperial Japanese Navy battleship Mutsu

(IJN Photo)

Mutsu, c1922. Mutsu (Japanese: 陸奥; named after the ancient Mutsu Province) was the second and last Nagato-class dreadnought battleship built for the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) at the end of the First World War. In 1923 she carried supplies for the survivors of the Great Kantō earthquake. The ship was modernized in 1934–1936 with improvements to her armour and machinery, and a rebuilt superstructure in the pagoda mast style.Other than participating in the Battle of Midway and the Battle of the Eastern Solomons in 1942, where she did not see any significant combat, Mutsu spent most of the first year of the Pacific War in training. She returned to Japan in early 1943. That June, one of her aft magazines detonated while she was at anchor, sinking the ship with the loss of 1,121 crew and visitors. The IJN investigation into the cause of her loss concluded that it was the work of a disgruntled crew member. The navy dispersed the survivors in an attempt to conceal the sinking in the interest of morale in Japan. Much of the wreck was scrapped after the war, but some artefacts and relics are on display in Japan, and a small portion of the ship remains where she was sunk. (Wikipedia)

(IJN Photo)

IJN battleship Mutsu, 1921.

(IJN Photo)

Mutsu, with large rangefinders.

(IJN Photo)

Mutsu, at anchor at Yokosuka in Feb 1937.

(IJN Photo)

Mutsu, c1930s.

Imperial Japanese Navy battleships, Yamato-class

The Yamato-class battleships (大和型戦艦, Yamato-gata senkan) were two battleships of the Imperial Japanese Navy, Yamato and Musashi, laid down leading up to the Second World War and completed as designed. A third hull, laid down in 1940, was converted to the aircraft carrier Shinano during construction. Displacing nearly 72,000 long tons (73,000 t) at full load, the completedbattleships were the heaviest ever constructed. The class carried the largestnaval artillery ever fitted to a warship, nine 460 mm (18.1 in) naval guns,each capable of firing 1,460 kg (3,220 lb) shells over 42 km (26 mi).

Due to the threat of U.S. submarines and aircraft carriers, both Yamato and Musashi spent the majority of their careers in naval bases at Brunei, Truk, and Kure—deploying on several occasions in response to U.S. raids on Japanesebases. All three ships were sunk by the U.S. Navy; Musashi by air strikes whileparticipating in the Battle of Leyte Gulf in October 1944, Shinano after beingtorpedoed by the submarine USS Archerfish while under way from Yokosuka to Kurefor fitting out in November 1944, and Yamato by air strikes while en route fromJapan to Okinawa as part of Operation Ten-Go in April 1945. (Wikipedia)

(IJN Photo)

Yamato and Musashi anchored in the waters off of the Truk Islands in 1943.

Imperial Japanese Navy battleship Yamato

(IJN Photo)

IJN battleship Yamato on trials in 1941. Yamato (Japanese: 大和; named after the ancient Yamato Province) was the lead ship of her class of battleships built for the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) shortly beforeWorld War II. She and her sister ship, Musashi, were the heaviest and most powerfully armed battleships ever constructed, displacing nearly 72,000 tonnes (71,000 long tons) at full load and armed with nine 46 cm (18.1 in) Type 94 main guns, which were the largest guns ever mounted on a warship.

Yamato was designed to counter the numerically superior battleship fleet of theUnited States, Japan's main rival in the Pacific. She was laid down in 1937 andformally commissioned a week after the attack on Pearl Harbor in December 1941. Throughout 1942, she served as the flagship of the Combined Fleet, and in June1942 Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto directed the fleet from her bridge during theBattle of Midway, a disastrous defeat for Japan. Musashi took over as theCombined Fleet flagship in early 1943, and Yamato spent the rest of the yearmoving between the major Japanese naval bases of Truk and Kure in response toAmerican threats. In December 1943, Yamato was torpedoed by an Americansubmarine which necessitated repairs at Kure, where she was refitted withadditional anti-aircraft guns and radar in early 1944. Although present at theBattle of the Philippine Sea in June 1944, she played no part in the battle.

The only time Yamato fired her main guns at enemy surface targets was inOctober 1944, when she was sent to engage American forces invading thePhilippines during the Battle of Leyte Gulf. While threatening to sink Americantroop transports, they encountered a light escort carrier group of the U.S.Navy's Task Force 77, "Taffy 3", in the Battle off Samar, sinking or helping to sink the escort carrier USS Gambier Bay and the destroyers USS Johnston and USS Hoel. The Japanese turned back after American air attacks convinced them they were engaging a powerful U.S. carrier fleet.

During 1944, the balance of naval power in the Pacific decisively turned against Japan, and by early 1945 its fleet was much depleted and badly hobbledby critical fuel shortages in the home islands. In a desperate attempt to slowthe Allied advance, Yamato was dispatched on a one-way mission to Okinawa in April 1945, with orders to beach herself and fight until destroyed, thus protecting the island. The task force was spotted south of Kyushu by U.S. submarines and aircraft, and on 7 April 1945 she was sunk by American carrier-based bombers and torpedo bombers with the loss of most of her crew. (Wikipedia)

(IJN Photo)

IJN battleship Yamato during sea trials, October 1941.

(IJN Photo)

IJN battleship Yamato anchored off Truk, 1943.

(IJN and U.S. Naval History and Heritage Command Photo NH 63433, courtesy of Lieutenant Commander Shizuo Fukui)

The Japanese battleship Yamato in the late stages of construction alongside of a large fitting out pontoon at the Kure Naval Base, Japan, 20 September 1941.  The aircraft carrier H?sh? is visible at the extreme right.  The store ship Mamiya is anchored in the center distance. Note Yamato's after 460mm main battery gun turret, and superfiring 155-mm secondary battery gun turret.

(USN Photo)

The Japanese battleship Yamato under attack by U.S. Navy carrier aircraft in the East China Sea on 7 April 1945, as a bomb explodes off its port side. The fire in the area of the aft 155mm turret can be clearly seen.

(USN Photo)

Battle of the Sibuyan Sea, 24 October 1944: The Japanese battleship Yamato is hit by a bomb near her forward 460mm gun turret, during attacks by U.S. carrier planes as she transited the Sibuyan Sea. This hit did not produce serious damage.

Imperial Japanese Navy battleship Musashi

(Tobei Shiraishi Photo)

The Japanese battleship Musashi leaving Brunei, Borneo, in 1944, possibly on 22 October, when she departed to take part in the Battle of Leyte Gulf. Photographed by Japanese sailor Tobei Shiraishi from the destroyer Isokaze.

Musashi (Japanese: 武蔵; named after the former Japanese province[2]) was one of fourplanned Yamato-class battleships built for the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN),beginning in the late 1930s. The Yamato-class ships were the heaviest and mostpowerfully armed battleships ever constructed, displacing almost 72,000 longtons (73,000 t) fully loaded and armed with nine 460-millimetre (18.1 in) mainguns. Their secondary armament consisted of four 155-millimetre (6.1 in)triple-gun turrets formerly used by the Mogami-class cruisers. They wereequipped with six or seven floatplanes to conduct reconnaissance.

Commissioned in mid-1942, Musashi was modified to serve as the flagship of theCombined Fleet, and spent the rest of the year working up. The ship wastransferred to Truk, Japan's main wartime naval base in the South Pacifictheatre, in early 1943 and sortied several times that year with the fleet inunsuccessful searches for American forces. She was used to transfer forces andequipment between Japan and various occupied islands several times in 1944.Torpedoed in early 1944 by an American submarine, Musashi was forced to returnto Japan for repairs, during which the navy greatly augmented her anti-aircraftarmament. She was present during the Battle of the Philippine Sea in June, butdid not come in contact with American surface forces. During the Battle ofLeyte Gulf, Musashi was sunk by an estimated 19 torpedo and 17 bomb hits fromAmerican carrier-based aircraft on 24 October 1944. Over half of her crew wasrescued. Her wreck was located in March 2015 by a team of researchers employed by Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen. (Wikipedia)

(IJN Photo)

Crewmen do calisthenics on the forward deck of the Imperial Japanese Navy battleship Musashi.  The ship's wide beam and upward sloping bow is evident in this photo.  Overview of 18.1-inch forward turrets.

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(Hiroshi Arakawa Photo, via Kure Maritime History Science Museum)

The Japanese aircraft carrier Shinano, during trials in Tokyo Bay in 1944.

Shinano was the largest warship built up to May 1940.  As the third of the Yamato-class battleships, Shinano's partially complete hull was ordered to be converted to an aircraft carrier following Japan's disastrous loss of four of her original six fleet carriers at the Battle of Midway in mid-1942.  The advanced state of her construction prevented her conversion into a fleet carrier, so the IJN decided to convert her into a carrier that supported other carriers.

Her conversion was still not finished in November 1944 when she was ordered to sail from the Yokosuka Naval Arsenal to Kure Naval Base to complete fitting out and to transfer a load of 50 Yokosuka MXY7 Ohka rocket-propelled kamikaze flying bombs.  She was sunk en route, 10 days after commissioning, on 29 November 1944, by four torpedoes launched by the USS Archerfish.  Over a thousand sailors and civilians were rescued and 1,435 were lost, including her captain.  She remains the largest warship ever sunk by a submarine.

Shinano had a length of 265.8 meters (872 ft 1 in) overall, a beam of 36.3 meters (119 ft 1 in) and a draft of 10.3 meters (33 ft 10 in).  She dispalced 65,800 metric (64,800 long tons) at standard load, 69,151 metric tons (68,059 long tons) at normal load and 73,000 metric tons (72,000 long tons) at full load.  Shinano was the heaviest aircraft carrier yet built, a record she held until the 81,000-metric-ton (80,000-long-ton) USS Forrestal was launched in 1954.  She was designed for a crew of 2,400 officers and enlisted men.  The navy decided that Shinano would become a heavily armored support carrier, carrying reserve aircraft, fuel and ordnance in support of other carriers, rather than a fleet carrier.

Shinano was designed to load and fuel her aircraft on deck where it was safer for the ship; experiences in the Battles of Midway and the Coral Sea had demonstrated that the existing doctrine of fueling and arming their aircraft below decks was a real danger to the carriers if they were attacked while doing so.  Much of Shinano's hangar was left open for better ventilation, although steel shutters could close off most of the hangar sides if necessary.  This also allowed ordnance or burning aircraft to be jettisoned into the sea, something that the earlier carriers could not do with their enclosed hangars.

The ship's organic air group was intended to consist of 18 Mitsubishi A7M Repp? (Sam) fighters (plus two in storage), 18 Aichi B7A Ryusei (Grace) torpedo-dive bombers (plus two in storage), and 6 Nakajima C6N Saiun (Myrt) reconnaissance aircraft (plus one in storage).  The remainder of the hangar space would have held up to 120 replacement aircraft for other carriers and land bases.  Wikipedia.