Fusō-class battleship
Yamashiro on her trials, 19 December 1916
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Class overview | |
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Name | Fusō class |
Builders | |
Operators | Imperial Japanese Navy |
Preceded by | Kawachi class |
Succeeded by | Ise class |
Built | 1912–1917 |
In service | 1915–1944 |
In commission | 1915–1944 |
Completed | 2 |
Lost | 2 |
General characteristics (as built) | |
Type | Dreadnought battleship |
Displacement | 29,326 standard ) |
Length | 202.7 m (665 ft) |
Beam | 28.7 m (94 ft 2 in) |
Draft | 8.7 m (28 ft 7 in) |
Installed power |
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Propulsion | 4 shafts; 2 × steam turbine sets |
Speed | 23 knots (43 km/h; 26 mph) |
Range | 8,000 nmi (15,000 km; 9,200 mi) at 14 knots (26 km/h; 16 mph) |
Complement | 1,193 |
Armament |
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Armor |
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General characteristics (1944) | |
Displacement | 34,700 long tons (35,300 t) |
Length | 210.3 m (690 ft 0 in) |
Beam | 33.1 m (108 ft 7 in) |
Installed power |
|
Propulsion | 4 × steam turbines |
Speed | 24.5 knots (45.4 km/h; 28.2 mph) |
Range | 11,800 nmi (21,900 km; 13,600 mi) at 16 knots (30 km/h; 18 mph) |
Complement | 1,900 |
Sensors and processing systems |
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Armament |
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Armor | Deck: 152–51 mm (6–2 in) |
Aircraft carried | 3 × floatplanes |
Aviation facilities | 1 × catapult |
The Fusō-class battleships (扶桑型戦艦, Fusō-gata senkan) were a pair of
During the 1930s, both ships underwent a series of modernizations and reconstructions. Fusō underwent her modernization in two phases (1930–33, 1937–41), while Yamashiro was reconstructed from 1930 to 1935. The modernization increased their armor, 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 eve of World War II, and neither saw significant action in the early years of the war. Fusō 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.
Fusō and Yamashiro were the only two Japanese battleships at the
Background
The design of the Fusō-class battleships was shaped both by the ongoing international naval arms race and a desire among Japanese naval planners to maintain a fleet of capital ships powerful enough to defeat the United States Navy in an encounter in Japanese territorial waters.[1] The IJN's fleet of battleships had proven highly successful in 1905, the last year of the Russo-Japanese War, which culminated in the destruction of the Russian Second and Third Pacific Squadrons at the Battle of Tsushima.[2]
In the aftermath, the Japanese Empire immediately turned its focus to the two remaining rivals for imperial dominance in the Pacific Ocean: Britain and the United States.
The launch of HMS Dreadnought in 1906 by the Royal Navy raised the stakes,[6] and complicated Japan's plans. Displacing 17,900 long tons (18,200 t) and armed with ten 12-inch (30.5 cm) guns, Dreadnought rendered all existing battleships obsolete by comparison.[7] The launch of the battlecruiser HMS Invincible the following year was a further setback for Japan's quest for parity.[8] When the two new Satsuma-class battleships and two Tsukuba-class armored cruisers, launched by 1911, were outclassed by their British counterparts, the Eight-Eight Fleet Program was restarted.[9]
The first battleships built for the renewed Eight-Eight Fleet Program were the two dreadnoughts of the Kawachi class, ordered in 1907 and laid down in 1908. In 1910, the Navy put forward a request to the Diet (parliament) to secure funding for the entirety of the program at once. Because of economic constraints, the proposal was cut first by the Navy Ministry to seven battleships and three battlecruisers, then by the cabinet to four armored cruisers and a single battleship. The Diet amended this by authorizing the construction of four battlecruisers (the Kongō class) and one battleship, later named Fusō, in what became the Naval Emergency Expansion bill.[10]
Design
Fusō was designed to work in conjunction with the four battlecruisers.[11] After coordination with the British on the Kongō class, Japanese designers had access to the latest British design studies in naval architecture and were now able to design their own capital ships.[12] In an effort to outmatch the American New York class, planners called for a ship armed with twelve 14-inch (36 cm) guns and faster than the 21 knots (39 km/h; 24 mph) of their rivals.[13] Vickers files show that the Japanese had access to the designs for double- and triple-gun turrets, yet opted for six double turrets over four triple turrets.[14][Note 1]
The final design—designated A-64 by the IJN—called for a displacement of 29,000 long tons (29,465 t) with twelve 14-inch (36 cm) guns in six double turrets (two forward, two aft, two separated amidships) with a top speed of 23 knots (43 km/h; 26 mph).[15] This design was superior to its American counterparts in armament, armor and speed, thus following the doctrine the Japanese had used since the First Sino-Japanese War of 1894–95 of compensating for quantitative inferiority with qualitative superiority.[16]
Description
The ships had a length of 202.7 meters (665 ft)
During the ships' modernization during the 1930s, their forward superstructures were enlarged with multiple platforms added to their tripod foremasts. The rear superstructures were rebuilt to accommodate mounts for 127-millimetre (5.0 in)
Propulsion
The Fusō-class ships had two sets of
During their 1930s modernization, the Miyahara boilers on each ship were replaced by six new Kanpon oil-fired boilers, fitted into the former aft boiler room, and the forward funnel was removed. The Brown-Curtis turbines were replaced by four geared Kanpon turbines with a designed output of 75,000 shp (56,000 kW).[19] On her trials, Fusō reached a top speed of 24.7 knots (45.7 km/h; 28.4 mph) from 76,889 shp (57,336 kW).[14] The fuel storage of the ships was increased to a total of 5,100 long tons (5,200 t) of fuel oil that gave them a range of 11,800 nautical miles (21,900 km; 13,600 mi) at a speed of 16 knots (30 km/h; 18 mph).[19]
Armament
The twelve 45-
The main battery of the Fusō class underwent multiple modernizations throughout the ships' careers. During the first reconstruction of both vessels, the elevation of the main guns was increased to −5/+43 degrees, giving a maximum firing range of 35,450 yards (32,420 m). The recoil mechanism of the guns was also changed from a hydraulic to pneumatic system, which allowed for a faster firing cycle of the main guns.[22]
By World War II, the guns used Type 91
As built, the Fusō class was fitted with a secondary armament of sixteen 50-caliber six-inch guns mounted in single casemates along the sides of the hull at the level of the upper deck. Eight guns were mounted per side, and each had an arc of fire of 130 degrees and a maximum elevation of +15 degrees. Each gun could fire a 45.36-kilogram (100.0 lb) high-explosive projectile a maximum distance of 22,970 yards (21,000 m) at a rate of between four and six shots per minute. During their reconstruction in the 1930s, the maximum elevation of the guns was increased to +30 degrees, which increased their maximum range by approximately 900 metres (980 yd).[25]
The ships also mounted five or six 40-caliber 76 mm anti-aircraft (AA) guns. The 76-millimetre (3 in) high-angle guns were in single mounts on both sides of the forward superstructure, both sides of the second funnel, and each side of the aft superstructure (Fusō lacked the starboard side aft gun). Each of these guns had a maximum elevation of +75 degrees, and could fire a 6 kg (13 lb) projectile with a muzzle velocity of 680 m/s (2,200 ft/s) to a maximum height of 7,500 metres (24,600 ft).[25] Both ships were equipped with six submerged 533-millimetre (21.0 in) torpedo tubes, three on each broadside.[13]
The Fusō class's secondary armament changed significantly over time. During the modernizations of the 1930s, all of the 76 mm guns were replaced with eight 40-caliber 127 mm (5.0 in) dual-purpose guns. These guns were fitted on both sides of the fore and aft superstructures in four twin-gun mounts.[21] When firing at surface targets, the guns had a range of 14,700 metres (16,100 yd); they had a maximum ceiling of 9,440 metres (30,970 ft) at their maximum elevation of +90 degrees. Their maximum rate of fire was 14 rounds a minute, but their sustained rate of fire was around eight rounds per minute.[26] During reconstruction, the two foremost 152 mm guns were also removed.[18]
The light AA armament of the Fusō class changed dramatically from 1933 to 1944. During the first reconstruction, Fusō was fitted with four quadruple 13.2 mm (0.52 in) machine-guns,[27] while Yamashiro was fitted with eight twin 25-millimeter (0.98 in) gun mounts.[28] Both weapons were license-built French Hotchkiss designs.[29] The 25 mm guns were mounted on the Fusō class in single, double and triple mounts. This model was the standard Japanese light anti-aircraft gun during World War II, but it suffered from severe design shortcomings that rendered it a largely ineffective weapon. The twin and triple mounts "lacked sufficient speed in train or elevation; the gun sights were unable to handle fast targets; the gun exhibited excessive vibration; the magazine was too small, and, finally, the gun produced excessive muzzle blast".[30] The configuration of the anti-aircraft guns varied significantly; by the end of their final reconstruction, the Fusō class mounted eight twin mounts. In 1943, seventeen single and two twin-mounts were added for a total of 37.[31] In August 1944, both were fitted with another twenty-three single, six twin and eight triple-mounts, for a total of 96 anti-aircraft guns in their final configuration.[32]
Armor
When the Fusō class was completed, the ships' armor was "typical for a pre-Jutland battleship".[33] As built, the armor accounted for a displacement of 8,588 long tons (8,726 t), approximately 29% of the class's total displacement.[13] Their waterline armor belt was 305 to 229 millimetres (12 to 9 in) thick; below it was a strake of 102 mm (4 in) armor. The deck armor ranged in thickness from 32 to 51 mm (1.3 to 2.0 in). The turrets were protected with an armor thickness of 279.4 mm (11.0 in) on the face, 228.6 mm (9.0 in) on the sides, and 114.5 mm (4.51 in) on the roof. The barbettes of the turrets were protected by armor 305 mm thick, while the casemates of the 152 mm guns were protected by 152 mm armor plates. The sides of the conning tower were 351 millimetres (13.8 in) thick. Additionally, the vessels contained 737 watertight compartments (574 underneath the armor deck, 163 above) to preserve buoyancy in the event of battle damage.[34]
During their reconstruction, the armor of the battleships was substantially upgraded. Their deck armor was increased to a maximum thickness of 114 mm (4.5 in), and a longitudinal bulkhead of 76 mm (3.0 in) of high-tensile steel was added to improve the underwater protection.[35] This brought the total armor tonnage up to 12,199 long tons (12,395 t), approximately 31% of the total displacement of the Fusō class. Even after these improvements, the armor was still incapable of withstanding 14-inch shells.[33]
Aircraft
Yamashiro was briefly fitted with an aircraft
Fire control and sensors
When completed in 1915, the ships had two 3.5-meter (11 ft 6 in) and two 1.5-meter (4 ft 11 in)
While the ships were in
Ships
Ship | Builder | Laid down
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Launched | Completed | Fate | Ref. |
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Fusō | Kure Naval Arsenal | 11 Mar 1912 | 28 Mar 1914 | 8 Nov 1915 | Sunk during the Battle of Surigao Strait, 25 Oct 1944[39]
|
[40] |
Yamashiro | Yokosuka Naval Arsenal | 20 Nov 1913 | 3 Nov 1915 | 31 Mar 1917 | [41] |
Two advanced versions of the class were planned, but the final design differed so markedly from Fusō's that they became the Ise class.[15] When she was completed in 1915, Fusō was considered the first modern battleship of the Japanese Navy. She outclassed her American counterparts of the New York class in firepower and speed, and was considered the "most powerfully armed battleship in the world".[15] Despite extensive modernization in the 1930s, both battleships were considered obsolescent by the commencement of World War II.[31] Following the loss of much of Japan's aircraft carrier fleet by 1943, a proposal was floated that would have converted both vessels into hybrid battleship-carriers. Work was scheduled to commence in June 1943, but the plan was cancelled and the two Ise-class battleships were converted instead.[14][42]
Service
Fusō was commissioned on 8 November 1915 and assigned to the 1st Division[Note 3] of the 1st Fleet on 13 December.[43] The ship did not take part in any combat during World War I, as there were no longer any forces of the Central Powers in Asia by the time she was completed. She served as the flagship of the 1st Division during 1917 and 1918,[44] and patrolled off the coast of China during that time. The ship aided survivors of the Great Kanto Earthquake between 9 and 22 September 1923. In the 1920s, Fusō conducted training off the coast of China and was often placed in reserve. After assignment as a training ship in 1936 and 1937, she briefly operated in Chinese waters in early 1939.[45]
Yamashiro was completed on 31 March 1917
World War II
In April and May 1941, Fusō and Yamashiro were attached to the 2nd Division of the 1st Fleet,
Afterwards, Yamashiro returned to home waters, where she stayed until August 1943; the next month, she became a training ship for midshipmen.[31] In July 1943, Yamashiro was at the Yokosuka drydock, then was briefly assigned as a training ship on 15 September before loading troops on 13 October bound for Truk Naval Base, arriving on the 20th. She sailed for Japan on 31 October.[46] On 8 November, the submarine USS Halibut fired torpedoes at Junyo that missed, but hit Yamashiro with a torpedo that failed to detonate.[51] Returning to Japanese waters, Yamashiro resumed her training duties.[46]
During the
Fusō was assigned to the
Both ships were transferred to Battleship Division 2 of the
Battle of Surigao Strait
Nishimura's "Southern Force" left
At 09:08 on 24 October, Yamashiro, Fusō and the heavy cruiser Mogami spotted a group of 27 planes, including Grumman TBF Avenger torpedo bombers and Curtiss SB2C Helldiver dive bombers escorted by Grumman F6F Hellcat fighters, that had been launched from the carrier Enterprise.[57] Around 20 sailors on Yamashiro were killed by strafing and rocket attacks.[58] Fusō's catapult and both floatplanes were destroyed, and another bomb hit the ship near Turret No. 2 and penetrated the decks, killing everyone in No. 1 secondary battery.[59]
Nishimura issued a telegram to Admiral
One or two torpedoes, possibly fired by the destroyer
At 03:52, Yamashiro was attacked by a large formation to the north commanded by Rear Admiral
Yamashiro increased speed,[72] but she had been hit by two to four torpedoes, and after two more torpedo hits near the starboard engine room, she was listing 45 degrees to port. Shinoda gave the command to abandon ship, but neither he nor Nishimura made any attempt to leave the conning tower as the ship capsized within five minutes and quickly sank, stern first, vanishing from radar between 04:19 and 04:21.[73] Only 10 crewmembers of the estimated 1,636 officers and crew on board survived.[74]
Notes
- ^ Postwar Japanese accounts suggest that the system of four triple turrets was superior for defensive combat, while six double turrets were superior for offensive combat, meaning that six double turrets could engage more targets at once than four triple turrets.[14]
- ^ Available sources do not cover the fire control for Yamashiro in any detail.
- ^ Skulski and Preston use Squadron while Hackett uses BatDiv, presumably Battleship Division.
- Hawaiian Standard Time, so in Japan, the attack on Pearl Harborhappened on 8 December.
Footnotes
- ^ a b Stille, p. 4
- ^ Evans & Peattie, p. 124
- ^ a b Evans & Peattie, p. 143
- ^ Evans & Peattie, p. 150
- ^ Stille, p. 7
- ^ Evans & Peattie, p. 152
- ^ Sandler, p. 90
- ^ Evans & Peattie, p. 154
- ^ Evans & Peattie, p. 159
- ^ Evans & Peattie, p. 160
- ^ Evans & Peattie, p. 165
- ^ Skulski, p. 11
- ^ a b c d e f Stille, p. 21
- ^ a b c d e f Gardiner & Gray, p. 229
- ^ a b c d Evans & Peattie, p. 166
- ^ Evans & Peattie, p. 59
- ^ a b Jentschura, Jung & Mickel, p. 25
- ^ a b Skulski, p. 30
- ^ a b c Skulski, p. 17
- ^ Jentschura, Jung & Mickel, pp. 25–26
- ^ a b c d e Skulski, p. 19
- ^ a b Skulski, p. 18
- ^ Worth, p. 179
- ^ Campbell, p. 183
- ^ a b Skulski, p. 20
- ^ Campbell, pp. 192–193
- ^ Skulski, p. 21
- ^ Stille, p. 22
- ^ Campbell, pp. 200, 202
- ^ Stille, p. 11
- ^ a b c d e Stille, p. 23
- ^ Skulski, p. 22
- ^ a b Skulski, p. 16
- ^ Skulski, pp. 16, 101, 163
- ^ Skulski, pp. 16, 101
- ^ Skulski, pp. 25–26
- ^ Skulski, pp. 28–29, 82, 84
- ^ Skulski, p. 26
- ^ Silverstone, pp. 328, 339
- ^ Silverstone, p. 328
- ^ Silverstone, p. 339
- ^ Stille, pp. 22, 26
- ^ Skulski, p. 12
- ^ a b Preston, p. 199
- ^ Skulski, pp. 12–13, 28–29
- ^ a b c d e f g Hackett (2010)
- ^ Skulski, p. 13
- ^ Rohwer, pp. 168–169
- ^ Parshall & Tully, p. 454
- ^ Parshall & Tully, p. 46
- ^ Tully, p. 30
- ^ Tully, pp. 34–35
- ^ a b c d e Hackett (2003)
- ^ Skulski, p. 14
- ^ Rohwer, p. 325
- ^ Tully, pp. xi, 43, 56
- ^ Tully, p. 66
- ^ Tully, pp. 68, 73
- ^ Tully, pp. 66, 120
- ^ Tully, p. 100
- ^ Tully, pp. 110–112
- ^ Tully, p. 152
- ^ Tully, pp. 275–277
- ^ Toland, pp. 697–698
- ^ Tully, p. 179
- ^ Tully, pp. 178–179, 261
- ^ Tully, pp. 184, 190
- ^ Tully, p. 191
- ^ Tully, p. 197
- ^ Tully, pp. 198, 199
- ^ Tully, p. 212
- ^ a b Tully, pp. 214–215
- ^ Tully, pp. 216–217
- ^ Tully, p. 218
References
- Campbell, John (1985). Naval Weapons of World War II. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 0-87021-459-4.
- Evans, David C. & ISBN 0-87021-192-7.
- Gardiner, Robert & Gray, Randal, eds. (1985). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1906–1921. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 0-87021-907-3.
- Hackett, Bob (2003). "IJN Fuso: Tabular Record of Movement". Combinedfleet.com. Retrieved 16 February 2013.
- Hackett, Bob (2010). "IJN Yamashiro: Tabular Record of Movement". Combinedfleet.com. Retrieved 18 February 2013.
- Jentschura, Hansgeorg; Jung, Dieter & Mickel, Peter (1977). Warships of the Imperial Japanese Navy, 1869–1945. Annapolis, Maryland: United States Naval Institute. ISBN 0-87021-893-X.
- Parshall, Jonathan & Tully, Anthony (2007). Shattered Sword: The Untold Story of the Battle of Midway. Washington, DC: Potomac Books. ISBN 978-1-57488-924-6.
- Preston, Antony (1972). Battleships of World War I: An Illustrated Encyclopedia of the Battleships of All Nations 1914–1918. New York: Galahad Books. ISBN 0-88365-300-1.
- Rohwer, Jurgen (2005). Chronology of the War at Sea, 1939–1945: The Naval History of World War Two. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 1-59114-119-2.
- Sandler, Stanley (2004). Battleships: An Illustrated History of their Impact. Weapons and Warfare. Santa Barbara, California: ABC Clio. ISBN 1-85109-410-5.
- Silverstone, Paul H. (1984). Directory of the World's Capital Ships. New York: Hippocrene Books. ISBN 0-88254-979-0.
- Skulski, Janusz (1998). The Battleship Fusō: Anatomy of a Ship. London: Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 0-85177-665-5.
- Stille, Mark (2008). Imperial Japanese Navy Battleships 1941-45. New Vanguard. Vol. 146. Botley, Oxford, UK: Osprey Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84603-280-6.
- OCLC 944111.
- Tully, Anthony P. (2009). Battle of Surigao Strait. Bloomington, Indiana: Indiana University Press. ISBN 978-0-253-35242-2.
- Worth, Richard (2001). Fleets of World War II. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Da Capo Press. ISBN 0-306-81116-2.