"Nagato" - Battleship of the Imperial Japanese Navy

Design and armor of Nagato-class battleships

The appearance of the new dreadnoughts was different from their predecessors. It had a convex deck, a forward-facing stem (unlike the previous straight ones) and taller masts. The length of the vessel was 221 meters, the carrying capacity could reach 39,000 tons. The bow was aimed forward - this design made it possible to increase the size of the vessel by 1.5 meters, and most importantly, reduce the amount of splashes when moving.

Four Gihon steam turbines and 21 Kampon boilers provided the ship with 80,000 horsepower. During the first sea trials, a maximum speed of 26.7 knots was achieved. In economy mode, the dreadnought could cover a distance of 10,000 miles. It is noteworthy that the United States was confident for a long time that the Nagato could sail no faster than 23.5 knots; in the early years of World War II, the real state of affairs became an unpleasant surprise for them.

The armor was made using cemented steel from Vickers. The main armor belt had a length of 134 meters, protruded almost 2 m above sea level and was hidden under water by another 76 cm. The thickness of such a massive structure was 305 mm. The deck was sheathed with sheets from 70 mm to 178 mm. The main caliber turrets had 356 mm protection.

The entire hull of the battleship was divided into 1,089 watertight compartments. Even in the event of a large hole, the ship will remain afloat. The underwater part of the ship was equipped with anti-torpedo defense, which consisted of many bulkheads of varying thickness.

Project evaluation

Armament of Nagato-class battleships

• The main caliber was represented by four pairs of 410 mm guns. They were located in the bow and stern in a linear-elevated pattern. The angle of change of the guns ranged from -5 to +30 degrees. After the modernization, the indicator increased to +43 degrees. The range exceeded 38 km.
• Mine artillery included 18 140-mm guns, some of which were placed in casemates.
• Anti-aircraft artillery consisted of four pairs of 127 mm guns and 10 pairs of 25 mm mounts.
• The mine-torpedo armament contained 4 underwater vehicles and 2 surface devices. In 1936, these guns were dismantled.
• Since 1925, seaplanes began to be placed on board the Nagato. Over the years, Japanese and German aircraft were used to perform reconnaissance functions.

"Nagato" - Battleship of the Imperial Japanese Navy

Nagato is a battleship of the Imperial Japanese Navy, the lead ship of the class of ships of the same name. Named after the historical province of the island of Honshu. The battleship was the first completely Japanese ship and was armed with the most powerful main battery guns at the time of construction.

Design

After approval of the drawings for the Ise-class battleships, the Naval Technical Department began work on a modified design, called Nagato. The project received the index “A-102”; according to the project, 410 mm guns were to be installed on the ships. The need to switch to a new caliber was motivated by the appearance of 381-mm guns in the English fleet, as well as rumors about work in the USA on even heavier artillery systems.

When designing Nagato, the concept of a fast battleship was taken as a basis. By the time the A-102 project was implemented, the English battleships of the Queen Elizabeth class corresponded to this concept, which predetermined some similarities between these ships.

The construction of the battleship Nagato was approved on February 24, 1916, and after the approval of the 8-4 program, in 1917 the construction of another battleship of the same type, Mutsu, was approved. The order for the construction of Nagato was issued on May 12, 1916, and Mutsu on July 21, 1917.

Design

Compared to its predecessor, the ship's hull has become longer and wider.
The abandonment of the main caliber towers located in the middle part of the ship made it possible to place a more powerful power plant, which increased the speed. Changes have been made to the battleship's reservation system. The main armor belt became narrower and thinner along the lower edge. The main armored deck was significantly strengthened. A middle armored deck was added. The armor of the main caliber turrets was noticeably strengthened, while the armor of the barbettes remained at the same level. Underwater protection was added, including a torpedo bulkhead.

The main caliber armament now consisted of 410 mm guns. These guns were the first heavy artillery system designed in Japan, but retained a number of features of the English 356 mm gun, which served as their prototype. Mine artillery was similar, but the placement of the guns was changed. The number of torpedo tubes has also increased.

As mentioned above, the power plant was significantly more powerful than that installed on the Ise-class battleships.

The total length of the ship was 215.8 m, the width was 29.02 m, and the draft was 9.08 m. The displacement at standard load was 32,720 tons, and at full load - 38,500 tons. The ship's crew consisted of 1,333 officers and sailors.

Engines

The power plant of the Nagato class battleships consisted of four turbine units of the Gihon system with a total power of 80,000 hp. and drove four propeller shafts into rotation. The installed turbines were entirely designed in Japan. Twenty-one steam boilers of the Kampon system produced steam for the turbines. Fifteen boilers operated exclusively on oil, and the remaining six had mixed heating.

The fuel supply was 1,600 tons of coal and 3,400 tons of oil, which provided a cruising range of 5,500 miles at a speed of 16 knots. Battleships could reach speeds of up to 26 knots.

Armament

The main caliber armament consisted of eight 410 mm 45 caliber guns mounted in four two-gun turrets. The main caliber towers were installed linearly and elevated and placed in the center plane. The elevation angles of the guns ranged from -2 to 35 degrees, with a maximum firing range of 30,200 m. The guns could be loaded at an elevation angle of up to 20 degrees. The rate of fire was about two rounds per minute. It is not known for certain what types of shells these guns fired before the Second World War. During the war they used 1,020-kg. armor-piercing shells (Type 91), 936-kg were also used. high explosive shells.

The armament of the mine artillery consisted of twenty 140-mm 50-caliber guns. Fourteen of the guns were placed in casemates on the main deck, and the rest were located higher up near the superstructure. The elevation angle was 20 degrees, which made it possible to fire at a distance of up to 15,800 m. Each gun fired 38 kg. high-explosive shells, with a rate of fire of up to ten rounds per minute. Anti-aircraft armament consisted of four 76-mm 40-caliber anti-aircraft guns (3rd Year Type 8-centimetre) and were mounted on the superstructure. The maximum vertical aiming angles were 75 degrees, and the gun's rate of fire was 13-20 rounds per minute. They fired 6 kg. shells with a maximum firing range of 7,500 meters. In addition, the ships were armed with eight 533-mm torpedo tubes, four on each side. Four torpedo tubes were surface-mounted and located on the main deck on the sides of the second smokestack. The remaining four were underwater and were located in pairs fore and aft from the end barbettes.

Booking

The main armor belt ran from the barbette of the main caliber turret No. 1 to the turret No. 4 and had a maximum thickness of 305 mm. The length of the belt was 134 m, and the height was 3.5 m. Along the lower edge it thinned to 76 mm. At the ends it was completed with traverses with a thickness of 254 mm. Towards the bow and stern of the traverses, the thickness of the belt decreased first to 203 mm, and closer to the stems - to 102 mm. On top of the main one there was a 203-mm belt 110 m long, rising to the main armor of the deck. In the area of ​​the barbettes of the main caliber towers No. 2 and No. 3, it went deep into the hull and adjoined the end barbettes. The mine artillery casemates were protected by a 25-mm armor belt.

The main armor deck had 70 mm armor and was adjacent to the upper edge of the 203 mm belt. Below was the middle armored deck with bevels and in the horizontal part it had a thickness of 51 mm, and on the bevels - 76 mm. The forecastle deck had armor over mine artillery casemates with a thickness of 25 mm to 38 mm.

The thickness of the frontal plate of the main caliber towers was 356 mm and was installed at an angle of 30 degrees, the side walls - 280 mm and the roof - 127 mm. Barbettes had armor 305 mm thick. The thickness of the walls of the main cabin was 350 mm, and the auxiliary one was 102 mm.

Underwater protection included an anti-torpedo bulkhead with a thickness of 51 mm to 76 mm, descending from the break of the lower armored deck to the double bottom flooring.

Modernization

In 1922, on the Nagato class battleships, visors were installed on the bow pipe to remove gases. This did not bring the desired effect and in 1923 the bow pipe was bent towards the stern.

In 1925, four surface torpedo tubes were removed from the battleships, and three additional 76-mm anti-aircraft guns were installed instead.

In 1932-1933 two 40-mm anti-aircraft guns were installed on the battleships. The rate of fire of the machine guns was 200 rounds per minute. The 76-mm anti-aircraft guns were dismantled, and four 127-mm double-barreled 40-caliber universal guns were installed instead. They were installed on both sides fore and aft of the superstructure. When firing at ground targets, the maximum firing range was 14,700 m with a rate of fire of fourteen rounds per minute. True, the steady rate of fire was eight rounds per minute.

From August 1933 to January 1936, the battleship Nagato underwent extensive modernization at Kure. During the course of which the ship received onboard anti-torpedo bulges, which increased the width of the hull to 33 m. In order to maintain the propulsive coefficient at the same level, the length of the hull had to be increased by 9.1 m due to the aft superstructure. The power plant was completely changed, four turbo units of the “Kampon” system and ten “Kampon” steam boilers of pure oil heating were installed. Modernization of the power plant of Ise or Fuso class battleships was accompanied by an increase in the power and speed of the ships. After replacing the power plant, the power of the Nagato class battleships did not increase significantly, and the speed decreased to 25 knots. The bow chimney was dismantled, since the new power plant took up less space. New rangefinders and fire control posts were installed.

The elevation angles of the main caliber guns were increased, the maximum firing range was 37,900 m at an elevation angle of 43 degrees. The elevation angle of anti-mine caliber guns was also increased, now the maximum range was 20,000 m at an elevation angle of 35 degrees. The two front 140 mm guns located in casemates were removed. The remaining torpedo tubes were also dismantled. A catapult for seaplanes was installed on the poop.

The armor of the forecastle deck above the casemates was increased to 51 mm, and the middle deck armor was increased to 127 mm. The protection of the barbettes of the main caliber guns was strengthened by installing additional armor plates 127 mm thick. In the same way, the frontal armor of the towers was strengthened, bringing it to 457 mm. After modernization, the standard displacement of battleships was almost 39,000 tons.

In 1939, instead of 40-mm anti-aircraft guns, twenty 25-mm Hotchkiss anti-aircraft guns (Type 96) were installed. They were mounted in single and double-barreled anti-aircraft guns. The effective firing range of these machine guns ranged from 1,500 to 3,000 m, with a maximum effective firing rate of up to 120 rounds per minute. This is due to the fact that it was necessary to frequently change magazines with a capacity of 50 rounds.

Before her death in 1943, the battleship Mutsu was no longer subject to any modernization.

On June 10, 1944, the battleship Nagato underwent repairs, during which a new radar station (Type 21) was installed on the ship and a 25-mm double-barreled anti-aircraft gun was installed. However, this radar was considered unsuccessful and new radars (Type 22 and Type 13) were installed already in July. The battleship's anti-aircraft armament was increased to 96 barrels of 25-mm machine guns. Twenty-eight were single-barreled, ten were double-barrel and sixteen were three-barreled. To compensate for the weight, two 140-mm anti-mine guns had to be dismantled.

In November 1944, an additional thirty 25-mm anti-aircraft guns were installed. They were mounted in ten three-barrel anti-aircraft guns. At the same time, two more 127-mm double-barreled universal mounts were installed on the battleship. Due to the increased weight, four more 140 mm guns had to be removed.

In June 1945, all 140 mm and 127 mm guns were removed from the battleship.

Service

On December 20, 1920, the battleship was assigned to the 1st division of battleships, becoming the flagship. On February 13, 1921, the heir to the throne, Prince Hirohito, visited the battleship. On February 18, 1922, Marshal Joseph Joffre visited the ship, and on April 12, the Prince of Wales, during his visit to Japan. During the first four years of service, the battleship conducted combat exercises, taking part in fleet exercises.

On September 4, after the Great Kanto Earthquake of 1923, he and the battleship Ise delivered supplies to the victims of Kyushu.

On September 7, 1924, during firing training, together with the battleship Mutsu, he sank the target Satsuma; a former dreadnought battleship converted under the terms of the Washington Naval Treaty of 1922 into a target ship. On December 1, she was put into reserve, becoming a training ship.

On December 1, 1926, Nagato was withdrawn from reserve and included in the United Fleet, becoming the flagship. On December 1, 1931 he was again transferred to the reserve. In August 1933, he took part in naval maneuvers in the northern Marshall Islands. After a radical modernization, on January 31, 1936, the battleship was assigned to the 1st Division of Battleships of the 1st Fleet. In August 1937, during the Second Sino-Japanese War, he transported infantry units from Shikoku to Shanghai. On August 24, before leaving for Sasebo, the battleship's seaplanes struck targets in Shanghai. On December 1, Nagato again became a training ship until December 15, 1938, when she again became the flagship of the Combined Fleet. As Japan prepared for the Pacific War, the battleship was refitted in early 1941.

On December 2, 1941, Admiral Isoruku Yamamoto transmitted the code phrase “Niitaka yama nobore” to launch the 1st Air Fleet's attack on Pearl Harbor from the battleship Nagato. When the Pacific War began for Japan, Nagato, along with the battleships Mutsu, Fuso, Yamashiro, Ise, Hyuga and the aircraft carrier Hōshō, were in the Bonin Islands area on December 8 to provide remote support. to the departing fleet that attacked Pearl Harbor, the unit returned six days later. On February 12, 1942, the new battleship Yamato became the flagship of the United Fleet. In June 1942, the battleship was assigned to the main force of the 1st Fleet during the Battle of Midway, deployment plan for Operation MI, along with the battleships Yamato, Mutsu, aircraft carrier Hōshō, light cruiser Sendai, nine destroyers and four auxiliary ships. After the loss of all four aircraft carriers of the 1st Air Fleet, Yamamoto wanted to lure Western American forces within the range of Japanese air forces in the Wake Island area and engage his ground forces under the cover of darkness, but the American forces retreated and Nagato did not undertake no action.

After joining the remnants of the 1st Air Fleet, the surviving aircraft carrier Kaga was assigned to Nagato. On July 14, the battleship was transferred to the 2nd Battleship Division, becoming the flagship of the 1st Fleet. The battleship remained in Japanese waters, conducting exercises until August 1943.

In August, the battleships Nagato, Yamato, Fuso and the aircraft carrier Taiyō, accompanied by two heavy cruisers and five destroyers, were relocated to Truk in the Caroline Islands. In response to the air raid on Tarawa Atoll on September 18, Nagato and most of the fleet redeployed to the Enewetak Atoll area to search for the American force. The search lasted until September 23, when Nagato and the rest of the forces returned to Truk. The American connection was never discovered. However, during the search, an American radiogram was intercepted, which spoke of a possible attack on Wake Island, and on October 17, Nagato, along with most of the 1st Fleet, went to Enewetak Atoll to take up an advantageous position to intercept any attacks in the direction of the island. The fleet arrived at its destination on October 19 and departed four days later, arriving in Truk on October 26.

On February 1, 1944, Nagato and Fuso departed for Truk to avoid an American air raid; on February 4, they arrived in Palau. They left on February 16 to avoid another air raid. On February 21, the battleships arrived at the Lingga Islands, which are not far from Singapore. Nagato was assigned to the 1st Battleship Division and became the flagship. In addition to quick repairs in Singapore, the battleship conducted exercises in the Lingga Islands area until 11 May. On May 12, the 1st Division, along with Nagato, moved to Tawitawi and was included in the 1st Mobile Fleet.

In preparation for Operation Kon, the 1st Battleship Division sailed from Tawitawi to Bachan. The plan for the operation was to counterattack the American forces that had invaded Biak. Three days later it became known that American forces had attacked Saipan and Operation Kon was about as part of the 1st Division being sent to the Mariana Islands area. On June 16, the division merged with Ozawa's main forces. During the Battle of the Marianas, Nagato escorted the aircraft carriers Jun'yō, Hiyō, and Ryūhō. The battleship opened fire, using shrapnel shells (Type 3) from its main guns, at the American aircraft taking off from the aircraft carrier Belleau Wood and attacking the Jun'yō, and claimed to have shot down two Grumman TBF Avenger torpedo bombers. The battleship was also attacked by American aircraft, but was not damaged. During the battle, he rescued survivors from the USS Hiyō and transferred them to the USS Zuikaku when it reached Okinawa on June 22. After which the battleship arrived in Kure, where additional anti-aircraft installations and radar systems were installed on the ship. On July 9, Nagato took on board the 28th Infantry Division and delivered it to Okinawa on July 11. On July 20, the battleship arrived at the Lingga Islands, passing through Manila.

On October 18, 1944, the battleship Nagato left for Brunei Bay in Borneo to join the main forces participating in Operation Sho-1; according to the operation plans, they were supposed to counterattack the American forces landing in Leyte. According to the plan, Ozawa's carrier force was supposed to divert the main forces of the American strike force under the command of William Halsey to the north. In fact, the 3rd Air Fleet was supposed to die, diverting enemy aircraft carriers to itself. After which the 2nd Fleet, under the command of Kurita, will enter Leyte Gulf and destroy the American forces that landed on the island. Nagato, along with the rest of Kurita's forces, arrived in Brunei on October 22.

During the Battle of the Sibuyan Sea on October 24, the battleship was attacked by multiple waves of American dive bombers and fighters. At 14:16, Nagato received two direct hits from aerial bombs from aircraft taking off from the aircraft carriers Franklin and Cabot. The first bomb disabled five 140-mm guns installed in casemates, one 127-mm universal gun and damaged boiler room No. 1, which is why one propeller shaft did not work for 24 minutes until the boiler was started. The damage caused by the second bomb is unknown. The explosions on the ship killed 52 people.

On the morning of October 25, the 2nd Fleet passed through the San Bernardino Strait and headed for Leyte Gulf to attack the American invasion support forces. At the Battle of Samar, Nagato engaged the escorting aircraft carriers and destroyers of American Task Force 77.4.3, codenamed Taffy 3. At 06:01, the battleship opened fire on the aircraft carriers of the group; for the first time in the entire war, Nagato opened fire on a ship with onboard artillery, but missed. At 06:54, the destroyer USS Heermann fired torpedoes at the battleship Haruna, the torpedoes did not hit the target, they went in the direction of Yamato and Nagato, which were on a parallel course. The battleships were 10 miles from the destroyer and the torpedoes did not reach them, since they had exhausted their entire fuel supply even earlier. Returning, Nagato attacked the aircraft carrier and escort ships, later claiming to have hit the cruiser, firing 45 410 mm and 92 140 mm shells at it. The shooting was ineffective due to poor visibility caused by heavy rain and a smoke screen covering the defending escort. At 09:10 the 2nd Fleet retreated north. At 10:20 Kurita ordered the fleet to turn south, but the fleet came under heavy air attack and ordered a retreat at 12:36. At 12:43, Nagato received two hits from aerial bombs, but the damage was not severe. Four sailors were washed overboard at 16:56 after the battleship maneuvered to avoid dive bombers. The destroyer hurried to the scene to board the sailors, but did not find them. After retreating to Brunei on October 26, the fleet came under heavy air attack and the battleships Yamato and Nagato fired shrapnel shells and later claimed to have shot down several bombers. Following courses over the past two days, they spent 99 410 mm and 653 140 mm shells. During this time, 38 sailors were killed and 105 were injured of varying severity.

On November 15, the battleship was included in the 3rd Division of the 2nd Fleet. After an air attack on Brunei on November 16, Nagato, Yamato and Kongo departed for Kure the next day. On November 21, during the passage, the battleship Kongo and the accompanying destroyer were sunk by the submarine USS Sealion. On November 25 they arrived in Yokosuka for repairs. Due to a lack of fuel and materials, the battleship was turned into a floating battery. The chimney and mainmast were dismantled in order to increase the sectors of fire for anti-aircraft weapons, which were strengthened during the repair. After the disbandment of the 3rd Division, the battleship was assigned to the 1st Battleship Division. After the disbandment of the 1st Division on February 10, the battleship became subordinate to the coastal defense.

In June 1945, all 140-mm guns and part of the anti-aircraft weapons were removed from the battleship, and searchlights and rangefinders were also dismantled. The ship's crew was reduced to 1,000 sailors and officers. On July 18, 1945, the heavily camouflaged ship was attacked by dive bombers and torpedo bombers from Admiral William Halsey's five aircraft carriers. The battleship was hit by two 230 kg bombs. The first bomb hit the ship's bridge and killed twenty sailors and several officers. The second bomb exploded on the aft deck near the mainmast and barbettes of the main caliber turret No. 3. The explosion did not damage the tower, but created a hole and killed twenty-one sailors. Four 25-mm anti-aircraft guns located on the deck above were also damaged. In order to convince the Americans that the Nagato received critical damage after the attack, it was not specially repaired and even some of the compartments were deliberately flooded. From the air, the battleship must have looked like a ship sunken in the bay.

On August 1-2, a large convoy was discovered approaching the Gulf of Sagama and Nagato was ordered to immediately intercept. The battleship was completely unprepared for interception, but immediately began preparations. The flooded compartments were blown out with compressed air and the ammunition for the main caliber guns was replenished. The next morning, fuel supplies were replenished, but the order to move never came, because the signal about the detection of the convoy was false. On September 15, Nagato was removed from the fleet lists and transferred to the United States as reparations.

On July 1, 1946, Nagato was used as a target ship in Operation Crossroads at Bikini Atoll. The ship was located 1,500 m from point zero and after the explosion of a nuclear charge it was not significantly damaged. After decontamination and damage assessment of the ship, it was prepared for the next test. On July 25, one of the boilers was launched for testing; it worked for 36 hours without interruption. For the test, codenamed "Baker", an underwater nuclear explosion, the battleship was located at a distance of 870 m from the point of explosion. The explosion created a tsunami that lifted the Nagato. The damage to the battleship was also not significant, but they could not examine the ship in detail, since it was highly radioactive. Over the next five days, the list on the starboard side increased greatly, and on the night of July 29–30, the battleship capsized and sank at a depth of 33.5 meters.

Service

During World War II, both battleships took part in many battles against the Allies. During the attack on Pearl Harbor, Nagato-class dreadnoughts were nearby and monitored the battle. However, they took an active part in the Battle of Midway and Leyte Gulf.

In 1943, Mutsu was moored in the port of the small Japanese island of Hashira. Suddenly there was an explosion. The ship split in half and sank, killing 1,121 crew members.

The second dreadnought, which bore the name of the class of ships described, was in poor condition at the end of the war. As a result of Japan's surrender, it became the property of the US Navy, which used the ship for nuclear testing.

Notes

1. All data is for December 1941.
2. Transcription of Japanese names is given according to the reference book by Yu. V. Apalkov.
3. ship.bsu.by/main.asp?id=100681 Nagato-class battleships
4. Named after a province in the west of Honshu Island, Yamagichi Prefecture. See: Apalkov Yu. V. S. 105.
5. Named after the province in the north of Honshu, Aomori and Iwate Prefecture. See: Apalkov Yu. V. S. 104.
6. Conway's, 1906—1921
   . —P.38
7. Conway's, 1906—1921
   . - P.41
8. Gröner
   . Band 1. — P.85—87
9. Gröner
   . Band 1. - P.87
10. Conway's, 1906—1921
    . —P.33
11. Gröner
    . Band 1. — P.52—54
12. Conway's All the World's Battleships: 1906 to the present. - London: Conway Maritime Press. - P. 120.
13. Conway's All the World's Battleships: 1906 to the present. - London: Conway Maritime Press. - P. 124.
14. Conway's All the World's Battleships: 1906 to the present. - London: Conway Maritime Press. - P. 173.

Literature

• Apalkov Yu. V.
  Warships of the Japanese fleet: Battleships and aircraft carriers. - St. Petersburg: Didactics, 1997.
• Balakin S. A., Dashyan A. V. and others.
  Battleships of the Second World War. Strike force of the fleet. - M.: Collection, Yauza, EKSMO, 2006. - 256 p.: ill. — (Arsenal Collection). — 3000 copies. — ISBN 5-699-18891-6, BBK 68.54 L59.
• Rubanov O. A.
  Battleships of the Nagato type. - ANO "Eastflot", Samara 2005.

in English

• Conway's All The Worlds Fighting Ships, 1906-1921 / Gray, Randal (ed.). - London: Conway Maritime Press, 1985. - 439 p. — ISBN 0-85177-245-5.
• Conway's All the World's Battleships: 1906 to the present / Edited by Ian Sturton. — New ed. - London: Conway Maritime Press, 1996. - 190 p. — ISBN 0-85177-691-4.

in German

• Gröner, Erich.
  Die deutschen Kriegsschiffe 1815-1945 Band 1: Panzerschiffe, Linienschiffe, Schlachschiffe, Flugzeugträger, Kreuzer, Kanonenboote. - Bernard & Graefe Verlag, 1982. - 180 p. — ISBN 978-3763748006.