Everything about Ise Class Battleship totally explained
Originally intended as sister ships of the preceding
Fusō class, the
Ise-class battleships of the
Imperial Japanese Navy were considered sufficiently different to warrant separate classification.
Among the differences were a shorter
foredeck, a more closely-grouped secondary armament (with the majority of the forward guns set further astern than in the
Fusōs), a different arrangement of the primary turrets (though the cumbersome six-twin arrangement was retained) and more closely-spaced funnels and uptakes. Like most if not all battleships of their era, they retained the soon-to-be outmoded casemated secondary armament, the forward guns of which often proved useless in any kind of seaway, and like all Japanese warships of the period, these vessels still relied on mixed (for example coal and oil) firing for their boilers.
They were reconstructed in the 1930s, receiving improved powerplants, armor,
fire control, and internal protection. Nonetheless, during
World War II, like their cousins of the
Fusō class, the
Ises took part in no significant action due to their age and slow speed. Being largely surplus to the Imperial Japanese Navy's duties, they spent most of their time in training duties in the Inland Sea, as part of
Battleship Division 2.
Conversion to aircraft carriers
During
World War II, to partially compensate for the loss of carrier strength at the
Battle of Midway, both battleships were partially converted to
aircraft carriers in 1943. The
Ises had a slight speed advantage so they were chosen over the
Fusōs for the conversion; also the
Hyūga had a turret explosion which wasn't repaired.
Their aft turrets were replaced with a hangar surmounted by a flight deck, and anti-aircraft guns were added.
Hyūga, for example, mounted a complement of 14
Yokosuka D4Y dive-bombers and 8
Aichi E16A seaplanes. However, the lack of planes and pilots meant that neither ship was involved in combat in her carrier role.
Ships of the class
Both ships were damaged in the
Battle off Cape Engaño on
1944-10-25. They returned to
Kure naval dockyard in
Japan and took no further part in operations. They were attacked by American planes in a series of raids and were sunk at their moorings in shallow water.
References
- M. J. Whiteley, Battleships of World War Two: an International Encyclopaedia, Orion, 2001.
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