Nagato

Nagato at anchor, circa 1924.

History

The Nagato-class battleships were the last pair of battleships build by the Japanese Navy before the global hiatus on capital ship construction due to the ratification of the Washington and London Naval Treaties. As such, the Nagato-class is seen as the culmination of all the experience learned by the Japanese Navy in dreadnought design and construction up through the end of World War I.

Led by famed naval architect Yuzuru Hiraga, planning and design for the Nagato-class began in 1916. By this time, Japan was a steadfast, growing naval power and wanted their designs to reflect such a status. As such, from the outset the Nagato-class were set to be first-rate dreadnoughts, competitive with the offerings of the other navies of the world (chiefly the Colorado-class battleships that were being built by the United States). Hiraga and his team were meticulous, delaying final completion of her plans until mid-1917 in order to incorporate the lessons learned from the Battle of Jutland the previous year. What ultimately emerged were the most advanced battleships afloat in the world.

The Japanese determined that high-speed was an integral asset to making a battleship an effective weapon; as such, the Nagato-class were designed to be the fastest battleships in the world. It was decided to fit no less than twenty-one (21) Kampon boilers into them: fifteen (15) oil-fired and six (6) mix-fired. These boilers then fed into four (4) geared turbines that each powered a single screw. Altogether, they generated 80,000 shaft horsepower and propelled the ships to speeds above 26 knots, significantly faster than their competition. This was not a fact the Japanese Navy boasted about, however, instead electing to keep the true speed a closely guarded secret. In fact, the US Navy didn’t know the true speed of the class until well into the late 1930s.

In electing to focus on propulsion and speed, weight had to be saved from the armoring. Ergo, the Japanese opted to implement the “all-or-nothing” armor principle that was championed by the US; maximal armor to the vital areas whist non-critical surfaces receives minimal armor. The main belt and the barbette rings received 12 inches of armor, whilst the conning tower and the turret faces received 14 inches and 18 inches of armor, respectively. While this was sufficient to rival other battleships of the period, British and US battleships all had heavier armor, with belt armors exceeding 13 inches for many classes.

After experimentation with the six turret design of the Fuso and Ise classes, Hiraga and his designers decided to revert back to a quadruple turret design, determining this configuration to be the most effective. In order to not decrease overall firepower — by reducing the number of barrels from 12 to 8 — the caliber each rifle was increased from the traditional 14 inches to 16 inches; in fact, the Nagato-class battleships were the first ships in the world to mount 16-inch naval rifles. To supplement the primary artillery, twenty (20) 5.5-inch casemate guns were added to the hull. Interestingly, the Nagato-class retained the Japanese tradition of fitting torpedo tubes to their battleships. Historically, eight (8) total tubes were incorporated in the design; 4 above the waterline and 4 submerged. (The four tubes above the waterline are available in-game on Mutsu, none of Nagato’s hulls come with torpedoes mounted.)

Nagato (長門, named for Nagato Province) was the lead ship of the class, built at the Naval Arsenal in Kure. She was laid down 28 August 1917, launched 9 November 1919 and completed 25 November 1920. Her sister ship, Mutsu, was completed in the fall of 1921.

The Nagato-class underwent a modernization in the late 1920s and a reconstruction in the 1930s to keep the designs combat-capable. During the 1920s modernization, the first funnel was replaced with a serpentine funnel with a raked-top in order to attempt to fix the issue of the superstructure being occluded with smoke; the very funnel seen in-game. Furthermore, the torpedo tubes were traded-in for anti-aircraft artillery, in order to counter the growing threat of aircraft. The 1930s reconstruction proved to be a more extensive overhaul. The iconic 7-masted superstructure was replaced with a pagoda-mast style design, and the first funnel was removed altogether. The old boilers were replaced; the overall number was also reduced to just ten (10). Interestingly, the old turrets were replaced by the ones of the incomplete Tosa class battleships, allowing for greater gun elevation, ergo greater range. Furthermore, torpedo bulges were introduced. To mitigate the loss in ship speed due to the added weight, the length of the battleships was increased. Finally, a catapult was added to launch scout planes off the deck.

Historical Inaccuracies

• Nagato’s overall dark gray camouflage is missing. This was standard on all IJN warships beginning in 1903 until the end of WW2.
• Light and dark green camouflage was only applied to aircraft carriers.
• By July 1944, Nagato had ninety-eight (98) 25 mm AA guns; Hull (B) has only 90. Two triple mounts and one twin mount are missing.
• Not represented is Nagato’s November 1944 refit, when four 140 mm secondary guns were removed for two twin 127 mm dual-purpose guns and nine triple 25 mm AA guns.
• Also missing is Nagato’s final refit in June 1945; twelve (12) 140 mm secondary guns were removed for six twin 127 mm DP guns. By this time however, Nagato had been converted to a floating anti-aircraft battery.

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  Mutsu under construction at Yokosuka Naval Shipyard, 24 September 1920.

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  Nagato undergoing sea trials at Sukumo, 30 September 1920.

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  Mutsu underway, 19 October 1921.

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  Mutsu anchored at Sasebo, 28 May 1925.

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  Nagato at Saeki Bay, circa 1931. Note the serpentine funnel from her late 1920s modernization.

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  Nagato firing her main armament, 21 May 1936.

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  Mutsu anchored at Kagoshima, circa 1941. The extensive torpedo bulges added during reconstruction are clearly visible.

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  Nagato anchored at Hashirajima following the Battle of Midway, August 1942.

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  Nagato lies at anchor in Brunei Bay, 21 October 1944, shortly before the Battle of Leyte Gulf.

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  Nagato at anchor while under the control of Allied forces, 12 November 1945.

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  Nagato (left) at the beginning of the blast surge during the second atomic bomb test at Bikini Atoll, 25 July 1946.

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  Drawing of Nagato as she appeared in 1944.

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  US Office of Naval Intelligence recognition drawing of a Nagato-class battleship.

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  A restored 410mm gun salvaged from Mutsu on display at the Yamato Museum in Kure, Japan.