National
Archives #80-G-374671
| Tonnage | 39,130 tons standard displacement |
| Dimensions | 734' by 108'1" by 31'6" 223.7m by 32.9m by 9.6m |
| Maximum speed | 25 knots |
| Complement | 1368 |
| Aircraft | 1
catapult 3 seaplanes |
| Armament | 4x2 16"/45
guns 18x1 5.5"/50 guns 4x2 5"/40 dual-purpose guns 20 25mm AA guns |
| Protection | 13,600 tons: 12" (305mm) belt 1" (25mm) forecastle deck 1"+1"+0.75" (25mm+25mm+19mm) protective deck 2" (51mm) to 1"+1"+1" (25mm+25mm+25mm) lower armored deck 18"/11"/7.5"/9" (457mm/279mm/191mm/229mm) turret front/side/rear/roof 12" (305mm) barbette 1" (25mm) secondary armament casemate 14.5" (368mm) conning tower |
| Machinery |
4-shaft Kampon geared turbine
(82,300 shp) 10 Kampon boilers |
| Bunkerage | 5560 tons fuel oil |
| Range | 8650 nautical miles (16,020 km) at 16 knots |
| Modifications |
By
1944-6 Nagato
had radar and 68 25mm AA guns. By 1944-10 this had increased to 16x3, 10x2, 30x1 25mm guns. |
The Nagatos were
completed in 1920-1921 as the first ships of the 8-8 program (eight
battleships, eight battle
cruisers). They were the first
battleships in the
world to carry 16” guns and were very fast by 1920
standards, exceeding the speed of the British Queen Elizabeths.
Extensively modernized in the 1930s, with new machinery, torpedo bulges, improved antiaircraft, and some
additional horizontal protection, they were the
most modern Japanese battleships in service at the start of the Pacific
War (Yamato
was not commissioned until mid-December 1941) and were very capable
units.
Mutsu was
destroyed by a magazine explosion while anchored off Hiroshima. The ship was loading
experimental 16" (406mm) antiaircraft shells and these may have been
responsible for the explosion.
Nagato
was the heaviest unit of the Japanese Navy to survive the war in
navigable condition. Seized by the Americans under the terms of
the surrender, she was expended
as a target ship during Operation CROSSROADS, the nuclear weapons effects tests
at Bikini in July 1946.
| Destroyed 1943-6-8 at Hashirajima by a magazine explosion |
References
Jentschura, Jung, and Mickel (1977)
The Pacific War Online Encyclopedia © 2007, 2009 by Kent G. Budge. Index
