Ise class battleship

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 (i.e. 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 "Ise"s had a slight speed advantage so they were chosen over the "Fusō"s for the conversion; also the "Hyūga" had a turret explosion which was not 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.

hips 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.