The Nagato was a battleship in service with the Imperial Japanese Navy between 1920 and 1945. It first saw combat action during the Sino-Japanese War in the 1930s, being used in coastal bombardment of Chinese ports and to soften up beachheads before the landing of troops.
During World War II, the Nagato took part in the Japanese attack on Pearl Harvor on December 7, 1941, the Battle of Midway in June 1942, the Battle of the Philippine Sea in June 1944, and also in the Battle of Leyte Gulf in October 1944, having sustained damage in this last military engagement. However, she survived the war, only to be used as a target in the US Navy’s military exercises of 1946, when she was finally sunk.
Launched in 1919, Nagato was a Dreadnought type battleship, whose bow had been remade in 1930 to reduce the amount of surfs and spray when sailing in rough seas. Between 1934 and 1936, she was updated with the addition of extra armor, new machinery, and anti-aircraft guns, being the lead ship of her class. With a length of 215.8 m, she was 40 m shorter than the Yamato, which was the biggest battleship in history, but she could launch 3 reconnaissance floatplanes, using one catapult. Like battleship Yamato, Nagato’s power plant consisted of 4 steam engines, with 4 shafts, supplied by 21 water-tube boilers, generating 80,000 hp.
Weapons
The battleship Nagato was armed with eight powerful 410mm naval guns, mounted in four twin turrets, two fore and two aft; eighteen 140mm guns; eight 127mm guns; and ninety eight 25mm AA guns.
Specifications
Length: 215.8 m
Beam: 34.6 m
Draft: 9.5 m
Displacement: 39,140 tons
Speed: 25 knots
Range: 8,650 nautical mile
Below, three photos of Nagato taken in the 1930s. One of them is a close-up of her 410mm naval guns
