Japanese battleship Nagato

Japanese battleship Nagato was the lead ship of her class of two dreadnought battleships built for the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN). Commissioned in 1920, she was the first battleship in the world to mount 16-inch (41 cm) guns, making her a symbol of Japanese naval power during the interwar period. She served as the flagship of the Combined Fleet for nearly two decades and saw extensive action during World War II, including the attack on Pearl Harbor and the Battle of Leyte Gulf. Her final fate came as a target ship in the American Operation Crossroads nuclear tests at Bikini Atoll in 1946.

Design and description

The *Nagato*-class design was a direct response to contemporary American battleships like the *Colorado*-class and British designs such as the *Queen Elizabeth*-class. Her primary armament consisted of eight 41 cm (16.1 in) 45-caliber guns mounted in four twin turrets, a significant increase over the 14-inch guns of the preceding *Ise*-class. Protection was provided by a main armor belt with a maximum thickness of 305 mm (12 in), designed to withstand fire from similar-caliber weapons. Propulsion was supplied by four Gihon turbines and 21 Kampon boilers, which were later converted to fuel exclusively, giving her a top speed of 26.5 knots. A major reconstruction from 1934 to 1936 at the Kure Naval Arsenal added anti-torpedo bulges, modernized her machinery, and installed a distinctive "pagoda" mast, increasing her displacement and altering her profile significantly.

Construction and career

*Nagato* was laid down at the Kure Naval Arsenal on 28 August 1917, launched on 9 November 1919, and commissioned into the IJN on 25 November 1920. She was named for Nagato Province. She served as the flagship of the Combined Fleet from 1920 until succeeded by the *Yamato*-class super-battleship *Yamato* in 1941. During the 1920s and 1930s, she participated in numerous fleet maneuvers and was modernized extensively. In 1927, she transported Emperor Hirohito. She was part of the Japanese contingent at the coronation of King George VI in 1937, visiting Spithead. Following her reconstruction, she was reclassified as a first-class battleship and resumed her role as a central unit of the battle fleet.

World War II

On 2 December 1941, *Nagato* transmitted the coded signal "Niitakayama nobore" from Hashirajima anchorage, authorizing the attack on Pearl Harbor. She served as the flagship of Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto during the early war campaigns, including the Battle of Midway, though she saw no direct combat. She was deployed during the Battle of the Eastern Solomons and the Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands as part of distant support forces. In 1943, she was transferred to Truk Lagoon. Her only major surface engagement was the Battle of Leyte Gulf in October 1944, where she fought as part of Vice Admiral Takeo Kurita's Center Force in the Battle of the Sibuyan Sea and the Battle off Samar, damaging several American escort carriers. She was lightly damaged by aerial attacks but survived. For the remainder of the war, she was stationed in Japan as a floating anti-aircraft battery due to fuel shortages, sustaining minor damage during air raids on Kure Naval Arsenal.

Post-war

Surrendered to American forces at Yokosuka Naval Arsenal in August 1945, *Nagato* was the only Japanese battleship to survive the war intact. She was taken as a prize of war by the United States Navy. In March 1946, she was sailed to Bikini Atoll in the Marshall Islands by a American crew to be used as a target ship in Operation Crossroads, a series of nuclear tests. She survived the first test, Test Able, an air burst on 1 July 1946, with only minor damage. However, she was sunk by the second test, Test Baker, an underwater detonation on 25 July 1946, capsizing five days later on 29 July.

Legacy

*Nagato* remains a significant symbol of the rise and fall of Japanese naval power in the 20th century. As the first 16-inch-gun battleship and long-time fleet flagship, she represented the pinnacle of IJN ambition during the Washington Naval Treaty era. Her participation in pivotal events from the coded Pearl Harbor order to the nuclear tests at Bikini Atoll bookends the Pacific War. Her wreck, lying upside down in the lagoon, is a popular site for advanced technical divers and a stark monument to the dawn of the atomic age. Artifacts from the ship, including one of her rangefinders, are displayed at the Yamato Museum in Kure, Hiroshima.

Category:Nagato-class battleships Category:Ships sunk by nuclear weapons Category:World War II battleships of Japan