Japanese battleship Tōgō

Japanese battleship Tōgō was a Kongō-class battlecruiser of the Imperial Japanese Navy. Named after Marshal-Admiral Tōgō Heihachirō, the victor of the Battle of Tsushima, she was built in Britain by Vickers and was the last Japanese capital ship constructed overseas. Her long career spanned both World War I and World War II, during which she was extensively modernized into a fast battleship and served in numerous major operations before ending her days as a stationary training vessel.

Design and description

The design of Tōgō was based on the British ''Lion''-class battlecruisers, incorporating the powerful 14-inch (356 mm) gun as its main armament. Her original configuration featured eight guns mounted in four twin gun turrets, all positioned on the centerline for superior broadside fire. Secondary armament consisted of sixteen 6-inch (152 mm) guns in single casemates along the hull, along with an anti-torpedo boat battery of smaller 12-pounder guns. Propulsion was provided by Yarrow boilers powering Parsons steam turbines, giving the ship a high speed of over 27 knots, which was a defining characteristic of the battlecruiser concept. Her armor protection, typical for the type, was lighter than that of a contemporary dreadnought battleship, prioritizing speed over heavy defense.

Construction and career

Tōgō was ordered as part of the 1911 Naval Expansion Act and her keel was laid down at the Barrow-in-Furness shipyard of Vickers on 17 November 1911. She was launched on 21 May 1912 and commissioned into the Imperial Japanese Navy on 23 August 1913. After delivery to Japan, she was assigned to the 1st Fleet. During World War I, she patrolled sea lanes and participated in the Siege of Tsingtao, supporting the capture of German territories in the Pacific Ocean. In the interwar period, she underwent two major reconstructions at Kure Naval Arsenal, which transformed her into a fast battleship. These upgrades included replacing her boilers with modern Kampon boilers, adding extensive anti-torpedo bulges and deck armor, and enhancing her anti-aircraft armament with 25 mm and 13 mm machine guns.

World War II service

At the outbreak of the Pacific War, Tōgō, now considered a battleship due to her rebuilds, was deemed too slow and obsolete for front-line duty with the Combined Fleet. She was instead assigned to training and secondary roles. In 1942, she served as a training ship for the Etajima Naval Academy and later supported operations in southern waters. She was present at the Battle of Midway as part of the distant Aleutian Islands Guard Force under Admiral Boshiro Hosogaya. For most of the remainder of the war, she was stationed as a guardship at the major naval base of Kure, and later at Ōtake. Her anti-aircraft armament was progressively increased in response to the intensifying Allied air raids, but she saw no further combat action.

Fate

Surviving the heavy July 1945 bombing of Kure with only minor damage, Tōgō was surrendered to Allied forces at the end of World War II. She was struck from the naval register on 20 November 1945. In 1947, the Japanese Navy was dissolved, and the hulk was transferred to the Ministry of Transport. In 1948, she was towed to Ishinomaki in Miyagi Prefecture and scuttled to serve as a breakwater for the reconstruction of the local fishing port. The remains were later salvaged and scrapped on site between 1959 and 1960, bringing a final end to the vessel named for one of Japan's most famous admirals.

Category:Kongō-class battlecruisers Category:Ships built in Barrow-in-Furness Category:World War I battlecruisers of Japan Category:World War II battleships of Japan