IJN Fuso

History

The Fuso-class was a "dreadnought" battleship that served Japan during and during World War II, and was the first true dreadnought battleship in service with the Empire. "Dreadnought" is a name coined by the Royal Navy when it was in service with its HMS Dreadnought, a ship that instantly made all other steel warships obsolete and speed. Their introduction in 1906 immediately rewrote the naval warfare books.

This was his impression, many nations were concerned about the capabilities of dreadnoughts - all pre-existing warships are now called "pre-dreadnoughts". The IJN Fuso was laid by the Wu Naval Arsenal on March 11, 1912 and launched on March 28, 1914. Commissioned on November 8, 1915, the "Fuso" was named after the classic name of the Japanese archipelago, representing the two-man Fuso-class battleship of the Japanese archipelago.

Her sister ship, the IJN Yamashiro, was launched in 1915 by the Nava Yokosuka shipyard.

Fuso still retains some combat value by WWII standards, although it is neither particularly fast nor as well armed as its Japanese contemporaries. In April 1942, she formed a force that failed to capture the carrier group responsible for the famous "Doolittle Raid". It then supported action in Alaska's Aleutian Islands, withdrawing U.S. support from Midway in May.

The Battle of Midway, which took place from June 4 to 7, was a disastrous defeat for the Japanese Navy - four of its aircraft carriers were shot down.

From November 1942 to January 1943, Fuso served in a training role and later helped the ailing Japanese Navy Mutsu, rescuing more than 350 personnel. In July, she took over the radar equipment (Type 21 air search, Type 13 early warning and Type 22 surface search) and additional defensive 25mm anti-aircraft guns (95 in total) before sailing to Truk in mid-August. She left Truk to escape American bombing in February 1944, and arrived in Palau in February, but was forced to disperse before an impending air raid.

After some time, it was used as a training platform on Linga Island (Indonesia), followed by several support, escort and escort missions. As part of the 2nd Fleet's 2nd Battleship Division, she assumed the flagship role before handing over command to her sister IJN Yamashiro in October.

The IJN Fuso ended in the Battle of Surigao Strait, 23-26 October 1944, as part of the larger Philippine Battle of Leyte Gulf. The Japanese fleet was surprised to see Fuso's larger, overwhelming U.S. Navy dive bombers, torpedo boats, and battleships (some veterans of the Pearl Harbor attack) make multiple attacks.

The bombs began sweeping the Fuso, destroying their catapult systems and seaplanes. She also lost her entire crew in the first turret, limiting her fire projection capabilities. Fuso began flooding late at night, and in the early hours of the morning, chaos began when her crew opened fire on their ally IJN Mogami, killing three. When the torpedo hit her starboard, Fuso suffered more damage, expanding her roster and severely limiting her speed.

The ship sank around 3.40am - either one or two, accounts vary - with most of the crew sunk with it. Her sister ship also met her fate in the naval battle of Surigao Strait.

Specification

Basic

Roles

Dimensions

Weight

Performance

PERFORMANCE

ARMAMENT

AIR WING