Ise-class battleships. Battleships of the Ise type. Ise-class battleships

  • 13.03.2020

"Ise" - a battleship of the Japanese Imperial Navy, the lead ship of the class of ships of the same name. Named after the historical province in the southern part of the island of Honshu.

Design

After approval of the construction of ships of the class « » The Marine Technical Department began work on a modified project. Initially, it was planned to completely repeat the prototype, but in the course of work, a large number of changes were made to the drawings. The main difference of the new project, which received the A-92 index, was a different arrangement of the main caliber towers No. 3 and No. 4, as well as a different location of the boiler rooms in the middle part of the hull. Tower No. 3 was moved towards the stern, and all boiler rooms were combined and moved forward. Now the towers located in the middle part of the hull were located linearly elevated, which simplified fire control. The transition to 140-mm anti-mine caliber guns made it possible to place twenty such guns instead of sixteen 152-mm ones. Battleship building "Ise" and « » was approved in November 1912. However, due to Japan's entry into the First World War, the construction of battleships was curtailed. Despite this, the fleet began the construction of battleships at the expense of funds allocated for current expenses. Officially, the construction of battleships was approved in 1917.

Design

battleship hull "Ise" almost completely repeated his predecessors. The main difference was a shorter forecastle, which was the result of a regrouping of the main battery guns. The battleship's armor scheme was not significantly changed. Due to the increased length of the hull, the length of the 305-mm part of the armor belt has increased.

The only innovation in terms of horizontal protection was that the main armor deck received 51-mm bevels adjacent to the lower edge of the armor belt. The protection of the main caliber towers has not changed, but the protection of the barbets has been significantly enhanced.

The main caliber guns did not differ from those installed on Kongo and « » . According to the project, the battleships were to be equipped with 76-mm 40-caliber guns, but they were abandoned during construction. The number of torpedo tubes was increased from three to six.

The length of the ship between perpendiculars was 195.07 m, and the total - 208.18 m, the width was 28.65 m, and the draft was 8.93 m. The displacement in standard load was 31,260 tons, and in full - 36,500 tons. The ship consisted of 1198 officers and sailors.

Engines

The power plant of the battleship "Ise" consisted of turbine units of the "Brown-Curtis" system with a total power of 45,000 hp, which drove four propeller shafts. Steam for the turbines was produced by 24 steam boilers of the Kampon system with mixed heating. Thanks to the increased power, the speed of the ship increased to 23.5 knots.

As already mentioned, the layout of the boiler rooms and engine rooms has been changed and now it more closely resembles the layout adopted on class battlecruisers. Kongo. However, between the boiler room and the engine room, there were two towers of the main caliber at once.

The fuel supply was 4706 tons of coal and 1411 tons of oil, which provided a cruising range of 9680 miles at 14 knots. speed.

Armament

The armament of the main caliber consisted of twelve 356-mm guns of 45 caliber (Type 41) placed in six two-gun turrets placed in the diametrical plane. Unlike its predecessor, all six main battery towers were linearly elevated. The vertical elevation angles of the guns ranged from -5 to +20 degrees. These guns fired armor-piercing shells at a rate of one and a half to two rounds per minute and a firing range of 25,420 meters. The guns could be loaded at angles of inclination from -3 to +20 degrees.

Unfortunately, it is not known exactly what types of shells the battleships could fire at the time of their construction. However, it is known for certain that 673.5 kg were used during the Second World War. armor-piercing shells (Type 91). The maximum firing range at an elevation of 20 degrees was 25,000 m, and at an elevation of 43 degrees (after the modernization of 1930) - 35,480 m. 625 kg were also available. high-explosive shells and special shrapnel shells that were used against aircraft.

The secondary caliber armament consisted of twenty 140 mm 50 caliber (Type 3) guns. Eighteen of them were located on the sides in casemates, and the remaining two were on the deck of the tank in the area of ​​​​the bow chimney. The maximum elevation angles were 20 degrees with a maximum firing range of 16,300 m. The rate of fire of each gun was ten rounds per minute. Anti-aircraft armament consisted of four 76-mm anti-aircraft guns 40 caliber (3rd Year Type 8-centimetre). The maximum elevation angles were 75 degrees, and the gun's rate of fire was 13-20 rounds per minute. They fired 6 kg. Shells with a maximum firing range of 7,500 meters. In addition, the ships were armed with six 533-mm torpedo tubes, three on each side.

Booking

class ships of the line "Ise" had a full-fledged armor belt along the waterline with a maximum thickness of 305 mm and a height of 3.8 m, which was thinned to 102 mm. It ended with traverses with the same thickness at the barbettes of the towers, the main caliber No. 1 and No. 6. In the bow and stern of the traverses, the thickness first decreased to 203 mm, and closer to the stems - to 76 mm. Above the main armor belt was a 203 mm belt, which extended from the barbette of turret No. 1 to the barbette of turret No. 6 and ended with 152 mm traverses. Above was 152-mm casemate armor.

The main armored deck had a thickness of 32 mm, and on the bevels adjacent to the lower edge of the armor belt, the thickness was 51 mm. Fore and aft from 305 mm traverses, the thickness of the deck armor increased to 51 mm. Above the steering compartment in the stern, its thickness was 76 mm. The upper deck in the citadel area had 35 mm armor, and the forecastle deck above the anti-mine artillery casemate had 19 mm thickness.

The thickness of the front plates of the towers of the main caliber was 305 mm, the side walls - 203 mm and the roof - 114 mm. The barbets had armor 305 mm thick. The thickness of the walls of the main cabin was 350 mm, and the auxiliary cabin was 102 mm.

Modernizations

In 1921, work was carried out to increase the elevation angle of the main battery guns from 20 to 30 degrees. In 1927, a platform for the seaplane "Mitsubishi 1MF3" was installed on the tower of the main caliber No. 2, which in 1928-1929. was moved to tower number 5. The ships were also equipped with new Yokosuka E1Y seaplanes.

In 1930 - 1931 on battleships, the size of the bow superstructure was increased by placing additional platforms with fire control devices. The towers of the main caliber were equipped with new rangefinders. To remove gases from the superstructure, the bow tube was equipped with a visor.

In 1933, a catapult was installed on the ships to launch seaplanes. The ships could now carry three Nakajima E4N2 seaplanes, but no hangars were provided for them.

From August 1935 to March 1937, the battleship Ise underwent a radical reconstruction in Kure. In the process of modernization, the hull was lengthened by 7.6 m. Anti-torpedo protection boules were installed. Because of this, all torpedo tubes had to be removed, and the width of the hull increased to 31.6 m.

Reservation of the main deck above the power plant and cellars was reinforced, the thickness reached 98 mm in the flat part, and the horizontal section of the deck was expanded to the upper edge of the main armor belt. The thickness in the new section was 57 mm. The thickness of the upper deck within the citadel was increased to 51 mm. The base of the chimney was protected by 229 mm armor.

The power plant has been completely redone. The old turbine units were replaced by four new Kampon systems with a total capacity of 80,000 hp. Steam for the turbines was now generated by eight oil-fired Kampon steam boilers. Due to the fact that the new power plant was lighter and took up less space, the bow chimney was removed. The fuel storage was expanded, which made it possible to store 5,197 tons of oil, and the cruising range was 9,060 miles at a speed of 16 knots. On trials, the ship reached a speed of 24.5 knots.

The elevation angle of the main battery guns was increased to 43 degrees. The number of 140-mm anti-mine artillery guns was reduced to 16, the first pair of guns were removed from the casemates and both on the tank deck. The 76-mm anti-aircraft guns were replaced by eight 127-mm anti-aircraft guns of 40 caliber (Type 89). They were located in four two-gun mounts on the sides of the bow superstructure. When firing at ground targets, their firing range was 14,700 meters, and when firing at air targets, their maximum height was 9,440 m, with a maximum elevation angle of 90 degrees. Max Speed firing of these guns was fourteen rounds per minute, but in reality they fired at a rate of eight rounds per minute. They were supplemented by two 40-mm twin-gun anti-aircraft installations 40 caliber manufactured by Vickers (QF 2-pounder naval gun). These anti-aircraft guns had a maximum elevation of 80 degrees and a rate of fire of two hundred rounds per minute. In addition, twenty 25-mm machine guns (Hotchkiss 25 mm Type 96) were installed on the ships, installed in ten two-gun mounts. After the modernization, the standard displacement was 36,000 tons, despite this, thanks to a more powerful power plant and an increased hull length, it was possible to increase the speed to 25.3 knots.

During a short repair in May 1942 on the battleship "Ise" installed a new radar system.

After the death of four aircraft carriers during the battle at Midway Atoll, a project was prepared for the conversion of class battleships "Ise" into aircraft carriers capable of carrying 54 aircraft each. However, due to the high costs and long terms of the project, it was decided to convert aircraft carrier battleships into silent analogues in any fleet of the world. At the same time, the stern guns of the main caliber were dismantled, and instead of them there was a small take-off area in the stern and most of the main caliber guns were preserved. Refurbishment work "Ise" took place from February to March 1943 in Kura.

Initially, the wheeled dive bomber D4Y3 "Suisei" was intended for the role of a carrier-based aircraft. At the same time, a too short take-off area in the stern did not allow aircraft to land; aircraft launched from aircraft carrier battleships had to land either on aircraft carriers or on ground airfields. Due to the lack of D4Y3 Suisei, the ships were reoriented to carry the same number of E-16A1 Zuiun dive bombers.

The battleship's air groups consisted of eight D4Y2s and fourteen E-16A1s.

As we already mentioned, the main caliber guns No. 5 and No. 6 were removed and all the space was assigned to the hangar. On top of the hangar was the 60th. deck for basing and maintenance of equipment. A T-shaped elevator with a carrying capacity of 6 tons was used to lift aircraft. Two 25th elevators served to launch aircraft. catapults.

The movement of aircraft along the deck from the lift to the catapults was carried out by carts along the laid rail tracks.

In addition to all of the above, all 140-mm guns were removed, instead of them eight 127-mm anti-aircraft guns of 40 caliber were added, also installed in two-gun mounts. The twin 25-mm machine guns were replaced with triple ones and their total number increased to 57. The fuel capacity was reduced to 4,249 tons, and the length increased to 219.6 m. The standard displacement was now 35,350 tons, and the total displacement was 38,676 tons. this, the speed of the ships remained at the level of 25.3 knots.

From May to June 1944 on "Ise" forty-seven 25-mm machine guns were additionally installed, eleven of which were single, and the rest were three-paired.

At the beginning of November 1944 from battleships "Ise" and « » catapults were removed to increase the angles of fire of the main caliber towers No. 3 and No. 4.

Service

After commissioning, the battleship "Ise" was assigned to the 1st battleship division of the 1st fleet. Before the start of the Pacific War, the battleship was off the coast of the Soviet Union, Korea and China, and also conducted exercises in Japanese waters. On April 12, 1922, the Prince of Wales, the future King Edward VIII, who arrived on a battlecruiser, visited the battleship Renown. During the great Kanto earthquake of 1923, battleships "Ise" and « » departed on 4 September for Kyushu to load supplies on the victims. During a training artillery fire in 1926, "Ise" sank a destroyer "Yayoi". Between 1920 and 1930 most of the time spent on patrol off the coast of China.

In the period from 1928 to 1937, as we wrote above, the battleship went through a series of upgrades, during which she was radically rebuilt.

Despite all the upgrades carried out before the start of World War II, the battleship was still considered obsolete and was not perceived as a combat battleship due to low speed, large crew and short cruising range. From September 1941 battleships "Ise" and « » were part of the 2nd battleship division of the 1st fleet, while the "Ise" was the flagship of the fleet. In addition, the 2nd division included battleships of the class « » .

"Ise" Participated in the Combined Fleet Attack on Pearl Harbor. True, he did not take part in direct combat, his task was to provide long-range support for the main forces of the Japanese fleet. December 8, 1941 Battleship as part of the 2nd division reinforced with battleships « » and « » and aircraft carrier "Hōshō", was located off the Bonin Islands, after which he returned to Hasirajima.

March 11, 1942 "Ise" participated in the search for and interception of the American air force that attacked the Marcus Islands. These islands are only a thousand miles from Tokyo. However, it was not possible to detect the American connection, and on March 21 the battleship returned to Hashirojima.

On April 18, 1942, the battleship as part of the 2nd division went to intercept the American formation participating in the Doolittle raid, which launched an air strike on Japan. However, the interception did not take place, and the formation returned to Hasirajima.

On May 11, 1942, an accident occurred on the battleship, as a result of which the second engine room was flooded. During repair work held in Kure and took a month, also installed a new experimental Type 21 radar.

During the Japanese attack Imperial Navy to the Midway Islands, known in documents as Operation MI, "Ise" as part of the 2nd division, reinforced by two light cruisers, twenty destroyers, escorted by two tankers, were supposed to provide support to the forces of the Aleutian group if necessary, and on June 14 the division returned to Hasirajima.

As we wrote above, the Japanese fleet lost four aircraft carriers in the Battle of Midway, and it was decided to convert the battleships of the class "Ise" into battleship aircraft carriers. On July 14, both ships were handed over to the Combined Fleet for refitting and modernization. The repair was completed on October 8, 1943.

Already October 13, 1943 battleship-aircraft carrier "Ise" left for Truk, where he arrived on October 20 with infantry units to strengthen the defense of the base. After unloading the infantry units, he provided security for the base. On October 31, he left Truk for Kure, where he arrived on November 6.

May 1, 1944 "Ise" in connection with the new status, he was enrolled in the 4th division of aircraft carriers of the 3rd fleet. At the end of June, test flights of E-16A1 seaplanes from the battleship-aircraft carrier Ise were carried out on the Khasir roadstead.

October 5, 1944 aircraft carrier battleships "Ise" and « » were enlisted in the Mobile unit of the United Fleet. The 20th of October "Ise" left Yoshima as part of the Northern Force, which was to be deployed according to the plans of Operation Sego. October 24 with « » and four destroyers separated into the vanguard to protect the aircraft carriers of the 3rd division. This division was the last combat-ready group of aircraft carriers. October 25 was in the warrant air defense with aircraft carriers Zuikaku and Zuiho, as well as a light cruiser Oyodo. All daylight hours, the formation was subjected to air strikes by the American TF.38 formation. During the battle, the ships kept a speed of 22 knots. "Ise" received a direct hit by a small-caliber air bomb on the main caliber tower No. 2. During the attack, the battleship-aircraft carrier shot down five of the ten dive bombers. At 17:30 was attacked by 80 dive bombers and several torpedo bombers. As a result of the attack, he received a hit in the left side catapult. In addition, due to the large number of nearby explosions of air bombs (more than 30), the plating sheets of the left side boiler room dispersed. Outboard water began to flow through the resulting hole and fragmentation holes. The anti-aircraft protection of the ship was not effective and by the end of the battle, American aircraft sank aircraft carriers Zuikaku, "Zuihō" and Chitose, as well as the destroyer Akizuki. During the transition with the remnants of the fleet to the mother country, he was subjected to unsuccessful attacks by American submarines.

In early November, repairs were carried out in Sasebo, and already on November 11, they left for Manila with infantry military formations and a cargo of ammunition. At the end of November he was in Lingga, from mid-December - in Cam Ranh Bay, in January 1945 - again in Lingga. On February 10, she left Singapore as part of a connection with a cargo of fuel, rubber, tin and zinc. The connection included battleships-aircraft carriers "Ise", « » and cruiser "Ōyodo". February 19 arrived in Japan, avoiding attacks by American submarines.

Until September 1945 he was in Kura with a minimum supply of fuel. On March 19, during an air raid by an American air force, TF.58 received two direct hits from bombs and several close explosions.

July 24, during a raid on Kure by the aviation of the American TF.38 formation, "Ise" received five direct hits 454-kg. bombs from fighter-bombers launched from an aircraft carrier Belleau Wood to the area of ​​​​the hangar, the central group of towers of the main caliber and the superstructure. The ship was listing to port. By July 28, the ship was pumped out of water and prepared to dock, but was attacked by Corsair fighter-bombers launched from an aircraft carrier "Hancock". "Ise" received five direct hits 454-kg. bombs, and then thirteen more before the end of the day and many close explosions. The battleship-aircraft carrier received severe damage to the hull and superstructures, by the end of the day it was abandoned by the crew and sank in shallow water.

November 20, 1945 "Ise" was excluded from the lists of the fleet, and in 1946 - 1947. raised and dismantled for metal in Kura.

Assembled and photographed a model of the Japanese battleship aircraft carrier "Ise" (IJN BB-XCV Ise). The ship is shown as of September 1944. The model is manufactured by Fujimi.
Collected with a break of just over four months, finished in April 2013.
The prototype of the model is the Ise battleship. Laid down at the Kawasaki shipyard on May 10, 1915. Launched in November 1916, in service since 12/15/1917. Named after a province in Japan.
The ship was a development of the "Fuso" (Fuso) type and differed from it in a different arrangement of the middle main towers of the Civil Code and boiler rooms, a transition was made to the 140 mm caliber anti-mine artillery. The construction of these battleships (the second Hyuga) was carried out at a time when Japan was rapidly building up its ocean-going fleet and was not bound by any formal restrictions. One of the largest and most powerful battleships in the world (at the time of commissioning), these ships did not take part in the First World War.
After the restrictions imposed by the decision of the Washington Conference of 1922, which Japan joined, it was forbidden to build new battleships. I had to upgrade the existing ones. In the 30s, Ise was also modernized. But the proposed model reflects the appearance of the ship after its modernization in 1943. The need for such modernization was caused by the results of the battle at Midway Atoll, where Japan lost 4 of its best aircraft carriers. The Japanese adopted a plan to build new aircraft carriers and convert large ships of other classes into aircraft carriers. At what very unexpected options were considered .. As a result, the choice was made in favor of battleships of the Ise type and heavy cruiser“Mogami.
The alteration was carried out at the Kure shipyard. The ship has changed a lot. To make room for the hangar and the 60-meter flight deck, the aft main battery towers were dismantled. An elevator was installed, new very powerful catapults (an enlarged Kure Type No2 Model 5 large model), which, with a length of 25 meters, could launch aircraft weighing up to 4600 kg into the air. Premises were prepared for the storage of gasoline, bombs and torpedoes. As a result, the length of the battleship increased to 219.6 meters, and the displacement even slightly decreased (up to 38.6 thousand tons). The speed remained almost the same 25.3 knots.
The armament became different: 8 - 356mm / 45, 16 -127mm / 40, the number of 25mm anti-aircraft guns increased to 57 pieces. The model reflects the Ise at the time after September 1944, when anti-aircraft weapons were once again strengthened and (except for 127 mm guns) they amounted to: 31-25 mm three-barreled machine gun, 15 - 1 barrel 25 mm machine gun and six 120mm 28 barrel NURS. Aviation armament was to consist of 22-24 aircraft (different sources indicate different data). Some of them were to be wheeled bombers D4Y3 (Suisei), adapted for launch from a catapult and heavy hydroplanes E16A (Zuiun), the Americans gave them the nicknames "Judy" and "Paul", respectively. For the training of pilots, the 634th air group was created, which was fully staffed by August 1944. Conducted training with starts from the board of the ships.
But "Ise" did not have a chance to take part in the battles as an aircraft carrier .. The command decided to use the air group not from ships, but from ground airfields. And the aircraft carrier battleships went into battle (Philippine operation) without aircraft on board. They took part in the battle at Cape Engano, where they were damaged, but returned to base, unlike the four "ordinary aircraft carriers" that were sunk by the Americans. Since February, the ship has not left Kure, where it was sunk as a result of American air raids on 07/28/1945. In 1946, Ise was raised and scrapped.
I used literature: the book "Japanese hibryd warships" by Hans Lengerer (a chic book, with a bunch of drawings, photographs, color 3D images), Tamiya books on the elements of Japanese warships, a Japanese book on Japanese battleships, found something on the Internet.
Used, except for the model itself:
- Two sets of Fujimi etching specially for Ise, and their own deck with additional. etching and trunks of the Civil Code;
- Etching from GMM (set for IJN battleships);
- Allians Modelworks - davits, doors, 3-barreled 25 mm machine guns, ladders, metal rigging;
- Lion Roar portholes, turntables and brass tubes of different diameters;
- Rainbow - a set for Japanese seaplanes, a set for carrier-based aviation, a set of cranes for Ise, a body kit for davits and cranes, elements of bridge equipment;
- Voyager - pilot platforms, 9th boat, admiral's boat, 11m boat, metal tubes of different diameters;
- WEM - doors, hatches;
- Model master - trunks 25mm;
- Aber-25mm barrels (for part of the machines;)
- L Arsenal - figures (two different sets), anchor chains;
-Tamiya - WWII JN utility boat set;
-Veteran models - devices on bridges and mast, paravanes, winches, part of 127 mm guns, part of 3-barreled 25mm guns, searchlights, 2kv. signal lamps,
-Hasegawa - kits: QG-18, QG-19, QG-40.
-FlyHawk - handrails, set of IJN Boats, part of 3-barreled 25mm, part of shell boxes, set for seaplanes;
-Fine Molds - 25mm single-barrel machine guns, small searchlights, barrels and part of carriages for 3-barreled 25mm machine guns;
-Ishida - ammunition boxes for 25 mm, barrels, part of the fans, binoculars of various types;
-North Star - brackets, ladders, figures (three different sets);
-Five Star - etched wooden boxes;
-Goffi models - figures of sailors;
- Wiener modellbau manufactur - figures of sailors;
Paints and primer: GSI, Tamiya
Vallejo varnish, Tamiya varnish finish, Kristal Clear for "glazing", Set and Sol for decals.
Steel cord for rigging in 1/350 Modelkasten and Hobby plus model cord.
Decals Behemoth, Hasegawa, Fujimi.
This is my first model from Fujimi. I didn't like their quality compared to Tamiya and Hasegawa. Somewhere at the level of the Trumpeter.
Only the tub of the hull assembled perfectly. Convergence of add-ons and other elements is mediocre. The flight deck turned out to be bent upwards in the aft part, I could hardly glue it, securing it under the load and with the help of epoxy. Not a single large structure fit into place normally, it was always necessary to cut, grind, drill, etc. Although the parts themselves are molded with almost no flash, there are very thin elements. The barrels in the main battery towers are made to move, but because of this, the covers for the embrasures are made in such a way that they must be redone (I made them from putty on top of the regular ones). Radar Type21 is given in etching in the form of a massive, closed box, although there is a large photo right in the instructions (on the cover), where its almost transparent design is visible, it had to be replaced with a more similar one from Hasegawa. I didn’t use Fujimi Leers at all, they are extremely fragile, without a bottom strip. Installed Fly Hawk and GMM. Catapults in etching are good, especially since there is no alternative to them, I have not seen larger ones, but they are almost empty inside, I had to add powder charges, etc.
Boats and boats replaced everything. They are very rough. I replaced the derrick and crane with a set from Rainbow, only the derrick was a little short, I had to build up the mount.
Artillery of medium and small caliber is very diverse. 127 mm - Veteran and Alliance (Veteran is still better), 25mm three-barreled: the bulk are Fly Hawk carriages, and the barrels are either turned from Polish manufacturers, or the Fine Molds carriage with their own barrels, with Fujimi gunners' seats and Hasegawa sights, only a few pieces from Veteran are completely authentic. Single barrel - Fine molds with Hasegawa etching. The NURs installations could not be left as they were. They were made in the form of a parallelepiped, mounted on a base with a hole in the middle of two cubes .. And in the book it was clear that the block of barrels was on a carriage, which was covered with high shields with loopholes, there were gunners' seats, sights .. I made a base from Fly Hawk 3-barrel 25mm. I made shields from brass strips left over from etching, glued imitation embrasures on them, and blocks of barrels (5 pcs.) From Edward's kit to Hood. The only thing is that there are a little less than 28 trunks, but I didn’t find a better one, and I was too lazy to make six equally good ones. He himself made only the missing sixth block of rockets from a resin sprue and brass stripes. The result turned out to be very similar to the picture (for the 350th scale).
The shell boxes are partly etched, partly resin from the Japanese manufacturer Ishida, some of his fans on the deck, some of the chiseled fans from Flyhawk.
Almost all resin "small things" from Veteran and Ishida - here they are out of competition. Sets for hydroplanes and carrier-based aircraft from Rainbow were very useful, I mainly used elements of etched cockpit lights, fitting for “my” aircraft models and an imitation of the “star” of the engine, propellers, etc., and I bought an additional set of hydroplanes from Fujimi, because to. it was interesting to make them a little larger, in different configurations.
I stretched almost the entire rigging with a 0.1 mm Japanese steel thread (especially for 1/350). The longest parts were stretched with the Belarusian elastic thread Hobby plus. Another part of the rigging is also made of metal from Allians Modelworks.
I made the wash with Tamiya enamel Dym., a special Tamiya wash, it was already diluted for work, I used it a little.
The decals are mostly Fujimi, the flag is from Behemoth, most of the planes are from Hasegawa.
Almost all colors are GSI Creos, some Tamiya.
Sailors of three firms from seven different sets: L Arsenal, Goffey Models, North Star, WMM. I painted it myself, if you noticed, then they are of four types - naval officers and sailors, pilots and servants of the MZA. I applied the new North Star resin kits. Very good detail big variety pos. Much better than any Tamievsky or Fujimovsky sailors. And no worse than L Arsenal or Werner Modelbau. The only inconvenience is the very tight placement on the cast base, and because of this it is difficult to separate the required figures and you can damage the neighboring ones. By the way, the sizes of the figurines are very correct, whoever saw the Dragon figurines, the latter has them clearly “overfed”, while the North is old - just right.
In general, the assembly was not easy. But the ship itself is interesting. In my opinion, this model is suitable for experienced modellers, especially since it costs quite a lot with add-ons.
This is my ninth model. Thanks for the advice to more experienced colleagues.
PS There are shortcomings in the model. both performing and historical, they arose for various reasons, some assumptions were made by me intentionally ..
I will try to improve the quality of work in the following models.
PPS The next will be Sev. Caroline.

Type battleships Fuso

Historical data

common data

EU

real

dock

Booking

Armament

Artillery:

  • 12 × 356/45 (6 × 2) (4 removed in 1943)
  • 20 × 140/50 (20 × 1) (2 removed in 1931, another 2 removed in 1933, completely removed in 1943)
  • 4 × 80/40 (10 × 1) (withdrawn in 1931-1932)
  • 6 × 7.62 / 50 (8 × 1) (withdrawn in 1921)
  • 8 × 127/40 (8 × 1) (installed in 1931-33 to replace 80/40; 8 more added in early 1943)
  • 6 × 90 cm spotlights (removed in 1931)
  • 2 × 60 cm spotlights (removed in 1931)
  • 6 x 110 cm searchlights (installed in 1931; 2 removed in 1943)

Torpedo:

  • 6 underwater t.a. - 533 mm (removed in 1937)

Ships of the same type

IJN Ise(jap. 伊勢, rus. "Ise" or Russian "Ise" listen)) is a Japanese battleship, the lead ship of a series of two ships. It was part of the shipbuilding program of 1912. Initially, the ships of the series were planned to be built as the third and fourth battleships of the Fuso. Since 1920 Ise went through numerous upgrades. In 1941 he took part in the attack on Pearl Harbor, and in 1944 in the Battle of Leyte Gulf. Since February 1945, she was in the city of Kure (Hiroshima Prefecture), where she sank after numerous bombing hits by American aircraft. On July 4, 1946, it was raised and dismantled at Harim by the end of the year.

History of creation

predecessors

After the end of the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-1905, a significant proportion of the Japanese fleet was made up of heavily outdated captured Russian ships. The first attempt to build new (and the first for the Japanese) battleships - semi-dreadnoughts of the type Kawachi- cannot be called successful, primarily due to the poor ballistic qualities of the main caliber gun battery, which simultaneously had guns with a barrel length of 45 and 50 calibers. At the same time, already in 1906, the battleship HMS was adopted by the British Navy. Dreadnought, leaving behind all the ships of the same class that existed at that time, followed by the cruiser HMS Invincible, which further complicated the plans of the Japanese to establish military superiority in the Pacific Ocean. The situation changed only after the order in November 1910 from the company Vickers battlecruiser Kongo with eight 356 mm guns, followed by an agreement on the transfer of basic technologies. It was followed by three more ships of the same type, already assembled in Japan.

On the base Kongo in 1911 battleships of the type Fuso(project A-64), in which the number of 360-mm main battery guns was increased to 12. At the same time, the designers preferred a scheme of six twin guns, more suitable for offensive combat operations, than a defensive scheme of four built-in ones. These battleships were designed to fight alongside cruisers. Kongo, as well as to counter American battleships of the type New York, therefore, they were qualitatively superior to them in armor, armament and speed.

After the laying down in 1913 of the same type of ship Yamashiro, financing the construction of the last two ships of the series Fuso was postponed for 2 years and during this period numerous shortcomings in the design of battleships already under construction were revealed. It was decided to improve the A-64 project, and the result, the A-92 project, differed from Fuso so much so that the last 2 ships decided to be attributed to the new series Ise.

Prerequisites for creation

Project History Fuso and Ise closely related to those adopted by the Imperial Japanese Navy in 1907-1919. strategic development programs.

The first version of the program was developed by Japanese Captain 2nd Rank (and later Vice Admiral) Sato Tetsutaro as a plan for Japan to seize military superiority over the US and Britain in the Pacific. Satō argued that conflict between Japan and one of its two main opponents was inevitable and argued that the Imperial Navy should increase the number of large warships to at least 70% of those in the American Navy. This balance of power, Sato theorized, would allow the Japanese to defeat the US in one big battle in Japanese waters. In accordance with this, in 1907, the concept of "8-8" (八八艦隊, Hachihachi Kantai) was adopted, which provided for the construction of 8 battleships with a displacement of 20,000 long tons each and 8 battlecruisers with a displacement of 18,000 long tons each. When the Japanese Minister of the Navy, Yamamoto Gonnohyoe (Gonbei), presented the overall budget of the program in parliament, it exceeded the entire budget of the Japanese Empire at that time by more than 2 times.

In 1910, the first real attempts were made to carry out the program. The 8 battleships and 8 battlecruisers ordered by the General Staff of the fleet were cut down by parliament, first to 7 battleships and three cruisers, and then to one battleship and 4 cruisers altogether. These cruisers were cruisers of the type Kongo, and the lead ship of the type was built as a battleship Fuso. They fully met the requirements of their time.

In 1914, Vice Admiral Mutsuro Yashiro submitted new proposals to the Defense Department of the ruling committee to bring the fleet up to the "8-8" composition. This document pointed out that Japan, as of 1914, did not possess ships capable of somehow solving the problem of fighting the fleets of the leading maritime powers, and primarily the United States. At the same time, the dreadnoughts that were under construction, due to their small number, turned out to be practically useless. Although the defense department of the ruling cabinet shared Mutsuro's views, for political reasons it was decided to present the Fleet 8-4 program to Parliament as a plan for the usual replenishment of the ship's composition. Its essence was to bring the number of battleships to 8 ( Settsu, Kawachi, Fuso, Yamashiro+ 4 newly ordered), completion of 4 battlecruisers of the type Kongo(classic armored cruisers it was planned to withdraw to the second line, and the most obsolete ones to be scrapped), ordering 3 highly autonomous reconnaissance cruisers with 200-mm guns, 20 turbine destroyers and 6 submarines. Parliament approved this program and authorized the laying of battleships in 1915 Ise and Hyuga, but at the end of 1914 he canceled his decision, citing the outbreak of war in Europe. Acting as an ally of Great Britain, Japan was able to carry out only those operations that were aimed at ensuring its own interests. The capture of Shandong and the German island colonies in the Pacific cost nothing and the task of urgently strengthening the fleet was considered secondary, which is why the fleet general staff was forced to concentrate all the funds allocated for current shipbuilding on already laid down battleships Ise and Hyuga. The situation got off the ground only at the end of 1915, when Japan, having presented “21 demands” to China, actually turned it into a colony. Washington sided with the "New" Republic, which caused dissatisfaction with Tokyo and increased tension in the Pacific Ocean and, consequently, increased funding for fleet development programs.

Design

U.S. Department of Naval Intelligence identification drawing

An analysis of the design of the first two ships of the series, as well as their comparison with foreign counterparts, forced Japanese engineers to reconsider the project as a whole.

The main drawback was the location of the central gun turrets in the A-64 project, which created many difficulties. The towers were arranged according to the “2-1-1-2” scheme: 2 twin towers No. 1 and No. 2, one above the other, then two single towers No. 3 and No. 4 in the same plane, and then, in the aft, two more paired No. 5 and No. 6. This exposed most of the hull to an explosive effect when the two medium turrets were fired, and also greatly narrowed the possible angles of fire, given that the steam pipe of the boiler room was located between the turrets. Such an arrangement, in addition, forced to place the ammunition cellars for the central guns in the immediate vicinity of the boilers, because of which the cellars had to have additional thermal insulation and ventilation. To solve all these problems, tower No. 3, previously sandwiched between two groups of boilers, was moved towards the stern, and all boiler rooms were grouped together, moving towards the bow. This made it possible to place both middle towers linearly elevated (No. 3 on top of No. 4). Such an arrangement of artillery facilitated fire control, and also allowed the guns to simultaneously fire at all targets in a wide sector.

The second problem was the 15cm/50 41st Year Type secondary caliber guns. The loading mechanism provided for the manual movement of shells weighing 45 kg from the cellar to the hoist, as well as from the hoist to the reloading compartment, which greatly prevented the sailors from maintaining the maximum rate of fire (in particular, on the 152 mm / 40 gun, instead of the design 12 v / m, only 4 in / m). To solve this problem, the 140mm 14cm/50 3rd Year Type guns were developed to compensate for the lower projectile weight with a higher rate of fire. In addition to a lighter and easier-to-handle projectile, the installations themselves weighed less than 152 mm (5700 kg versus 8360 kg), which made it possible to increase the number of anti-mine caliber guns from 16 to 20.

In addition, the speed of the ship was considered too low compared to the latest British battleships of the type queen elizabeth and Soviet battlecruisers of the Izmail class. Due to financial difficulties, it was impossible to order more powerful engines, so the hull was slightly lengthened and the boiler rooms were enlarged, which made it possible to increase the speed to 23 knots. To save weight, the forecastle deck was shortened so that the lower central gun was lower than on Fuso. This reduced the living space for the crew, although, on the contrary, its number increased significantly (1360 sailors and officers against 1198 per Fuso): naval historian Shizuo Fukui considered battleships of the type Ise the least comfortable for service among all the battleships of the Imperial Navy.

The A-92 booking scheme has not undergone any significant changes, with the exception of a slight increase in the length of the 305-mm part of the belt along the waterline due to a decrease in its thickness at the extremities, as well as an increase in the thickness of the barbets from 203 mm to 304. In addition, the main armor deck received bevels adjacent to the lower edge of the armor belt. As on Fuso, the power plant consisted of four turbines with direct transmission and 24 boilers with mixed heating, but due to their slightly higher steam capacity, the power was increased from 40,000 to 45,000 hp. This, as well as some increase in the length of the hull (due to the redistribution of KO) led to an increase in speed to 23.5 knots. Despite all the innovations, the displacement increased by only 600 tons (standard: for the type Fuso- 29,326 tons; type Ise- 29 990 tons).
According to Yu. Apalkov, on Ise, for the first time in the Japanese fleet, they used partial reduction of the main mechanisms: 2 steam turbine installations for cruising in parallel through a gearbox were connected to their shaft lines and in series with the shaft line of the other side, and the "combat" PTU did not have gearboxes. Lengerer, as well as this information, refute, arguing that all turbines had a direct drive.

Everything else Ise and Hyuga repeated their prototype.

Ise, the lead ship of the new series, was laid down on May 5, 1915 at the shipyards in the city of Kobe, launched on November 12, 1916, and on December 15, 1917 was completed and put to the test. Construction was carried out by Kawasaki Heavy Industries.

Design description

In the sections "Description of the design" and "Armament" in most cases, the performance characteristics of the original ship, which was tested in 1917, are given. The exceptions in these sections are mentions of minor changes made during short dock visits - for example, in 1921. However, it should be borne in mind that over the entire period of service Ise almost continuously upgraded. The most serious changes were made in 1935-1937 and also in 1943. More detailed information for changes in the performance characteristics of the ship and its modules, as well as for air groups, see the "Modernizations and conversions" section.

Reservation and protective mechanisms

On the Ise used cemented armor Vickers Cemented, produced in Japan under license, and, in turn, was a production modification of the German armor Krupp Cemented. Data on armor schemes from different sources are contradictory: below are, apparently, the most authoritative information from Lengerer and Hans, with which the data of Hansgeorg and Dieter are quite (with an accuracy of 0.1 inches) consistent. However, Yu.V. Apalkov reports other, though more detailed figures.

The maximum armor thickness of the main belt was 305 mm; minimum, at the bottom of the side - 102 mm. At the same time, the belt did not cover the entire side of the hull, but ended near the extreme gun turrets. Behind them, the side was protected by two sections of armor, the thickness of which decreased from 203 mm at the top of the hull to 102 mm at the bottom. In addition, to the very ends of the hull, the thickness of the armor was even reduced to 76 mm. The 203 mm mentioned was actually part of an additional upper belt that ran the entire length of the vessel, except for the edges.
The upper armored deck included two layers of 55 mm steel with increased tensile strength; on the lower armored deck, the thickness of these layers was 30 mm. The lower armored deck was connected to the lower edge of the main belt with slopes covered with 50 mm armor.
The towers were protected by 254 mm armor from the forehead and 76 mm from the roof. The armor of the casemates was 149 mm, and the armor of the barbettes surrounding the guns was 299 (instead of the planned 305 mm). The sides of the conning tower (in the central superstructure) were 305 mm thick, the aft superstructure had a lesser protection of 102 mm.

Type ships Ise were the only Japanese battleships in which the charging cellar was placed above the shell cellar, since the General Staff required that naval mines and torpedoes explode as far as possible from flammable gunpowder. To further secure ammunition, the depth of the double bottom was increased to 3.58 m under the barbettes and cellars (compared to Fuso). In addition, the new vessels had a total of 660 watertight compartments to maintain buoyancy in case of damage in battle.
After numerous upgrades to Ise installed an anti-torpedo boule and torpedo bulkheads along the sides, and also strengthened the armor of the deck above the engine room and the roofs of the towers to 140 and 152 mm, respectively.

Power plant and driving performance

Ise had two Brown Curtis steam turbine units with a total power of 30,000 hp, located in two engine rooms (one high pressure, the other medium), as well as two turbo-gear units (TZA) cruising for another 15,000 hp. (one high pressure, the other low). Thus, the total power was 45,000 hp. Each of the PTAs turned two propeller shafts with propellers 3.429 m long: the high-pressure turbines (HPT) were connected to the side shafts, and the middle one (TSD) - to the internal ones. Steam for the operation of the plant came from 24 Kampon Ro-Go water-tube boilers with an operating pressure of 13-16.9 kg/cm2 (185-240 psi). The design design speed was 23 knots (43 km / h), however, on tests Ise reached 23.6 knots at a power of 56,498 hp. Each of the boilers ran on coal or naval oil; their reserves on the ship amounted to a maximum of 4681 tons of coal and 1434 tons of fuel oil. With this amount of fuel, the cruising range was 17,930 km at a speed of 14 knots. In addition, the vessel had three conventional generators with a capacity of 150 kW, and two 250-kW turbo generators with a voltage of 225 V.

Armament

Main caliber

The battleship was equipped with 6 twin 41st Year Type guns of 360 mm caliber (barrel length 45 calibers) in three twin two-level towers, each of which weighed 666 tons. Hydraulic drives in the casemates of the towers provided declination angles from -5 to +20 degrees. 41st Type was a modernization of the British Vickers 14 inch / 45 guns, installed on Kongo. The nomenclature of the names of this gun is rather confusing for some reason. It suffices to note that the names:
14"/45 (35.6 cm) Vickers Mark "A"
14"/45 (35.6 cm) 43rd Year Type
14"/45 (35.6 cm) 41st Year Type (Model 1908)
36 cm/45 (14") 41st Year Type
represent the same thing. The rate of fire was 1.5-2 rounds per minute, and reloading could be done at any declination angle from -3 to +20; in the process of modernization, the angles were greatly increased, and the system of retractable mechanisms was also changed.
In I world war only two types of shells were used: armor-piercing APC Type 3 imported from Britain and high-explosive Common Type 3 HE, developed on their basis and put into service in May 1915. After comparing these shells with German and British ones, the Japanese adopted APC Type 5 shells in June 1925. They were soon replaced by Type 88, until April 1931 designated as APC No. 6. New shells were put into service in November 1928; in terms of penetration, they were the same as the Type 5, but had better protection against premature detonation, as well as a more stable underwater trajectory. All these shells weighed 635 kg.
In April 1931, armor-piercing shells with a Type 91 tip weighing 673.5 kg and initial speed 770-775 m/s. These were shells with a tapered tail and two copper leading bands; radius of curvature of the head part 6 calibers. Their maximum firing range was 25 "000 m at an angle of +20 and 35" 450 m at an angle of +43 (after the main modernization in the 1930s). In addition to them, there were also 625 kg Type 0 high-explosive projectiles with 29.5 kg of explosives, as well as a special Type 3 Sankaidan shrapnel projectile for use against aircraft.

Auxiliary/anti-aircraft artillery

Secondary armament consisted of 20 single 140mm/50(5.5") 3rd Year Type guns with a 50 caliber barrel, replacing the earlier and less serviceable 152mm guns. The "3rd Year Type" in the name is a reference to the development piston action by Alex Welin, which began in 1914, the third year of the Taishō period. ship guns. 18 3rd Year Type were located in casemates on the forecastle and under the central turret, and the remaining two were mounted on the deck above them and were protected by an armored shield. Their elevation angle was still the same 20 degrees, which ensured a firing range of 16 "300 m with a rate of fire up to 10 rounds per minute. Their main difference from previous guns, and, in fact, the reason for replacement, was the weight of the projectile in 38 kg compared from 45.36 kg.

The abundance of various types of shells made it possible to use these guns as anti-aircraft and even anti-submarine weapons; however, the most common were armor-piercing Caped Common, introduced in 1916, and in 1934 replaced by modified Caped Common Mod 1 and Mod 2. Common Type 2 high-explosive shells containing 2.6 kg of explosive were adopted in 1932, and in 1940 were replaced by more efficient Common Type 0 (2.86 kg).
In addition, as on the main guns, there were special Common Type 3 Sankaidan shrapnel shells, and in 1943, after lengthy tests, anti-submarine shells appeared for these guns.

Air defense was provided by 4 single anti-aircraft guns 8 cm / 40 (3 ") 3rd Year Type, which, despite their designation, had a caliber of 76.2 mm (3"). The maximum elevation angle was +75 degrees, the rate of fire was 13-20 rds / min; guns fired a 6-kg high-explosive projectile at a height of up to 7.5 km. Similar to auxiliary artillery guns, in 1943, guns of this type used anti-submarine shells (which, however, were no longer installed on Ise). The O-49 report of the American naval mission to Japan reports that such shells pierced a 11.5-cm steel plate at a depth of 8 m, however, given the high-explosive type of the projectile, these data are questioned: most likely, the figure was meant 1.15 cm. Yu. Apalkov, and also report that 4 air defense guns were installed only in 1921; in any case, during the modernization of 1931-33 they were replaced by more effective 127-mm dual-purpose guns.

More on Ise there were 6 7.62 mm machine guns.

Mine and torpedo armament

The battleships were equipped with six underwater 53.3 cm torpedo tubes, 3 on each side. Ammunition included 12-18 6th Year Type torpedoes, developed in 1917 and quickly obsolete (which is why the TAs were removed in 1937). Torpedoes had the following characteristics:
Length: 6m 83cm;
Torpedo weight: 1432 kg;
Weight explosive: 200 kg;
Range: 7 km at 36 knots, 10 km at 32 knots, 15 km at 26 knots.
Data on dispersion and penetration could not be found.

Communications, detection, auxiliary equipment

Data on fire control means are very scarce, but it is known that an artillery compass was installed on the ship immediately after the completion of construction. Data from rangefinders was transmitted manually. Towers No. 2, 3 and 5 were assembled with built-in 6-meter (according to Yu. Apalkov - 4.5-meter) Bausch & Lomb rangefinders, another rangefinder was located on the forward conning tower. These rangefinders were largely inferior to British instruments from Barr & Stroud and were dismantled in 1920. They were replaced by either Barr & Stroud or Japanese-made equipment 6 or 8 m long. Aiming was carried out through the Type 13 central sight.
At the end of the 1920s, fire control systems were improved and additional platforms were added to the bow superstructure for shooting correction. In 1931-32, two more compasses for 127 mm anti-aircraft guns were added, one on each side of the forward superstructure. In the mid-1930s, compass were also added for 25 mm anti-aircraft guns; at the same time, 10-meter rangefinders were installed on top of a huge pagoda-like superstructure. In May 1942, in Kura, during the repair of the engine room after a valve breakthrough on Ise one of the first Type 21 Model 2 aircraft radar models was installed in the fleet.
The lighting equipment initially consisted of 6 spotlights at 90 cm and 2 spotlights at 60 cm. In 1931 they were all replaced by 6 110 cm searchlights mounted on new platforms around the stern pipe. In 1943, after a major conversion of the ship into an aircraft carrier battleship, only 4 of them were left.

Modernizations and conversions

Despite the fact that after the commissioning in December 1917. Ise, in fact, has been continuously modernized, we will single out only three groups of changes made.

  1. Numerous improvements to the design of the battleship in 1921-1937.
  2. Capital restructuring of the ship into a battleship-aircraft carrier in 1942-1943.
  3. Some late changes in 1944 before the sinking of the ship.

Modernizations 1921-1937

In 1921 the artillery battery was strengthened. The declination angles of the main guns were increased from +20 to +30 degrees, as a result of which the firing range increased to 27.8 km. In addition, 4 anti-aircraft guns 8 cm / 40 (3 ") 3rd Year Type were installed on the ship. In 1927, a take-off platform for Mitsubishi 1MF3 Type 10 carrier-based fighters was mounted on tower No. 2. In the same year, onboard anti-torpedo nets were removed .

The fighters and platform were removed from the ship over the next year, and in 1928-29. a new platform was installed - already on tower number 5. The aircraft were replaced with the Yokosuka E1Y reconnaissance aircraft.

Pre-war period and the beginning of the war

In 1930-1932. Ise made numerous joint patrols of the coast of China against the backdrop of a difficult political situation in those years. The last patrol before placing the ship in reserve took place immediately after the Shanghai Incident on January 28, 1932, consisting of: Ise, Kongo, Kirishima, Hyuga. On April 3, 1932, the squadron entered Dairen (Manchuria), and on December 1 returned to Kure.
At the beginning of 33, Japan withdrew from the League of Nations and decided that it was no longer necessary to follow the accepted agreements on limiting the number of battleships - in particular, the Washington 1922 and London 1930 agreements.
In 1934 the crew Ise, who dropped anchor in Shinagawa Bay, participated in the funeral ceremony of the Japanese national hero - Admiral of the Fleet Togo Heihatiro, who defeated the Russian fleet in the Battle of Tsushima.
In 1938-41, during the II Sino-Japanese War, Ise, as part of the most different groups, patrolled the Chinese coast to maintain the blockade imposed by Japan - first in the south, then in the north, then twice in the south. Periodically he met with Hyuga. On November 15, 1940, the ships were assigned to the 2nd DLC of the 1st Fleet.
On December 8, 1941 (Japanese time), the Pacific War began. Ise and Hyuga were sent to the Bonin Islands as part of a cover group for the main fleet that attacked Pearl Harbor. The battleships returned to port 6 days later.
On March 11, 1942, the ships weighed anchor at Hasirajima to participate in an (unsuccessful) mission to search for American aircraft carriers attacking about. Marcus a week earlier. Equally unsuccessfully they pursued the aircraft carriers participating in the Doolittle raid on 18 April.
May 11 on Ise in engine room No. 2, one of the valves is stuck in open position. The room was flooded and the ship headed to Kure for repairs.
On May 28, under the command of Vice Admiral Shiro Takasu, the 2nd LDK departed to participate in the Battle of Midway. Old Japanese battleships ( Ise, Hyuga, Fuso, Yamashiro) formed the Aleutian Support Force under the command of Vice Admiral Takashi Shiro. This formation was to maneuver northeast of Midway at equal distance from Yamamoto's main force and the Nagumo aircraft carriers, and the forces allocated to capture the Aleuts, led by the aircraft carriers of Rear Admiral Kakuji Kakuta's Second Strike Force. The main combat missions for Shiro's battleships were to carry out long-range cover for strike formations and destroy American linear forces if they tried to head towards the Aleuts.
The battleships returned to base on 14 June. At this time, the General Staff of the fleet was already beginning to make preliminary plans to compensate for losses at Midway by reconstructing old battleships. the 14 th of July Ise was withdrawn from the 2nd LDK and remained at the base in Kure on combat duty until the start of reconstruction work, which took place from February 23 to September 5, 1943.
After testing Ise was assigned to the Military Academy of the Imperial Japanese Navy in Etajima. The crew and ship's equipment were transferred to the base on the Truk Islands in October. In November, firing practice began again, the following month to Ise joined finished Hyuga. After the exercises, both ships were again assigned to the 2nd DLC. May 1, 1944 Ise and Hyuga were transferred to the 4th Aircraft Carrier Division of the 3rd Fleet. On the same day, the 634th naval air group was created; the first launches of its aircraft from catapults took place in the second half of June. Until October 1944 in the Khasir Bay Ise took a course in combat training. 10/16/1944 the air group of the ship was used in the battles for Formosa.

Battle of Cape Engano

The lack of new aircraft and the poor condition of the existing ones greatly slowed down the training of pilots, which is why by October 1, both battleships-aircraft carriers had a total of only 17 D4Y and 18 E16A, of which only 6 and 16 were combat-ready, respectively. The Philippine Defense Plan, developed by the Japanese command, provided that the aircraft carriers that had survived by that time would be used to lure US aircraft carriers away from the zone of the main operation, where they could be attacked by land-based aircraft. The carrier-based air groups by this moment were badly dented throughout the entire fleet, being in no better condition than on Ise- therefore, it was decided to leave more aircraft on land for use against enemy aircraft carriers; thus, hybrid battleships were completely devoid of air groups. The 4th Carrier Division was assigned to Admiral Jisaburo Ozawa's 3rd Fleet of the Northern Force, and the battleships sailed from Yashima on 20 October. All ships had a total of 108 aircraft, and the main task of this group was to divert the strike formation of the aircraft carriers of Admiral William Halsey to the north (more precisely, they had to deal with the 38th task force, commanded by Vice Admiral M. E. Mitscher) . In fact, the 3rd Fleet was supposed to die, diverting the American aircraft carriers to itself.

On the morning of October 24, most of the small number of aircraft on board were launched in a diversionary attack on American shipping. They did almost no damage and forced the enemy to figure out the direction of the attack. Finally, at 16:40, the Americans noticed Japanese aircraft carriers at a distance of about 320 km east of Cape Engano, the northeastern edge of the Philippine island. Luzon. The US aircraft carriers were scattered over a large area, and it was already too dark for an air strike - so Halsey decided to concentrate his forces and wait until the morning to attack. However, at night, Ozawa gave the order to turn the course of the ships, rightly believing that the Americans would begin pursuit to the north.

Although visual contact was lost during the night, at 07:35 on October 25, the Americans again established the position of the Japanese ships. At this point, 180 aircraft were already in the air and patrolling the area within a radius of 80 km, waiting for the enemy to be detected - this was the first of five American air strikes that day.
The first airstrikes had little effect Ise, since the main focus was on aircraft carriers. The ship counted 5 downed torpedo bombers from the second attack wave and one small bomb hit on turret No. 2. Later, the battleship was attacked by 80 aircraft of the 4th wave, but they failed to inflict any significant damage. Ise dodged 11 torpedoes and received only one direct bomb hit on the ledge of the stern catapult. About 34 more bombs exploded nearby, dousing the ship with a stream of fragments, tearing apart several external bulkheads and causing leaks in the aft boiler rooms. The exact number of killed and wounded is not known, but it is estimated that 5 people were killed and 111-121 crew members were injured in this attack.
Around 19:00, Ozawa found out the strength of the US destroyers and cruisers that had sunk Chiyoda and destroying Japanese destroyers rescuing survivors from disabled aircraft carriers. He ordered the 4th Division to turn course and pursue the Americans, but the battleships were unable to locate the enemy ships. Then Ozawa sent ships to Fr. Oshima, and from there - to the base in Kure. On the way to Kura, the division was attacked by a submarine (unsuccessfully).

Service at the end of the war and death

In the first half of November, catapults were removed from both battleships, and in the second they were understaffed with crew and equipment. After sailing, they turned towards the Spartly Islands due to reports of massive air raids on Manila. Having unloaded there, the group headed for about. Lingga, the largest island of the same name in the Indonesian archipelago, lying near Singapore (arrival November 20). From there they moved to Cam Ranh Bay (French Indonesia, arrival December 14), where Hyuga temporarily became the flagship of the 5th Fleet. On December 30, the squadron proceeded to Singapore, and then remained in the Lingga area. Plans to return to Japan were delayed by attacks by the US 3rd Fleet on supply structures in Indochina and East China. During these raids, two oil tankers who were supposed to refuel the ships of the division.

Ise July 24, 1945, after the first air raid.

Then the leadership of the fleet decided to use Ise, Hyuga and their escort for the transport of gasoline, rubber, tin and other important materials to Japan after US aircraft carriers leave the South China Sea. Loading began on February 6 and continued for 4 days. About 1150 oil workers were also taken on board, the escort ships were a light cruiser Oyodo and 3 destroyers. However, radio interception of communications revealed the plans of the Japanese to the allies, and 15 submarines were sent along the proposed route to deliver a surprise strike and sink ships. An additional 11 submarines were sent to positions after the group left the port, but only 3 of them were ready for combat. None of the attacks were successful, and on 20 February the Japanese reached Kure. The 4th carrier division was disbanded on March 1 and both battleships were transferred to the 1st rank reserve.

In February 1945, the ship was planned to be used in the air defense system, but due to the lack of trained pilots and fuel, they were laid up. On March 19, Kure was attacked from the air by aircraft of the 58th strike aircraft carrier group and Ise received 2 bomb hits, the aircraft lift was destroyed. Repair and restoration work was not carried out.

Ise lit. Kure, 28 July 1945.

Over the next few months, both battleships were turned into air defense floating batteries, which, however, did not help much in the defense of Kure in July 1945. 24 numbers Ise received 5 bomb hits and many more close gaps. The hangar, one of the main main towers, the hull at the bow were destroyed; heavily damaged superstructures; 50 crew members were killed, incl. ship commander, many wounded. The explosions caused numerous leaks and Ise began to settle from the bow; however, after a three-day pumping out of water, he returned to an even keel. It was planned to put her in dry dock for repairs, but after 4 days the attack, on July 28, was repeated. The battleship was hit at least 11 times (454-kg bombs from F4U fighters from an aircraft carrier Hancock), after which the ship sank in shallow water with a list of 15 degrees to starboard. The crew left the ship, all rescue attempts were abandoned at 18:00. Some of the air defense guns were removed and added to the land batteries.

November 20, 1945 Ise deleted from the lists of the fleet; On November 26, the remains of the ship were examined by the US Naval Technical Mission in Japan; On July 4, 1946, he was picked up by the American emergency service and taken to Harima for disassembly for metal. The lower part of the hull, however, remained where it was.

commanders

  1. September 1, 1916 Captain (later Admiral) Hyakutake Saburo (former cruiser commander Iwate) - appointed chief supply officer and head of the assembly and artillery equipment of the ship.
  2. December 1, 1916 Captain (later Rear Admiral) Akizawa Yoshima (former battleship commander Tango) relieves Saburo of his position, appointing him commander of a battlecruiser Haruna. July 23, 1917 commander still under construction Ise becomes Akizawa.
  3. December 1, 1918 Captain (later Vice Admiral) Kuwashima Shozo (former cruiser commander Hiei) takes command.
  4. November 20, 1919 Captain (later Vice Admiral) Furukawa Hiroshi (former battleship commander Settsu) takes command.
  5. November 20, 1920 Captain (later Vice Admiral) Yokoo Hisashi (also former commander Settsu) takes command.
  6. December 1, 1921 Captain (later Vice Admiral) Nagasawa Naotaro (former aircraft carrier commander Hisshin) takes command. At the same time, the battleship was reassigned to 1 DLC of the 1st fleet.
  7. December 1, 1922 Captain (later Rear Admiral) Kanna Norikazu (former battleship commander Fuso) takes command.
  8. December 1, 1923 Captain (later Rear Admiral) Fukuyo Heizaburo takes command.
  9. December 1, 1924 Captain (later Rear Admiral) Wada Kenkichi (former aircraft carrier commander Tokiwa) takes command.
  10. August 22, 1925 Captain (later Rear Admiral) Yonemura Sueki (former aircraft carrier commander asama) takes command.
  11. December 1, 1925 Captain (later Rear Admiral) Taoka Katsutaro (former commander of the light cruiser Tikuma) takes command.
  12. December 1, 1926 Captain (later Vice Admiral) Kavano Togo (former commander of the light cruiser Kitakami) takes command.
  13. December 1, 1927 Captain Nanbu Michijiro (former commander of the floating base of submarines Chogei) takes command.
  14. December 10, 1928 Captain (later Rear Admiral) Iwamura Kanekoto (former cruiser commander Kinugasa) takes command.
  15. October 5, 1929 Captain Ikeda Takeyoshi (former commander of the light cruiser Yura) takes command.
  16. November 30, 1929 Captain (later Vice Admiral) Hara Keitaro (former cruiser commander Haguro) takes command.
  17. December 1, 1930 Captain (later Rear Admiral) Hani Rokuro (former cruiser commander Ashigara) takes command.
  18. 1 December 1931 Captain (later Commander of the Fleet and Admiral of the Fleet, posthumously) Koga Mineichi (former cruiser commander Aoba) takes command.
  19. December 1, 1932 Captain (later Rear Admiral) Tabata Hiroyoshi (former cruiser commander Nachi) takes command. The vessel has been placed in the reserve of the 2nd rank.
  20. November 15, 1933 Captain (later Vice Admiral) Yamamoto Koki (former cruiser commander Maya) takes command. The ship is assigned to the artillery school as a training ship.
  21. November 1, 1934 Captain (later Vice Admiral) Shimizu Mitsumi (former commander of the light cruiser Tama) takes command. On November 15, the ship was again attached to the first DLC of the 1st fleet.
  22. August 15, 1935, after the first reconstruction, Ise transferred to the reserve of the 3rd rank. October 31, 1935 Captain (later Rear Admiral) Sekine Gunpei (former commander of the artillery warhead of an aircraft carrier Nisshin) takes command.
  23. November 16, 1936 Captain (later Vice Admiral) Takasu Sanjiro (former commander of the floating base of submarines Taigei) takes command.
  24. December 1, 1937 Captain (Vice Admiral, posthumously) Yamaguchi Tamon (former commander of the light cruiser Isuzu) takes command.
  25. November 15, 1938 Captain (later Vice Admiral) Yamaguchi Gisaburo (former commander of the light cruiser Oi) takes command.
  26. November 15, 1939 Captain (later Vice Admiral) Omori Sentaro (former seaplane carrier commander Kamikawa Maru) takes command.
  27. October 15, 1940 Captain (later Vice Admiral) Takayanagi Jihachi (former cruiser commander Suzuya) takes command.
  28. September 25, 1941 Captain (later Rear Admiral) Takeda Isamu (former commander of a light cruiser Oi and lnkora Kashima) appointed acting commander.
  29. November 15, 1941 Ise was appointed flagship of the 2nd DLC of the 1st Fleet of Vice Admiral (later Admiral) Takasu Shiro (former commander of the light cruiser Isuzu).
  30. April 25, 1943 Captain (later Rear Admiral) Hase Shinzaburo (former commander of the old battleship Settsu) takes command. Captain Takeda was promoted to Chief of Staff of the Shanghai Special War Zone.
  31. On November 1, 1943, Captain Hase was promoted to Rear Admiral. December 15, 1943 Captain (later Rear Admiral) Nakase Noboru (former destroyer commander Shimakaze) takes command. Rear Admiral Hase was appointed Commander of the 25th Special Military Base and later Chief of Staff of the 2nd Southern Expeditionary Fleet at Surabaya, Java.
  32. October 5, 1944 Ise attached to the Combined Fleet and assigned to the main strike group of the mobile forces of Vice Admiral Ozawa Jisaburo (former battleship commander Haruna). On October 15, Captain Nakase was promoted to Rear Admiral.
  33. February 25, 1945 Captain Mitaguchi Kakuro (former cruiser commander Oyodo) takes command. Rear Admiral Nakase was reassigned to the post of head of the 3rd Bureau of the General Staff of the Fleet (military intelligence).

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Ise-class battleships

Historical data

EU

real

dock

Booking

Armament

6 x 2 - 356mm/45 16 x 1 - 140/50 4 x 2 - 127mm/40, 10 x 2 - 25mm/60

"Ise" (jap. 伊勢) is a type of battleship of the Imperial Japanese Navy. Two ships built Ise and Hyuga. The ships were built to a slightly modified Fusō-class battleship design. In 1943, both were rebuilt as aircraft carrier battleships. In 1945, both battleships were badly damaged by American aircraft. Excluded from the fleet on November 20, 1945.

General information

History of creation

predecessors

Prerequisites for creation

After laying down battleships of the type Fusō the Japanese navy had or was about to receive four battlecruisers and only two modern battleships. The imbalance had to be immediately eliminated, and the continuation of the program was not long in coming. Fuso had just started testing machines when two new battleships were laid on the stocks of the same firms Kawasaki and Mitsubishi. Initially, they were planned to be built according to the Fuso drawings, but the Naval General Staff intervened in the matter, demanding that the location of the main caliber towers be re-arranged.

Design

Ise-class battleships were built according to the 1912 program. Initially, it was assumed that they would become a repetition of battleships of the Ise type. Fusō, however, during the design process, a large number of changes were made to the drawings. Ise and Hyuga carried the same twelve 356-mm guns in two-gun turrets, however, at the request of the leadership of the fleet, the main caliber turrets No. 3 and No. 4 were placed in pairs in a linearly elevated pattern. It happened as follows: tower number 3, previously sandwiched between two groups of boilers, was moved towards the stern, and all boiler rooms were grouped together, moving towards the bow. This arrangement of artillery simplified fire control. Another important innovation was the transition to anti-mine guns of a new caliber - 140 mm, which made it possible to increase the number of anti-mine caliber guns from 16 to 20. Along with the replacement of guns, the armor of their casemates also decreased somewhat, and four auxiliary installations were completely unarmored. Due to this, it was possible to increase the side area along the waterline, protected by 305 mm plates. Now 305 mm armor extended from the middle of the bow turret barbette to the middle of the aft barbette.

In general, as usually happened in the case of the construction of successive series of ships based on previous prototypes, it was possible to correct most of the minor shortcomings inherent in the ancestors. It is difficult to unequivocally judge whether the numerous changes to the Fuso project have benefited. The most effective change should be considered an increase in the length of the side protected by 305 mm armor.

After the launch of the grandiose program "8 - 8", all Japanese battleships and battlecruisers with 305-356-mm artillery were considered to be secondary ships. After the implementation of this program, it was supposed to withdraw obsolete ships from the fleet. Indeed, against the background of "Amagi" or "Owari", "Isho" turned out to be outdated. Fate decreed otherwise. The Washington Conference put an end to the exhausting arms race of the early 1920s. Of the sixteen ships of the 8-8 program, only Nagato and Mutsu were built. They, as well as battleships and battlecruisers with 356-mm guns, formed the core of the fleet for many years. From the routine service of battleships in the period between the two world wars, it is necessary to note only the explosion of a charge in one of the Hyuuga towers, which occurred on October 31, 1919.

Construction and testing

As early as the beginning of 1914, the Japanese parliament allocated funds for the construction of two new battleships - the future Isyo and Hyuga. After the start of the war in Europe and Japan's entry into it, budget funding for construction that had not yet begun was curtailed. The Naval Ministry, however, began the construction of battleships, using funds allocated for the current expenses of the fleet. The battleships were "legalized" only after the official adoption by the parliament in 1917 of the "8 - 4" program.

Design description

Frame

Booking

The armor scheme has not undergone any significant changes, with the exception of a slight increase in the length of the 305-mm part of the belt along the waterline by reducing its thickness at the ends and increasing the thickness of the barbettes. In addition, the main armor deck received bevels adjacent to the lower edge of the armor belt.

Power plant and driving performance

Like the Fuso, the power plant consisted of four direct-drive turbines and 24 mixed-heating turbines, but due to their slightly higher steam capacity, the power was increased from 40,000 to 45,000 hp. This, as well as some increase in the length of the hull (due to the redistribution of KO) led to an increase in speed to 23.5 knots. Despite all the innovations, the displacement increased by only 600 tons (standard: for the "Fuso" type - 29,326 tons; for the "Ise" type - 29,990 tons).

Auxiliary equipment

Crew and Habitability

Armament

Main caliber

The armament of the main battery consisted of 14"/45 (35.6 cm) 41st Year Type (Model 1908) cannons placed in six two-gun turrets. The turrets are located in pairs, two at the ends and two in the center of the hull. Tower No. 3, located in the center of the hull, is installed higher than the one installed next to Tower No. 4. Each gun weighs 86 tons, has 84 right-handed grooves with a pitch of 1: 28. The rate of fire is about two rounds per minute.

During the First World War, two types of shells were used for these guns: armor-piercing shells imported from Britain "APC Type 3" and high-explosive shells "Common Type 3 HE", which were developed on the basis of armor-piercing ones, and were put into service in May 1915. In June 1925, APC Type 5 shells weighing 635 kg were adopted. In 1928, they were replaced by APC No.6 shells (after April 1931, Type 88) weighing the same 635 kilograms, they were identical in penetration to APC Type 5 shells, but had better protection against premature detonation, as well as a more stable underwater trajectory.

During the Second World War, these guns used shells:

"APC Type 91" - armor-piercing shells weighing 673.5 kg, they had a body tapering towards the tail and two copper leading belts; "Common Type 0 HE" - high-explosive shells weighing 625 kg; "Common Type 3 IS" - special shrapnel projectiles, for use against aircraft weighing 622 kg.

The firing range of APC Type 91 armor-piercing shells at an elevation angle of 43 degrees (after modernization) was 35450 meters. The firing range of high-explosive shells at an elevation angle of 43 degrees was 28 kilometers.

Auxiliary/anti-aircraft artillery

Introduced by 5.5"/50 (14 cm) 3rd Year Type guns (Model 1914)

Mine and torpedo armament

Anti-submarine and anti-mine weapons

Aviation armament

Communications, detection, auxiliary equipment

Modernizations and conversions

In the second half of the 20s. for battleships, a period of almost endless series of upgrades began. The first modernization in 1926-1928. Hyuuga passed. The bow superstructure began to take on a characteristic pagoda-like shape, fire control systems underwent significant improvements, and the heating of the boilers was completely transferred to oil. In 1929-1930. Ise underwent a similar upgrade. Like their predecessors, "Ise" and "Hyuga" after the implementation of the "8 - 8" program was supposed to be withdrawn from the fleet, but the decisions of the Washington Conference in 1922 changed these plans. The issue of modernizing ships was raised as early as the mid-1920s, but until the middle of the next decade, no major work was carried out on both battleships. In 1930 -1931. increased the size of the bow tripod superstructure by placing a number of additional platforms on it. At the same time, the boilers were switched to liquid fuel. In 1933, a catapult was mounted on both ships to launch seaplanes. A radical reconstruction of these battleships began in the mid-1930s. ("Ise" - from 1934 to 1936, "Hyuga" - from 1935 to 1937). The hull was lengthened by 7.6 m due to the aft attachment, side boules of anti-torpedo protection were installed (width increased from 28.7 to 31.6 m). The power plant was completely replaced by mounting four TZA with a capacity of over 80,000 hp, steam for which was produced by 8 PCs. Being almost twice as powerful, the new power plant was lighter and took up less space, which made it possible to abandon the bow chimney. The elevation angle of the main guns was increased to 33°. The number of 140 mm/50 guns was reduced to 16. The 80 mm anti-aircraft guns were replaced by 4 x 2 127 mm/40 mounts. They were supplemented by 40 mm / 40 "pom-poms" and 13.2 mm machine guns, instead of which, however, 10 twin 25-mm machine guns were soon installed. In addition, all TAs were removed. During the modernization, deck armor was significantly strengthened - the thickness of the main deck above the power plant and cellars reached 97 mm, and the upper one - up to 51 mm. In addition, the base of the chimney was protected by 229 mm armor. Total weight armor increased from 9525 tons to 12,644 tons. After the upgrade, the standard displacement approached 36,000 tons, but the increased power of the power plant and the lengthening of the hull even made it possible to increase the speed to 25.3 knots, more than 1.5 knots.

Restructuring into aircraft carriers

Background and plans

In May 1942 on the battleship Hyuga there was an explosion of ammunition in the aft tower number 5, which after that was no longer subject to repair. In addition, the idle turret #5 partially blocked the turret #6 installed below it, which, as a result, could not raise the guns to the 43-degree angle required for long-range combat. Thus, the battleship Hyūga actually lost four guns in two aft turrets. Having suffered heavy losses in aircraft carriers in the battle of Midway Atoll, the command of the Imperial Japanese Navy decided to rebuild part of the battleships into aircraft carriers. For this purpose, it was planned to use battleships of the type Ise and type "Fuso" . Ships were to be the first to undergo restructuring. Ise and Hyuga, in view of the damage received by the last towers of the main caliber. Each of the aircraft carriers resulting from the restructuring was supposed to carry 54 aircraft. However, due to lack of time and resources, this proposal was abandoned and a hybrid battleship-aircraft carrier scheme was adopted, based on the dismantling of the main caliber towers No. 5 and No. 6, and the construction of a take-off deck equipped with two catapults in their place.

Ise adjustment

In early 1943, the two rear main battery turrets were dismantled along with barbettes and an auxiliary magazine for 140 mm guns. The vacated open spaces were covered with 152 mm armor removed from the main battery turrets. Inside the hull, a hangar 40 m long and 6 m high was equipped, the width of the hangar in the front was 25 m, in the rear it narrowed to 11 m. Considering the experience of operating aircraft carriers in wartime, the hangar was covered with fire-fighting foam and equipped with carbon dioxide generators. In place of the removed guns, a 70-meter take-off area was equipped, suitable only for taking off aircraft, while landing was planned on other "full-fledged" aircraft carriers, or on ground airfields. The width of this deck was 29 m at the front and 13 m at the stern. The platform protruded beyond the edge of the stern, due to which the total length of the ship increased to 216.62 m. Initially, an air group of 22 aircraft was planned: 9 aircraft inside the hangar, 11 on the take-off deck and 2 aircraft on catapults. However, later the designers realized that with such an arrangement, a single accident on one of the aircraft's engines could lead to a complete loss of the ship's combat capability as an aircraft carrier, so the number of aircraft on the site was reduced. To prevent "congestion", rails, 12 swivel mechanisms, carts and clamps were placed on the deck. In total, there were 8 permanent positions for aircraft on the site, connected by rails to catapults. In its rear part there was a T-shaped hydraulic elevator 12.1 m wide and 6.6 m narrow, which lifted aircraft from the hangar; the length of the elevator was also 12.1 m. Its carrying capacity was 6 tons. Two lines of rails were used to move aircraft to the catapults along the site. Used 25-meter powder catapults "Type 1 No.2 Model 11", mounted on high supports on the sides of the hull in front of the site. These catapults could launch aircrafts weighing up to 4.6 tons every 30 s; they partially limited the angle of fire of the central main guns. The folding crane, which was located on the edge of the stern before the restructuring, was moved to the left side of the runway. Another crane was supposed to be installed on the right side, but this was never done. In order to compensate for the imbalance that arose as a result of the rebuilding of the ship, the flight deck was filled with concrete with a layer of 200 mm. The main steering compartment was surrounded by a meter-long concrete wall, and the auxiliary compartment was additionally protected by armor plates taken from the removed main battery turrets. This was done taking into account the experience of losing a battlecruiser. Hiei after steering failure. In addition to this, 150 mm horizontal armor was added to the deck.

The space of the double bottom under the former positions of the rear main turrets was given over to additional fuel storage, which brought the total reserves to 4219 tons and increased the range of autonomous fuel navigation to 17600 km at 16 knots. The set of eight 127-mm guns mounted on the Ise was reinforced by adding 8 more guns in four paired mounts: two mounts near the funnel and two more near the wheelhouse. The existing 10 twin mounts for anti-aircraft guns of small caliber were replaced with built-in ones, in addition, 9 more of the same built-in mounts were added, thereby bringing the number of 25-mm anti-aircraft guns to 57. The ammunition was stored in the cellars, which previously housed the cellars of 140-mm guns, and also tower number 5. On the bridge to control the fire of numerous anti-aircraft guns installed:

Type 21 Model 2 airborne target detection radar, two Type 22 Model 4 surface detection radars, Type 13 airborne detection and fire control radar, and two Type 94 and Type 95 target designators each. Increase in the number of guns, along with the introduction of an air group on the ship , led to an increase in the crew to 1463 people. Bombs and aircraft equipment were placed in the former ammunition cellar of tower No. 5, and the aviation fuel storage (it was designed for 76 tons of fuel) was located in the area of ​​​​the former tower No. 6. These stocks made it possible to provide 3 departures for each aircraft. Two 46-foot Daihatsu landing barges have been replaced with several lifeboats.

Ise shortly after perestroika. The heap of superstructures and platforms hanging from the mast reached its maximum. After all the changes, Ise could carry 22 aircraft. Operational plans called for the new battleship-carriers to escort carrier strike forces, bringing into battle Yokosuka D4Y2 Suisei dive bombers and Aichi E16A Zuiun hydroplanes, also capable of dive-assaulting targets ("Judy" and "Paul" according to the classification of the Allies). Over the course of the operation, this would add 44 more bombers to the air force. Planes could neither take off nor land on such a small flight deck; instead, they were planned to be launched from catapults with subsequent landing on full-fledged aircraft carriers or ground airfields. Data on the final planned air group on Ise differ: Lengerer claims that the ship should have had 11 aircraft of each type, while he gives the figures 14 E16A and 8 D4Y2. In any case, the Japanese had difficulty producing both aircraft, so the Ise air group was never fully manned and, moreover, was never used in combat due to a lack of pilots. The dismantling of auxiliary artillery, the rear main battery turrets and their service structures was fully compensated by the addition of a flight deck, hangar, anti-aircraft guns and fuel, as a result of which the displacement decreased by almost 2000 tons (to 40444 tons). This resulted in a significant increase in the metacentric height of the ship (from 0.23 m to 2.81 m at full load). In addition, for the same reason, the draft decreased to 9 m. On August 10, 1943, the work was de facto completed. On August 24, Ise passed speed tests at 25.3 knots and returned to Kure on August 26. Officially, the restructuring was completed on October 8, 1943.