Category: WW2 Japanese Navy

Kongō class Fast Battleships (1912) Japan, 1911-15. IJN Kongo, Kirishima, Hiei, Haruna. The last Japanese capital ships built in UK:…

IJN Yamato, Musashi. The last IJN battleships: IJN Yamato, like Bismarck, is the subject of a post-war myth. Mysterious, because…

WW2 Japanese Battleships 12 battleships. Introduction: IJN Battleships, from British to Japanese design: IJN Satsuma, one of the last IJN…

Japan, 1919-45. 34 Aircraft Carriers The third giant of carriers: In December 1941, the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) possessed the…

Kuma class cruisers (1919) Japan, 1919. Kuma, Tama, Kitakami, Oi, Kiso The five cruisers of the Kuma class were first…

Nagato, Mutsu. The last IJN dreadnoughts: The Nagato and Mutsu (長門型戦艦, Nagato-gata senkan) were the first and at the same…

IJN Yūbari (1923) Japanese light cruiser, 1923 An innovative light cruiser: Hiraga’s IJN Yūbari Yubari in 1923, Sasebo IJN Yūbari…

WW2 Japanese Submarines IJN – About 85 submarines. Introduction: Ideas but wasted opportunities Just like aircraft carriers later, Japan was…

Furutaka class (1925) Japan, 1925. Heavy Cruisers Furutaka, Kako The First Japanese “washington” cruisers: The two heavy cruisers of the…

Imperial Japanese Navy IJN Ise, Hyūga 1915-1945. From super-dreadnoughts to hybrid battleships: Ise and Hyūga were two fast dreadnoughts built…