Japanese battleship Hyuga
Encyclopedia
Hyūga (日向), named for Hyūga Province
in Kyūshū
, was an of the Imperial Japanese Navy laid down by Mitsubishi
on 6 May 1915, launched on 27 January 1917 and completed on 30 April 1918. She was initially designed as the fourth ship of the , but was heavily redesigned to fix shortcomings. Hyūga was extensively updated and reconstructed from 1926-1928 and 1934-1936.
At the outbreak of the Pacific war, Hyūga was part of the battleship force at the Combined Fleet's anchorage at Hashirajima
. On 7 December she sortied for the Bonin Islands, (known in Japan as the Ogasawara Group), along with her sister ship Ise
of Battle Division 3 and with the Nagato
and Mutsu
of Battle Division 1 as part of the reserve battle fleet for Operation Z (the attack on Pearl Harbor
). The force returned to the Combined Fleet's anchorage at Hashirajima on 12 December 1941 and remained there until a 4 March raid against the Japanese base on Marcus Island (Minami Tori Shima), 1,200 miles off the coast of Japan, by Halsey and his Task Force 16 caused the IJN to sortie out in search of the American raiders. Halsey had steamed away at high speed once he recovered his aircraft and the Japanese were unable to make contact. April saw Halsey return, this time steaming within 650 miles of the Japanese home islands along with the Hornet of Task Force 18 to launch the Doolittle Raid
. Once again Hyūga and the elements of the Combined Fleet sortied in chase, but Halsey and his group slipped away before the IJN could engage him.
In May of 1942 while conducting gunnery practice along with Nagato
, Mutsu
, and Yamashiro
, the Hyūga's left gun breach in her No. 5 turret exploded, threatening the explosion of the magazine and the loss of the ship. Fifty-one crew members died in the explosion. The two aft magazines were rapidly flooded to save the ship. She returned to Kure for repairs. The number 5 turret was not replaced. Instead a circular sheet of steel plating was welded over the barbette and four 25mm triple mount antiaircraft guns were fitted in its place. She sortied with the rest of BatDiv2 on May 29, 1942 as a screening force for the Aleutians task force, along with CruDiv9, two light cruisers, twelve destroyers and the fleet oilers.
After the disastrous Battle of Midway
, the Japanese Navy considered plans to convert all battleships besides Yamato
and Musashi
into aircraft carrier
s. Ultimately, the Navy decided that only the Hyūga and Ise would be converted into hybrid battleship/carriers. Hyūga was reconstructed at the Sasebo Navy Yard from 1 May to 1 October 1943. Hyūga and her sister ship had their two aft 356 mm (14 in) turret
s (784 t (864.2 ST) each) and barbette
s (730 t (804.7 ST) each) removed. They were replaced by a small flight deck
and hangar
to launch a squadron of aircraft. To compensate for the weight loss and to preserve metacentric height, the flight deck was covered with 203 mm (8 in) of concrete
. A single elevator
was fitted.
Anti-aircraft
weapons were also added to better fight off aerial attack. Her complement of 14 Yokosuka D4Y
dive bomber
s and eight Aichi E16A
seaplane
s were catapult
-launched, but landed either on conventional carriers or land bases. They could also be hoisted back on board by using cranes. Because production of aircraft was severely depleted by then, Hyūga never carried the full complement.
Hyūga participated in the Battle off Cape Engaño in October 1944, commanded by Rear Admiral Kusagawa Kiyoshi. She and Ise departed Japan for Singapore in November and returned in February 1945 during Operation Kita
. She was later attacked during the bombing of Kure
by American aircraft from the aircraft carriers , , , , , and from 24–28 July 1945, and her crew ran the ship aground in shallow waters.
She was removed from the Navy List
on 20 November 1945. From 2 July 1946 to 4 July 1947, she was raised and broken up by the Kure Dry-dock of Harima Zosen Yard.
Hyuga Province
was an old province of Japan on the east coast of Kyūshū, corresponding to the modern Miyazaki Prefecture. It was sometimes called or . Hyūga bordered on Bungo, Higo, Ōsumi, and Satsuma Province.The ancient capital was near Saito.-Historical record:...
in Kyūshū
Kyushu
is the third largest island of Japan and most southwesterly of its four main islands. Its alternate ancient names include , , and . The historical regional name is referred to Kyushu and its surrounding islands....
, was an of the Imperial Japanese Navy laid down by Mitsubishi
Mitsubishi
The Mitsubishi Group , Mitsubishi Group of Companies, or Mitsubishi Companies is a Japanese multinational conglomerate company that consists of a range of autonomous businesses which share the Mitsubishi brand, trademark and legacy...
on 6 May 1915, launched on 27 January 1917 and completed on 30 April 1918. She was initially designed as the fourth ship of the , but was heavily redesigned to fix shortcomings. Hyūga was extensively updated and reconstructed from 1926-1928 and 1934-1936.
At the outbreak of the Pacific war, Hyūga was part of the battleship force at the Combined Fleet's anchorage at Hashirajima
Hashirajima
is an island in southern Hiroshima Bay of the Inland Sea, Yamaguchi Prefecture, Japan. Located 26 kilometers southeast of Iwakuni, it is part of the Kutsuna Islands within the Bōyō Islands group....
. On 7 December she sortied for the Bonin Islands, (known in Japan as the Ogasawara Group), along with her sister ship Ise
Japanese battleship Ise
, was the lead ship of the two-vessel Ise-class battleship of the Imperial Japanese Navy, which saw combat service during the Pacific War. Ise was named after Ise Province, one of the traditional provinces of Japan, now part of Mie Prefecture....
of Battle Division 3 and with the Nagato
Japanese battleship Nagato
Nagato was a battleship of the Imperial Japanese Navy; the lead ship of her class. She was the first battleship in the world to mount 16 inch guns, her armour protection and speed made her one of the most powerful capital ships at the time of her commissioning.She was the flagship of Admiral...
and Mutsu
Japanese battleship Mutsu
thumb|right|300px|Mutsu shortly after commissioning in c. 1922Mutsu , named after Mutsu Province, as per Japanese ship naming conventions, was the Imperial Japanese Navy's second Nagato class battleship...
of Battle Division 1 as part of the reserve battle fleet for Operation Z (the attack on Pearl Harbor
Attack on Pearl Harbor
The attack on Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike conducted by the Imperial Japanese Navy against the United States naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on the morning of December 7, 1941...
). The force returned to the Combined Fleet's anchorage at Hashirajima on 12 December 1941 and remained there until a 4 March raid against the Japanese base on Marcus Island (Minami Tori Shima), 1,200 miles off the coast of Japan, by Halsey and his Task Force 16 caused the IJN to sortie out in search of the American raiders. Halsey had steamed away at high speed once he recovered his aircraft and the Japanese were unable to make contact. April saw Halsey return, this time steaming within 650 miles of the Japanese home islands along with the Hornet of Task Force 18 to launch the Doolittle Raid
Doolittle Raid
The Doolittle Raid, on 18 April 1942, was the first air raid by the United States to strike the Japanese Home Islands during World War II. By demonstrating that Japan itself was vulnerable to American air attack, it provided a vital morale boost and opportunity for U.S. retaliation after the...
. Once again Hyūga and the elements of the Combined Fleet sortied in chase, but Halsey and his group slipped away before the IJN could engage him.
In May of 1942 while conducting gunnery practice along with Nagato
Japanese battleship Nagato
Nagato was a battleship of the Imperial Japanese Navy; the lead ship of her class. She was the first battleship in the world to mount 16 inch guns, her armour protection and speed made her one of the most powerful capital ships at the time of her commissioning.She was the flagship of Admiral...
, Mutsu
Japanese battleship Mutsu
thumb|right|300px|Mutsu shortly after commissioning in c. 1922Mutsu , named after Mutsu Province, as per Japanese ship naming conventions, was the Imperial Japanese Navy's second Nagato class battleship...
, and Yamashiro
Japanese battleship Yamashiro
Yamashiro was the Imperial Japanese Navy's second Fusō-class battleship, and was laid down at the Yokosuka Naval Arsenal on November 20, 1913, launched on November 3, 1915, and commissioned on March 31, 1917. She was the first Japanese vessel equipped with aircraft catapults...
, the Hyūga's left gun breach in her No. 5 turret exploded, threatening the explosion of the magazine and the loss of the ship. Fifty-one crew members died in the explosion. The two aft magazines were rapidly flooded to save the ship. She returned to Kure for repairs. The number 5 turret was not replaced. Instead a circular sheet of steel plating was welded over the barbette and four 25mm triple mount antiaircraft guns were fitted in its place. She sortied with the rest of BatDiv2 on May 29, 1942 as a screening force for the Aleutians task force, along with CruDiv9, two light cruisers, twelve destroyers and the fleet oilers.
After the disastrous Battle of Midway
Battle of Midway
The Battle of Midway is widely regarded as the most important naval battle of the Pacific Campaign of World War II. Between 4 and 7 June 1942, approximately one month after the Battle of the Coral Sea and six months after Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor, the United States Navy decisively defeated...
, the Japanese Navy considered plans to convert all battleships besides Yamato
Japanese battleship Yamato
, named after the ancient Japanese Yamato Province, was the lead ship of the Yamato class of battleships that served with the Imperial Japanese Navy during World War II. She and her sister ship, Musashi, were the heaviest and most powerfully armed battleships ever constructed, displacing...
and Musashi
Japanese battleship Musashi
, named after the ancient Japanese Musashi Province, was a battleship of the Imperial Japanese Navy during World War II and flagship of the Japanese Combined Fleet. She was the second ship of the...
into aircraft carrier
Aircraft carrier
An aircraft carrier is a warship designed with a primary mission of deploying and recovering aircraft, acting as a seagoing airbase. Aircraft carriers thus allow a naval force to project air power worldwide without having to depend on local bases for staging aircraft operations...
s. Ultimately, the Navy decided that only the Hyūga and Ise would be converted into hybrid battleship/carriers. Hyūga was reconstructed at the Sasebo Navy Yard from 1 May to 1 October 1943. Hyūga and her sister ship had their two aft 356 mm (14 in) turret
Gun turret
A gun turret is a weapon mount that protects the crew or mechanism of a projectile-firing weapon and at the same time lets the weapon be aimed and fired in many directions.The turret is also a rotating weapon platform...
s (784 t (864.2 ST) each) and barbette
Barbette
A barbette is a protective circular armour feature around a cannon or heavy artillery gun. The name comes from the French phrase en barbette referring to the practice of firing a field gun over a parapet rather than through an opening . The former gives better angles of fire but less protection...
s (730 t (804.7 ST) each) removed. They were replaced by a small flight deck
Flight deck
The flight deck of an aircraft carrier is the surface from which its aircraft take off and land, essentially a miniature airfield at sea. On smaller naval ships which do not have aviation as a primary mission, the landing area for helicopters and other VTOL aircraft is also referred to as the...
and hangar
Hangar
A hangar is a closed structure to hold aircraft or spacecraft in protective storage. Most hangars are built of metal, but other materials such as wood and concrete are also sometimes used...
to launch a squadron of aircraft. To compensate for the weight loss and to preserve metacentric height, the flight deck was covered with 203 mm (8 in) of concrete
Concrete
Concrete is a composite construction material, composed of cement and other cementitious materials such as fly ash and slag cement, aggregate , water and chemical admixtures.The word concrete comes from the Latin word...
. A single elevator
Elevator
An elevator is a type of vertical transport equipment that efficiently moves people or goods between floors of a building, vessel or other structures...
was fitted.
Anti-aircraft
Anti-aircraft warfare
NATO defines air defence as "all measures designed to nullify or reduce the effectiveness of hostile air action." They include ground and air based weapon systems, associated sensor systems, command and control arrangements and passive measures. It may be to protect naval, ground and air forces...
weapons were also added to better fight off aerial attack. Her complement of 14 Yokosuka D4Y
Yokosuka D4Y
The D4Y Navy Type 2 Carrier Dive bomber was operated by the Imperial Japanese Navy. Its Allied reporting name was "Judy". The D4Y was one of the fastest dive-bombers of the war, and only the delays in its development hindered its service, while its predecessor, the slower fixed gear Aichi D3A...
dive bomber
Dive bomber
A dive bomber is a bomber aircraft that dives directly at its targets in order to provide greater accuracy for the bomb it drops. Diving towards the target reduces the distance the bomb has to fall, which is the primary factor in determining the accuracy of the drop...
s and eight Aichi E16A
Aichi E16A
|-See also:-References:NotesBibliography* Francillon, Ph.D., René J. Japanese Aircraft of the Pacific War. London: Putnam & Company Ltd., 1979. ISBN 0-370-30251-6....
seaplane
Seaplane
A seaplane is a fixed-wing aircraft capable of taking off and landing on water. Seaplanes that can also take off and land on airfields are a subclass called amphibian aircraft...
s were catapult
Aircraft catapult
An aircraft catapult is a device used to launch aircraft from ships—in particular aircraft carriers—as a form of assisted take off. It consists of a track built into the flight deck, below which is a large piston or shuttle that is attached through the track to the nose gear of the aircraft, or in...
-launched, but landed either on conventional carriers or land bases. They could also be hoisted back on board by using cranes. Because production of aircraft was severely depleted by then, Hyūga never carried the full complement.
Operation Kita
Operation Kita was conducted by the Imperial Japanese Navy during the Pacific War in February 1945. Its purpose was to return both Ise-class hybrid battleship-aircraft carriers and their escorts to Japan from Singapore, where they had been based since November the previous year...
. She was later attacked during the bombing of Kure
Bombing of Kure (July 1945)
The bombing of Kure and surrounding areas by United States and British naval aircraft in late July 1945 led to the sinking of most of the surviving large warships of the Imperial Japanese Navy . The United States Third Fleet's attacks on Kure Naval Arsenal and nearby ports on 24, 25, and 28 July...
by American aircraft from the aircraft carriers , , , , , and from 24–28 July 1945, and her crew ran the ship aground in shallow waters.
Navy List
A Navy List or Naval Register is an official list of naval officers, their ranks and seniority, the ships which they command or to which they are appointed, etc., that is published by the government or naval authorities of a country....
on 20 November 1945. From 2 July 1946 to 4 July 1947, she was raised and broken up by the Kure Dry-dock of Harima Zosen Yard.
External links
- Maritimequest.com: Ise photo gallery
- IJN Hyūga, World War II Database.
- Hackett, Bob. IJN Hyūga, Combined Fleet.
- Jones, Daniel H. "IJN Ise/Hyuga BBCV," Ship Modeling Mailing List.
- Slade, Stuart. "The Japanese Ise and Hyuga Hybrid Battleship-Carriers." January 27, 1999.
- <<Ise et Hyūga Cuirassé porte-avions,>> 2iemeGuerre.