Fusō was also given torpedo bulges to improve her underwater protection and to compensate for the weight of the additional armor and equipment. Her rear superstructure was rebuilt to accommodate mounts for 127-millimeter (5 in) anti-aircraft (AA) guns and additional fire-control directors. ĭuring the ship's first modernization during 1930–1933, her forward superstructure was enlarged with multiple platforms added to her tripod foremast. During World War II, the crew probably totalled around 1,800–1,900 men. Her crew consisted of 1,198 officers and enlisted men in 1915 and 1,396 in 1935. Fusō displaced 29,326 long tons (29,797 t) at standard load and 35,900 long tons (36,500 t) at full load. She had a beam of 28.7 meters (94 ft 2 in) and a draft of 8.7 meters (29 ft). The ship had a length of 192.1 meters (630 ft 3 in) between perpendiculars and 202.7 meters (665 ft) overall. Of the few dozen crewmen who escaped, only 10 survived to return to Japan. Some reports claimed Fusō broke in half, and that both halves remained afloat and burning for an hour according to survivors' accounts, however, the ship sank after 40 minutes of flooding and caught fire when her fuel bunkers spilled open. She was sunk in the early hours of 25 October 1944 by torpedoes and naval gunfire during the Battle of Surigao Strait. With only 14-inch (356 mm) guns, she was outclassed by other Japanese battleships at the beginning of World War II, and played auxiliary roles for most of the war.įusō was part of Vice-Admiral Shōji Nishimura's Southern Force at the Battle of Leyte Gulf. In 1923, she assisted survivors of the Great Kantō earthquake.įusō was modernized in 1930–1935 and again in 1937–1941, with improvements to her armor and propulsion machinery and a rebuilt superstructure in the pagoda mast style. Launched in 1914 and commissioned in 1915, she initially patrolled off the coast of China, playing no part in World War I. 8 × triple, 6 × twin, 23 × single 25 mm (1 in) AA gunsįusō ( 扶桑, a classical name for Japan) was the lead ship of the two Fusō-class dreadnought battleships built for the Imperial Japanese Navy.Sunk during the Battle of Surigao Strait, 25 October 1944
Fusō undergoing trials on after a major refit
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