Lewin of Greenwich Naval History & Forum

NAGATO: "smoke em if ya got them"! Whew........talk about air pollution........ DFO

Lead Ship, Dreadnought Battleship Nagato pictured during sea trials off Kure Naval Arsenal on October 27th 1920.

NAGATO postwar, all but a hulk! DFO

Nagato Class Dreadnought Battleship Mutsu pictured off Sasebo Naval Arsenal on November 4th 1922.

Here is MUTSU in a photo dated 1925. All 8-16.1" ready to take on the USN as it plowed ever westward over the Pacific per Plan Orange!! Note the modified forward funnel also illustrated in a view on board NAGATO. DFO

Nagato Class Dreadnought Battleship Mutsu pictured during her major reconstruction refit at Yokosuka Naval Arsenal on June 20th 1936..This was completed on September 30th 1936 and Mutsu rejoined the 1st Battleship Division on December 1st 1936. In August 1937, she transported 2,000 men of the 11th Infantry Division to Shanghai during the Second Sino-Japanese War..On June 8th 1943, Mutsu was moored in the Hashirajima fleet anchorage, with 113 flying cadets and 40 instructors from the Tsuchiura Naval Air Group aboard for familiarisation. At 12:13 the magazine of her No. 3 turret exploded, destroying the adjacent structure of the ship and cutting her in two. A massive influx of water into the machinery spaces caused the 490 ft forward section of the ship to capsize to starboard and sink almost immediately. The 148 ft stern section upended and remained floating until about 02:00 hours on June 9th before sinking, coming to rest a few hundred feet south of the main wreck...The nearby Fusō immediately launched two boats which, together with the Destroyers Tamanami and Wakatsuki and the Cruisers Tatsuta and Mogami, rescued 353 survivors from the 1,474 crew members and visitors aboard Mutsu; 1,121 men were killed in the explosion. Only 13 of the visiting aviators were among the survivors.

Lead Ship, Dreadnought Battleship Nagato pictured at Kure Naval Arsenal in November 1920..*Note by this time her Torpedo Nets had been removed.

Nagato Class Dreadnought Battleship Mutsu pictured in the mist at Sasebo Naval Arsenal on January 25th 1935, prior to her major reconstruction refit.

Here is the breech of one of NAGATO's 16.1" Used in combat once off Samar, wow....what a ROI! DFO

Nagato Class Dreadnought Battleship Mutsu pictured at Yokosuka Naval Arsenal on January 30th 1937, post her major reconstruction refit.