Japan

For centuries, Japan's policy of seclusion (sakoku) saw it concentrate on coastal defences in order to repel foreign vessels. However, with the advances other maritime nations were making, it eventually became obvious that no…

A naval dive bomber with many similarities to the German Ju 87 Stuka, the Val was armed with two fixed forward machineguns and two rear trainable ones. It carried a crew of two and a light bomb load. Used in the anti-shipping…

Furutaka was the lead of her two-ship class of heavy cruiser. She was named for the mountain located on the island of Etajima, off Hiroshima bay, directly behind the Imperial Japanese Navy Academy.

She participated in the Battle…

Kumano was of the Mogami-class, which consisted of four heavy cruisers which served in the Imperial Japanese Navy. These were exceptionally large for light cruisers, but were constructed in such a manner as to obey the Washington…

The second of the four Mogami class heavy cruisers, Mikuma was completed in 1935 but quickly underwent refits to replace her main turrets with twin 203 mm guns. Her former weapons, triple 155mm guns went to Yamato. Early in her…

The Mitsubishi A6M Zero was a fast, modern fighter, but had no armour for the pilot. When the Zero was in the hands of aggressive and well-trained pilots this weakness was rarely apparent. The A6-M5 model Zero featured improved…

Mogami was the lead ship of her class, which consisted of four heavy cruisers which served in the Imperial Japanese Navy. These were exceptionally large for light cruisers, but were constructed in such a manner as to obey the…

The heavy cruiser, Suzuya, is believed to be one of the deepest shipwrecks on record at (a yet) unconfirmed 27,600 feet. She met her fate at the Battle of Leyte Gulf when she was beset upon by carrier-based aircraft – a torpedo…

Yahagi was the third of the Agano class of light cruiser, intended to be the flagship of a destroyer flotilla. She was completed in December 1943. She participated in the Battles of the Philippine and Leyte Gulf and remained…

Kongō (金剛, “Indestructible Diamond”), named for the mountain, was the first battleship of her class, serving in both the first and second world wars. At the time of construction in the early 1910s she was a capital ship…

Yamato (大和, "Great Harmony") and her sister ship, Musashi, were constructed shortly before the outbreak of World War II. They were the heaviest and most powerfully armed battleships ever constructed; armed with nine 18.1”…

Originally laid down as an Amagi-class battlecruiser, the stipulations of the Washington Treaty resulted in her conversion to an aircraft carrier. As a result, Akagi (赤城, "Red Castle") was one of Japan’s first large aircraft…

Zuikaku ( 瑞鶴 “Auspicious Crane”), a Shōkaku-class aircraft carrier, along with her sister ship, were the most successful carriers operated by the Japanese Navy during WW2. The Japanese had learnt many lessons prior to her…

Described as the world’s first “modern” destroyer, twenty-four of the class served in the Imperial Japanese Navy. They were built between 1926 and 1933, and despite being decidedly older than some of their adversaries, they…

Essentially an enlarged Fubuki-class, the Kagerō-class hull design was scaled up to overcome earlier design deficiencies. As a result, the Kagerō-class was the equal of any of its contemporaries in other navies and superior to…