World War II Database

Contributor: C. Peter Chen

This article refers to the entire Fuso-class; it is not about an individual vessel.

ww2dbaseThe Fuso-class battleships of the Japanese Navy had an unusual turret arrangement: six turrets on each ship, with two turrets forward, two turrets aft, and two turrets amidships separated by funnels. This arrangement gave each turret independence to engage a greater number of targets, but the gains achieved in this respect was concluded to be negligible, especially considering that the two ships, Fuso and Yamashiro, were lengthened, thus becoming more vulnerable to hostile fire. Although they were modernized in the 1930s, they were too slow to function as fast battleships by the time the Pacific War began. As a result, they were kept in Japan, largely taking up training roles. They largely stayed out of combat until Battle of Surigao Strait in Oct 1944, in which engagement they were both sunk.

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