Japanese battleship Yamashiro

The ship had a length of 192.1 meters (630 ft 3 in) between perpendiculars and 202.7 meters (665 ft) overall. She had a beam of 28.7 meters (94 ft 2 in) and a draft of 8.7 meters (29 ft).^[1] Yamashiro displaced 29,326 long tons (29,797 t) at standard load and 35,900 long tons (36,500 t) at full load. Her crew consisted of 1,198 officers and enlisted men in 1915 and about 1,400 in 1935.^[2]

During the ship's modernization during 1930–35, her forward superstructure was enlarged with multiple platforms added to her tripod foremast. Her rear superstructure was rebuilt to accommodate mounts for 127-millimeter (5 in) anti-aircraft (AA) guns and additional fire-control directors. Yamashiro was also given torpedo bulges to improve her underwater protection and to compensate for the weight of the additional armor. In addition, her stern was lengthened by 7.62 meters (25 ft). These changes increased her overall length to 212.75 m (698 ft), her beam to 33.1 m (108 ft 7 in) and her draft to 9.69 meters (31 ft 9 in). Her displacement increased nearly 4,000 long tons (4,100 t) to 39,154 long tons (39,782 t) at deep load.^[2]

Propulsion

The ship had two sets of Brown-Curtis direct-drive steam turbines, each of which drove two propeller shafts. The turbines were designed to produce a total of 40,000 shaft horsepower (30,000 kW), using steam provided by 24 Miyahara-type water-tube boilers, each of which consumed a mixture of coal and oil. Yamashiro had a stowage capacity of 4,000 long tons (4,100 t) of coal and 1,000 long tons (1,000 t) of fuel oil,^[3] giving her a range of 8,000 nautical miles (15,000 km; 9,200 mi) at a speed of 14 knots (26 km/h; 16 mph). The ship exceeded her designed speed of 22.5 knots (41.7 km/h; 25.9 mph) during her sea trials, reaching 23.3 knots (43.2 km/h; 26.8 mph) at 47,730 shp (35,590 kW).^[4]

During her modernization, the Miyahara boilers were replaced by six new Kanpon oil-fired boilers fitted in the former aft boiler room, and the forward funnel was removed. The Brown-Curtis turbines were replaced by four geared Kanpon turbines with a designed output of 75,000 shp (56,000 kW). On her trials, Yamashiro's sister ship Fusō reached a top speed of 24.7 knots (45.7 km/h; 28.4 mph) from 76,889 shp (57,336 kW).^[1] The fuel storage of the ship was increased to a total of 5,100 long tons (5,200 t) of fuel oil that gave her a range of 11,800 nautical miles (21,900 km; 13,600 mi) at a speed of 16 knots (30 km/h; 18 mph).^[3]

Armament

The twelve 45-calibre 14-inch guns of Yamashiro were mounted in six twin-gun turrets, numbered one through six from front to rear, each with an elevation range of −5 to +30 degrees.^[5] The turrets were arranged in an unorthodox 2-1-1-2 style with superfiring pairs of turrets fore and aft; the middle turrets were not superfiring, and had a funnel between them. The main guns and their turrets were modernized during the ship's 1930 reconstruction; the maximum elevation of the main guns was increased to +43 degrees, increasing their maximum range from 25,420 to 32,420 metres (27,800 to 35,450 yd). Initially, the guns could fire at a rate of 1.5 rounds per minute, and this was also improved during her first modernization.^[5]

Originally, Yamashiro was fitted with a secondary armament of sixteen 50-caliber 6-inch guns mounted in casemates on the upper sides of the hull. Each gun could fire a high-explosive projectile to a maximum range of 22,970 yards (21,000 m)^[6] at up to six shots per minute.^[7] She was later fitted with six high-angle 40-caliber three-inch AA guns, in single mounts on both sides of the forward superstructure and both sides of the second funnel, as well as on both sides of the aft superstructure.^[1] These guns had a maximum elevation of +75 degrees, and could fire a 5.99-kilogram (13.2 lb) shell at a rate of 13 to 20 rounds per minute to a maximum height of 7,200 meters (23,600 ft).^[8] The ship was also fitted with six submerged 533-millimeter (21.0 in) torpedo tubes, three on each broadside.^[9]

Yamashiro and the aircraft carrier Kaga in Kobe Bay, October 1930

During Yamashiro's modernization in the early 1930s, all six three-inch guns were removed and replaced with eight 40-caliber 127-millimeter dual-purpose guns, fitted on both sides of the fore and aft superstructures in four twin-gun mounts.^[10] When firing at surface targets, the guns had a range of 14,700 meters (16,100 yd); they had a maximum ceiling of 9,440 meters (30,970 ft) at their maximum elevation of +90 degrees. Their maximum rate of fire was 14 rounds a minute, but their sustained rate of fire was around eight rounds per minute.^[11]

The improvements made during the reconstruction increased Yamashiro's draft by 1 meter (3 ft 3 in); the two foremost six-inch guns were removed, as the same guns on her sister ship Fusō had gotten soaked in high seas after that ship's reconstruction. The ship's light-AA armament was augmented by eight 25 mm Type 96 light AA guns in twin-gun mounts. Four of these mounts were fitted on the forward superstructure, one on each side of the funnel and two on the rear superstructure.^[9] This was the standard Japanese light-AA gun during World War II, but it suffered from severe design shortcomings that rendered it a largely ineffective weapon. According to historian Mark Stille, the twin and triple mounts "lacked sufficient speed in train or elevation; the gun sights were unable to handle fast targets; the gun exhibited excessive vibration; the magazine was too small, and, finally, the gun produced excessive muzzle blast".^[12] The configuration of the AA guns varied significantly over time; in 1943, 17 single and two twin-mounts were added for a total of 37.^[13] In July 1944, the ship was fitted with another 17 single, 15 twin and eight triple-mounts, for a total of 92 anti-aircraft guns in her final configuration.^[14] The 25-millimeter (0.98 in) gun had an effective range of 1,500–3,000 meters (1,600–3,300 yd), and an effective ceiling of 5,500 meters (18,000 ft) at an elevation of 85 degrees. The maximum effective rate of fire was only between 110 and 120 rounds per minute because of the frequent need to change the fifteen-round magazines.^[15]

Also in July 1944, the ship was provided with three twin-gun and 10 single mounts for the license-built 13.2 mm Hotchkiss machine gun.^[14] The maximum range of these guns was 6,500 meters (7,100 yd), but the effective range against aircraft was only 1,000 meters (1,100 yd). The cyclic rate was adjustable between 425 and 475 rounds per minute, but the need to change 30-round magazines reduced the effective rate to 250 rounds per minute.^[16]

Armor

The ship's waterline armor belt was 229 to 305 millimeters (9 to 12 in) thick; below it was a strake of 102 mm (4 in) armor. The deck armor ranged in thickness from 32 to 51 mm (1.3 to 2.0 in). The turrets were protected with an armor thickness of 279.4 mm (11.0 in) on the face, 228.6 mm (9.0 in) on the sides, and 114.5 mm (4.51 in) on the roof. The barbettes of the turrets were protected by armor 305 mm thick, while the casemates of the 152 mm guns were protected by 152 mm armor plates. The sides of the conning tower were 351 millimeters (13.8 in) thick. Additionally, the vessel contained 737 watertight compartments (574 underneath the armor deck, 163 above) to preserve buoyancy in the event of battle damage.^[17]

During her first reconstruction Yamashiro's armor was substantially upgraded. The deck armor was increased to a maximum thickness of 114 mm (4.5 in). A longitudinal bulkhead of 76 mm (3.0 in) of high-tensile steel was added to improve the underwater protection.^[18]

Aircraft

A Sparrowhawk taking off in 1922

Yamashiro was briefly fitted with an aircraft flying-off platform on Turret No. 2 in 1922. She successfully launched Gloster Sparrowhawk and Sopwith Camel fighters from it, the first Japanese ship to do so. During her modernization in the 1930s, a catapult and a collapsible crane were fitted on the stern, and the ship was equipped to operate three floatplanes, although no hangar was provided. The initial Nakajima E4N2 biplanes were replaced by Nakajima E8N2 biplanes in 1938 and then by Mitsubishi F1M biplanes, from 1942 on.^[19]

Fire control and sensors

The ship was originally fitted with two 3.5-meter (11 ft 6 in) and two 1.5-meter (4 ft 11 in) rangefinders in her forward superstructure, a 4.5-meter (14 ft 9 in) rangefinder on the roof of Turret No. 2, and 4.5-meter rangefinders in Turrets 3, 4, and 5.^[20]

While in drydock in July 1943, a Type 21 air search radar was installed on the roof of the 10-meter rangefinder at the top of the pagoda mast. In August 1944, two Type 22 surface search radar units were installed on the pagoda mast and two Type 13 early warning radar units were fitted on her mainmast.^[14]

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Length between perpendiculars

Length between perpendiculars

Length between perpendiculars is the length of a ship along the summer load line from the forward surface of the stem, or main bow perpendicular member, to the after surface of the sternpost, or main stern perpendicular member. When there is no sternpost, the centerline axis of the rudder stock is used as the aft end of the length between perpendiculars.

Length overall

Length overall

Length overall is the maximum length of a vessel's hull measured parallel to the waterline. This length is important while docking the ship. It is the most commonly used way of expressing the size of a ship, and is also used for calculating the cost of a marina berth.

Beam (nautical)

Beam (nautical)

The beam of a ship is its width at its widest point. The maximum beam (BMAX) is the distance between planes passing through the outer extremities of the ship, beam of the hull (BH) only includes permanently fixed parts of the hull, and beam at waterline (BWL) is the maximum width where the hull intersects the surface of the water.

Displacement (ship)

Displacement (ship)

The displacement or displacement tonnage of a ship is its weight. As the term indicates, it is measured indirectly, using Archimedes' principle, by first calculating the volume of water displaced by the ship, then converting that value into weight. Traditionally, various measurement rules have been in use, giving various measures in long tons. Today, tonnes are more commonly used.

Long ton

Long ton

The long ton, also known as the imperial ton or displacement ton, is the name for the unit called the "ton" in the avoirdupois system of weights or Imperial system of measurements. It was standardised in the 13th century. It is used in the United Kingdom and several other Commonwealth of Nations countries alongside the mass-based metric tonne defined in 1799, as well as in the United States for bulk commodities.

Tonne

Tonne

The tonne is a unit of mass equal to 1000 kilograms. It is a non-SI unit accepted for use with SI. It is also referred to as a metric ton to distinguish it from the non-metric units of the short ton, and the long ton. It is equivalent to approximately 2204.6 pounds, 1.102 short tons, and 0.984 long tons. The official SI unit is the megagram, a less common way to express the same mass.

Steam turbine

Steam turbine

A steam turbine is a machine that extracts thermal energy from pressurized steam and uses it to do mechanical work on a rotating output shaft. Its modern manifestation was invented by Charles Parsons in 1884. Fabrication of a modern steam turbine involves advanced metalwork to form high-grade steel alloys into precision parts using technologies that first became available in the 20th century; continued advances in durability and efficiency of steam turbines remains central to the energy economics of the 21st century.

Water-tube boiler

Water-tube boiler

A high pressure watertube boiler is a type of boiler in which water circulates in tubes heated externally by the fire. Fuel is burned inside the furnace, creating hot gas which boils water in the steam-generating tubes. In smaller boilers, additional generating tubes are separate in the furnace, while larger utility boilers rely on the water-filled tubes that make up the walls of the furnace to generate steam.

Fuel oil

Fuel oil

Fuel oil is any of various fractions obtained from the distillation of petroleum. Such oils include distillates and residues. Fuel oils include heavy fuel oil, marine fuel oil (MFO), bunker fuel, furnace oil (FO), gas oil (gasoil), heating oils, diesel fuel and others.

Nautical mile

Nautical mile

A nautical mile is a unit of length used in air, marine, and space navigation, and for the definition of territorial waters. Historically, it was defined as the meridian arc length corresponding to one minute of latitude. Today the international nautical mile is defined as exactly 1,852 metres. The derived unit of speed is the knot, one nautical mile per hour.

Knot (unit)

Knot (unit)

The knot is a unit of speed equal to one nautical mile per hour, exactly 1.852 km/h. The ISO standard symbol for the knot is kn. The same symbol is preferred by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), while kt is also common, especially in aviation, where it is the form recommended by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO). The knot is a non-SI unit. The knot is used in meteorology, and in maritime and air navigation. A vessel travelling at 1 knot along a meridian travels approximately one minute of geographic latitude in one hour.

Yamashiro testing her torpedo nets at Yokosuka in 1917

Yamashiro, named for Yamashiro Province, the former province of Kyoto,^[21] was laid down at the Yokosuka Naval Arsenal on 20 November 1913 and launched on 3 November 1915. She was completed on 31 March 1917 with Captain Suketomo Nakajima in command,^[14] and was assigned to the 1st Division of the 1st Fleet in 1917–1918. She did not take part in any combat during World War I, as there were no longer any forces of the Central Powers in East Asia by the time she was completed,^[22] but she did patrol off the coast of China briefly during the war. On 29 March 1922, a Gloster Sparrowhawk fighter successfully took off from the ship. She aided survivors of the 1923 Great Kantō earthquake in September 1923. Little detailed information is available about Yamashiro's activities during the 1920s, although she did make a port visit to Ryojun Guard District, in Manchuria, on 5 April 1925 and also conducted training off the coast of China.^[14]

The ship's reconstruction began on 18 December 1930 at the Yokosuka Naval Arsenal where her machinery was replaced, her armor was reinforced, and torpedo bulges were fitted. Yamashiro's armament was also upgraded and her torpedo tubes were removed. Captain Chuichi Nagumo assumed command of the ship on 15 November 1934, her modernization was completed on 30 March 1935, and she became flagship of the Combined Fleet. Captain Masakichi Okuma relieved Nagumo on 15 November and he, in turn, was replaced by Captain Masami Kobayashi on 1 December 1936. Yamashiro began a lengthy refit on 27 June 1937 and Captain Kasuke Abe assumed command on 20 October. Her refit was completed on 31 March 1938 and Captain Kakuji Kakuta relieved Abe on 15 November. In early 1941, the ship experimentally launched radio-controlled Kawanishi E7K2 floatplanes. Captain Chozaemon Obata assumed command on 24 May 1941 and Yamashiro was assigned to the 1st Fleet's 2nd Division,^{[Note 1]} consisting of the two Fusō-class and the two Ise-class battleships.^[14]

World War II

Yamashiro and her sister ship Fusō spent most of the war around Japan, mostly at the anchorage at Hashirajima in Hiroshima Bay.^[13] When the war started for Japan on 8 December,^{[Note 2]} the division, reinforced by the battleships Nagato and Mutsu and the light carrier Hōshō, sortied from Hashirajima to the Bonin Islands as distant support for the 1st Air Fleet attacking Pearl Harbor, and returned six days later.^[14] On 18 April 1942, Yamashiro chased the Doolittle Raider force that had just launched an air raid on Tokyo, but returned four days later without having made contact.^[23] On 28 May, she set sail, commanded by Captain Gunji Kogure, with the rest of the 2nd Battleship Division and the Aleutian Support Group at the same time most of the Imperial Fleet began an attack on Midway Island (Operation MI).^[24][25] Commanded by Vice-Admiral Shirō Takasu, the division was composed of Japan's four oldest battleships, including Yamashiro, accompanied by two light cruisers, 12 destroyers, and two oilers. Official records do not show the squadron as part of the larger Midway operation, known as Operation AL; they were to accompany the fleet under Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto, but were only to provide support to the Aleutian task force if needed.^[26] They were not needed, and Yamashiro returned to home waters where she was employed mostly for training duties, in the Inland Sea till 1 February 1943 and at Yokosuka until September, when she became a training ship for midshipmen.^[13][23]

In an effort to replace the aircraft carriers lost at the Battle of Midway, the Navy made plans to convert the two Fusō-class ships to hybrid battleship/carriers, but the two Ise-class battleships were chosen instead. In July 1943, Yamashiro was at the Yokosuka drydock for fitting of a radar and additional 25 mm AA guns. The ship was briefly assigned as a training ship on 15 September before loading troops on 13 October bound for Truk Naval Base, arriving with the battleship Ise on the 20th. The two battleships sailed for Japan, accompanied by the carriers Jun'yō and Unyō, on 31 October.^[14] On 8 November, the submarine USS Halibut fired torpedoes at Jun'yo that missed, but hit Yamashiro with a torpedo that failed to detonate.^[27] Yamashiro resumed her training duties in Japan, and Captain Yoshioki Tawara assumed command. He was promoted to rear admiral on 1 May, but died of natural causes four days later,^[14] and Captain Katsukiyo Shinoda was appointed to replace him.^[28]

During the US invasion of Saipan in June 1944, Japanese troop ships attempting to reinforce the defenses were sunk by submarines. Shigenori Kami, chief of operations of the Navy Staff, volunteered to command Yamashiro to carry troops and equipment to Saipan. If the ship actually reached the island, he intended to deliberately beach the ship before it could be sunk and to use its artillery to defend the island. After Ryūnosuke Kusaka, Chief of Staff of the Combined Fleet, also volunteered to go, Prime Minister Hideki Tōjō approved the plan, known as Operation Y-GO, but the operation was cancelled after the decisive defeat in the Battle of the Philippine Sea on 19 and 20 June.^[29]

The ship was refitted in July at Yokosuka, where additional radar systems and light AA guns were fitted. Yamashiro and her sister ship were transferred to Battleship Division 2 of the 2nd Fleet on 10 September. The ship briefly became the division's flagship under Vice Admiral Shōji Nishimura until 23 September when he transferred his flag to Fusō. They departed Kure on 23 September for Lingga Island, carrying the Army's 25th Independent Mixed Regiment, and escaped an attack by the submarine Plaice the next day. They arrived on 4 October, where Nishimura transferred his flag back to Yamashiro. The ships then transferred to Brunei to offload their toops and refuel in preparation for Operation Shō-Gō, the attempt to destroy the American fleet conducting the invasion of Leyte.^[14]

Battle of Surigao Strait

The Battle of Surigao Strait

As flagship of Nishimura's Southern Force, Yamashiro left Brunei at 15:30 on 22 October 1944, heading east into the Sulu Sea and then to the northeast into the Mindanao Sea. Intending to join Vice-Admiral Takeo Kurita's force in Leyte Gulf, they passed west of Mindanao Island into Surigao Strait, where they met a large force of battleships and cruisers lying in wait. The Battle of Surigao Strait would become the southernmost action in the Battle of Leyte Gulf.^[30]

At 09:08 on 24 October, Yamashiro, Fusō and the heavy cruiser Mogami were spotted by a group of 27 planes, including Grumman TBF Avenger torpedo bombers and Curtiss SB2C Helldiver dive bombers escorted by Grumman F6F Hellcat fighters, coming from the carrier Enterprise.^[31] Around 20 sailors on Yamashiro were killed by strafing and rocket attacks, and the ship listed by almost 15 degrees after a bomb's near miss damaged the hull and flooded the starboard bilge, until counter-flooding in the port bilge righted the ship.^[32]

Nishimura issued a telegram to Admiral Soemu Toyoda at 20:13: "It is my plan to charge into Leyte Gulf to [reach] a point off Dulag at 04:00 hours on the 25th."^[33] At 22:52, his force opened fire, damaging PT 130 and PT 152 and forcing them to retreat before they could launch their torpedoes.^[34] Three American destroyers launched torpedoes at 03:00 that morning, hitting Fusō at 03:08 and forcing her to fall out of formation. Yamashiro opened fire with her secondary battery seven minutes later.^[35] Around 03:11, the destroyers Monssen and Killen fired their torpedoes, one or two of which hit Yamashiro amidships. The resulting damage temporarily slowed the ship down, gave her a list to port and forced the flooding of the magazines for the two aft turrets. Yamashiro may have been hit a third time near the bow at 03:40.^[36]

At 03:52, the battleship was attacked by a large formation to the north commanded by Rear Admiral Jesse Oldendorf. First came 6- and 8-inch (200 mm) shells from three heavy cruisers, Louisville, Portland, and Minneapolis, and four light cruisers, Denver, Columbia, Phoenix and Boise.^[37] Six battleships formed a battle line; the Pearl Harbor veteran West Virginia was the first to open fire a minute later, scoring at least one hit with 16-inch (410 mm) shells in the first 20,800-meter (22,700 yd) salvo,^[38] followed by Tennessee and California. Hampered by older radar equipment, Maryland joined the fight late, Pennsylvania never fired,^[39] and Mississippi managed to fire exactly one salvo—the last of the engagement. The Australian heavy cruiser HMAS Shropshire also had radar problems and did not begin firing until 03:56.^[40]

The main bombardment lasted 18 minutes, and Yamashiro was the only target for seven of them.^[41] The first rounds hit the forecastle and pagoda mast, and soon the entire battleship appeared to be ablaze. Yamashiro's two forward turrets targeted her assailants, and the secondary armament targeted the American destroyers plaguing Mogami and the destroyer Asagumo.^[42] The ship continued firing in all directions, but was not able to target the battleships with the other four operable 14-inch guns of her amidships turrets until almost 04:00, after turning west.^[43] There was a big explosion at 04:04, possibly from one of the middle turrets. Yamashiro increased her firing rate between 04:03 and 04:09, despite the widespread fires and damage, and was hit during this time near the starboard engine room by a torpedo. By 04:09, her speed was back up to 12 knots, and Nishimura wired to Kurita: "We proceed till totally annihilated. I have definitely accomplished my mission as pre-arranged. Please rest assured."^[44] At the same time, Oldendorf issued a brief cease-fire order to the entire formation after hearing that the destroyer Albert W. Grant was taking friendly fire, and the Japanese ships also ceased fire.^[45]

Yamashiro increased speed to 15 knots in an attempt to escape the trap,^[45] but she had already been hit by two to four torpedoes, and after two more torpedo hits near the starboard engine room, she was listing 45 degrees to port. Shinoda gave the command to abandon ship, but neither he nor Nishimura made any attempt to leave the conning tower as the ship capsized within five minutes and quickly sank, stern first, vanishing from radar between 04:19 and 04:21.^[46] Only 10 crewmembers of the estimated 1,636 officers and crew on board survived, many of whom refused rescue.^[47]

Wreck

John Bennett claimed to have discovered Yamashiro's wreck in April 2001, but confirmation of the wreck's identity could not be made.^[48] On 25 November 2017, Paul Allen and his crew aboard the research ship RV Petrel, discovered the wreck of Yamashiro and confirmed her identity. The ship was found upside down and mostly intact, with the bow folded back over the hull.^[49]

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Kyoto

Kyoto

Kyoto, officially Kyoto City , is the capital city of Kyoto Prefecture in Japan. Located in the Kansai region on the island of Honshu, Kyoto forms a part of the Keihanshin metropolitan area along with Osaka and Kobe. As of 2020, the city had a population of 1.46 million. The city is the cultural anchor of a substantially larger metropolitan area known as Greater Kyoto, a metropolitan statistical area (MSA) home to a census-estimated 3.8 million people.

Keel laying

Keel laying

Laying the keel or laying down is the formal recognition of the start of a ship's construction. It is often marked with a ceremony attended by dignitaries from the shipbuilding company and the ultimate owners of the ship.

Captain (naval)

Captain (naval)

Captain is the name most often given in English-speaking navies to the rank corresponding to command of the largest ships. The rank is equal to the army rank of colonel and air force rank of group captain.

1st Fleet (Imperial Japanese Navy)

1st Fleet (Imperial Japanese Navy)

The 1st Fleet was the main battleship fleet of the Imperial Japanese Navy.

Central Powers

Central Powers

The Central Powers, also known as the Central Empires, was one of the two main coalitions that fought in World War I (1914–1918). It consisted of the German Empire, Austria-Hungary, the Ottoman Empire, and the Kingdom of Bulgaria and was also known as the Quadruple Alliance.

Manchuria

Manchuria

Manchuria is an exonym for a historical and geographic region in Northeast Asia encompassing the entirety of present-day Northeast China and parts of the Russian Far East. Its meaning may vary depending on the context:Historical polities and geographical regions usually referred to as Manchuria: The Later Jin (1616–1636), the Manchu-led dynasty which renamed itself from "Jin" to "Qing", and the ethnicity from "Jurchen" to "Manchu" in 1636 the subsequent duration of the Qing dynasty prior to its conquest of China proper (1644) the northeastern region of Qing dynasty China, the homeland of Manchus, known as "Guandong" or "Guanwai" during the Qing dynasty The region of Northeast Asia that served as the historical homeland of the Jurchens and later their descendants the Manchus Qing control of Dauria was contested in 1643 when Russians entered; the ensuing Sino-Russian border conflicts ended when Russia agreed to withdraw in the 1689 Treaty of Nerchinsk controlled in whole by Qing dynasty China until the Amur Annexation of Outer Manchuria by Russia in 1858–1860 controlled as a whole by the Russian Empire after the Russian invasion of Manchuria in 1900 until the Russo-Japanese War and the Treaty of Portsmouth in 1905, which required Russian withdrawal. controlled by Qing China again, and reorganised in 1907 under the Viceroy of the Three Northeast Provinces controlled by the Republic of China (1912–1949) after the 1911 revolution controlled by the Fengtian clique lead by Zhang Zuolin from 1917 to 1928, until the military Northern Expedition and the Northeast Flag Replacement brought it under control the Republic of China again controlled by Imperial Japan as the puppet state of Manchukuo, often translated as "Manchuria", (1932–1945). Formed after the Japanese invasion of Manchuria, it included all of Northeast China, the northern fringes of present-day Hebei Province, and the eastern part of Inner Mongolia. briefly entirely controlled by the USSR after the Soviet invasion of Manchuria in 1945, but then divided with China Modern Northeast China, specifically the three provinces of Heilongjiang, Jilin, and Liaoning, but broadly also including the eastern Inner Mongolian prefectures of Hulunbuir, Hinggan, Tongliao, and Chifeng, and sometimes Xilin Gol Areas of the modern Russian Federation also known as Outer Manchuria. The two areas involved are Priamurye between the Amur River and the Stanovoy Range to the north, and Primorye which runs down the coast from the Amur mouth to the Korean border, including the island of Sakhalin

Kakuji Kakuta

Kakuji Kakuta

Kakuji Kakuta , was an admiral in the Imperial Japanese Navy during World War II. He is noted for his role in commanding Japanese naval aviation units in the Pacific War.

Kawanishi E7K

Kawanishi E7K

The Kawanishi E7K was a Japanese three-seat reconnaissance seaplane mainly in use during the 1930s. It was allocated the reporting name Alf by the Allies of World War II.

Ise-class battleship

Ise-class battleship

The Ise-class battleships were a pair of dreadnought battleships built for the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) during World War I. Both ships carried supplies for the survivors of the Great Kantō earthquake in 1923. They were modernized in 1934–1937 with improvements to their armour and machinery and a rebuilt superstructure in the pagoda mast style. Afterwards they played a minor role in the Second Sino-Japanese War.

Battleship

Battleship

A battleship is a large armored warship with a main battery consisting of large caliber guns. It dominated naval warfare in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

Japanese battleship Nagato

Japanese battleship Nagato

Nagato (長門), named for Nagato Province, was a super-dreadnought battleship built for the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN). Completed in 1920 as the lead ship of her class, she carried supplies for the survivors of the Great Kantō earthquake in 1923. The ship was modernized in 1934–1936 with improvements to her armor and machinery and a rebuilt superstructure in the pagoda mast style. Nagato briefly participated in the Second Sino-Japanese War in 1937 and was the flagship of Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto during the attack on Pearl Harbor. She covered the withdrawal of the attacking ships and did not participate in the attack itself.

Japanese battleship Mutsu

Japanese battleship Mutsu

Mutsu (陸奥) was the second and last Nagato-class dreadnought battleship built for the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) at the end of World War I. It was named after the province. In 1923 she carried supplies for the survivors of the Great Kantō earthquake. The ship was modernized in 1934–1936 with improvements to her armour and machinery, and a rebuilt superstructure in the pagoda mast style.