Battleships - Japan: Books - History and Ships

Imperial Japanese Navy Battleships 1941-45 (Osprey)

The Imperial Japanese Navy of World War II surpassed the Allied and Axis fleets in innovation and technology.

This title covers the 12 Japanese battleships that saw service between 1941 and 1945, including the mighty Yamato. Each class is considered in light of its design and construction, its armament and wartime modifications.
The author, Mark Stille, uses primary sources and dramatic photographs to tell the story of these mighty battleships at war, including their major engagements during the raid at Pearl Harbor and the battle of Midway.

Contents:
Introduction - Kongo Class - Fuso Class - Ise Class - Nagato Class - Yamato Class - Japanese Battleships at War - Conclusion - Bibliography - Color Plate Commentary - Index.

Japanese Battleships 1897-1945 : A Photographic Archive

This photographic archive contains some 125 stunning images of the battleships of the Imperial Japanese Navy, many unfamiliar, some very rare. They constitute an archive that is pretty much without equal in publications in the West.
The period covered is from the launch of Japan's first real contemporary battleship, Yashima, built by Armstrong's on the Tyne, up the final destruction of her fleet in the Pacific in 1945.
During that time Japan built up the third largest navy in the world and, before the First World War, it was Britain that armed her at sea. All her dreadnoughts saw action the the Second World War, and of all these numerous ships only Nagato survived the conflict. She was to become a target in the Bikini A-bomb tests in 1946.

Just as the ships were lost, so were the majority of photographic records, and relatively few images have come down to us. This selection from R A Burt's archive, represents therefore a remarkable portrayal of these ships, and the large format of the book combined with the quality of many of the images ensures that it offers the reader maximum detail and visual impact. Extended captions and ship specifications enhance its reference value and it is destined to become a 'must-have' volume for enthusiasts and modellers and for all those with an interest in the Second World.

Russian Battleship vs Japanese Battleship - Yellow Sea 1904-05 (Osprey)

The first major clash between a European and Asian state in the modern era signalled the beginning of Japan's rise as a major power on the world stage. Watched by the rest of the world's superpowers, this incredibly violent war was disastrous for the Russians who, despite their superior numbers, were defeated by the Japanese underdogs in a spectacular fashion. The key technical elements of firepower, protection, maneuverability and communications for each side are covered in detail and accompanied by first-hand accounts and specially commissioned artwork to explain and illustrate this historically significant duel.

Contents: Introduction - Chronology - Design and development - Technical Specifications: Firepower (main and secondary batteries, fire control, ammunition), protection (armour belts, quality of steel, damage control), Maneuverability (speed, turning ability, sea keeping), communications (internal within ship, with other battleships) - The Combatants: The Japanese Battleship Crew (Composition, individual and crew training, morale, strengths
weaknesses and fleet doctrine), The Russian Battleship crew (same as above) - Combat - Aftermath.

Super-Battleships of World War II: Montana-class, Lion-class, H-class, A-150 and Sovetsky Soyuz-class (Osprey)

At the start of World War II the battleship was still king, and all the major powers were designing even mightier battleships to surpass their most modern and powerful classes. But when World War II broke out, aircraft carriers would dominate naval warfare, and none of these monster warships were completed.

In this book, naval expert Mark Stille uncovers these lost battleships as they are reconstructed with superb new full-colour artwork. The US Navy wanted five Montana-class ships, based on the Iowas but with a heavier main battery and improved protection, and the Royal Navy began work on three 16in-gun Lion-class fast battleships.
The German Navy developed its H-class designs: initially an improved Bismack-class, they became more fantastical, culminating in the 141,500-ton, 20in-gun H-44. The Japanese A-150 was based on the Yamato-class but with 20.1in guns, while the 15 ships planned for the USSR's Sovetsky Soyuz-class would have rivalled the Montanas in size.
Explaining the design, intended roles and fate of these ships, this is the story of the last battleship designs in history.

Contents:
- Introduction
- Battleship design practices
- Protection
- Propulsion
- Firepower
- The super-battleship classes
- The United States Navy - the Montana-class
- The Royal Navy - the Lion-class
- The Kriegsmarine - the H-class
- The Imperial Japanese Navy - Design A-150
- The Soviet Navy - the Sovetsky Soyuz - class
- Analysis and conclusion
- Further reading
- Index.

Battleships and Battle Cruisers : Selected Photos from the Archives of the Kure Maritime Museum

Selected photos from the archives of the Kure Maritime Museum showing battleships and battle cruisers used by the Japanese Navy.

Originally published in Japan in 2005, each album in The Japanese Naval Warship photo album series contains official photographs taken by the Kure Maritime Museum, as well as those taken by private individuals. These pictorial records document the main types of Japanese vessels, from battleships to submarines, based on the best images from Shizuo Fukui, a former Imperial Japanese Navy commander and technician.

These photos include the ones Fukui began collecting as a young boy and continued after he worked as a naval shipbuilder, and those that he was given in order to complete a photographic history of the Imperial Japanese Navy's ships, which include those gathered by Nagamura Kiyoshi, a shipbuilder who proactively collected photos, and the collection of machinist Amari Yoshiyuki. These images are especially valuable because of the massive destruction of official documents at the end of the war.

USN Battleship vs IJN Battleship : The Pacific 1942-44 (Osprey)

In the build-up to World War II both the United States and Japan believed their battleships would play a central role in battle, but after the Pacific War began in December 1941, the role of the battleship proved to be much more limited than either side expected.

There would be only two battleship vs battleship actions in the Pacific in World War II, both of which are assessed in this engaging study. At Guadalcanal in 1942, Kirishima faced two modern US battleships, USS Washington and USS South Dakota.
In the Surigao Strait in 1944, two World War I-era Japanese battleships, Yamashiro and Fuso, faced six American battleships supported by four heavy cruisers in history's last-ever clash between battleships.

Employing full-colour artwork, carefully selected archive photographs, and expert analysis, former US Navy Commander Mark E. Stille examines the two head-to-head clashes between the battleships deployed by the United States and Japan in the struggle for control of the Pacific during World War II.

Japanische Schlachtschiffe - Grosskampfschiffe 1905-1945

Ein wesentlicher Bestandteil der japanischen Streitkräfte war die Schlachtflotte. Sie gehörte neben entsprechenden Einheiten der Briten und der USA zu den bedeutendsten Marinestreitkräften der Welt.
Die Schlachtschiffe der Kaiserlich Japanischen Marine zählten zu den stärksten je gebauten, wenngleich Flugzeugträger bei allen kriegsbeteiligten Nationen an Bedeutung gewannen.

Ingo Bauernfeind beschreibt detailliert und mit grosser Sachkenntnis sämtliche im Zweiten Weltkrieg eingesetzten japanischen Schlachtschiff-Klassen von der Fuso- bis zur Yamato-Klasse. Er schildert die Entstehung und den Untergang dieser Grosskampfschiffe.