Kii-class battleship
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The Kii-class battleship (Template:Langx) was a planned class of four fast battleships to be built for the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) during the 1920s. Only two of the ships received names. They were intended to reinforce Japan's "eight-eight fleet" of eight battleships and eight battlecruisers after the United States announced a major naval construction program in 1919. However, after the signing of the Washington Naval Treaty in 1922, work on the ships was suspended; one pair was cancelled in November 1923 and the other in April 1924.
Design and background
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By 1918, the Navy had gained approval for an "eight-six" fleet of eight battleships and six battlecruisers, all ships under eight years old. However, having four large battleships (two each of the Script error: No such module "WPSHIPS utilities". and Script error: No such module "WPSHIPS utilities".es) and four Script error: No such module "WPSHIPS utilities".s on order put an enormous financial strain on Japan, which was spending about a third of its national budget on the Navy.[1] Despite this, the IJN gained approval of the "eight-eight-eight" plan in 1920 after American President Woodrow Wilson announced plans in 1919 to re-initiate the 1916 plan for ten additional battleships and six battlecruisers. The Japanese response was to plan the construction of eight additional fast battleships in the Kii and the Number 13 classes.[2]
Designed by Captain Yuzuru Hiraga,[3] the Kii class was based largely on the preceding Script error: No such module "WPSHIPS utilities".s, which were in turn based on a less-armored Tosa-class design.[4] The only major difference between the Kiis and Amagis was their speed and armor—the Amagis were faster, and the Kiis had a thicker belt. Despite this lineage, the Kiis were classified as "fast battleships" by the Japanese, as they had decided to end the distinction between "battleship" and "battlecruiser."[5]
Description
The ships had a length of Script error: No such module "convert". between perpendiculars and Script error: No such module "convert". overall. They had a beam of Script error: No such module "convert". and a draft of Script error: No such module "convert".. The normal displacement of the battleships was Script error: No such module "convert"..[6]
The class was intended to be equipped with four Gijutsu-Hombu geared steam turbines, each of which drove one propeller shaft. The turbines were designed to produce a total of Script error: No such module "convert"., using steam provided by 19 Kampon oil-fired water-tube boilers, to reach a maximum speed of Script error: No such module "convert"..[7]
The primary armament of the Kii class was ten 45-caliber Script error: No such module "convert". guns in five twin-gun turrets, two fore and three aft of the superstructure.[5] This gun fired a Script error: No such module "convert". shell at a muzzle velocity of Script error: No such module "convert"..[8] The secondary battery consisted of 16 single 50-caliber Script error: No such module "convert". guns was mounted in casemates in the superstructure. The manually operated guns had a maximum range of Script error: No such module "convert". at an elevation of +35° and fired at a rate up to 10 rounds per minute.[9] The ships' anti-aircraft defenses consisted of four single 45-caliber Script error: No such module "convert". 10th Year Type anti-aircraft guns mounted around the single funnel.[5] Each of these guns had a maximum elevation of +75° and a maximum rate of fire of 10–11 rounds per minute. They could fire a Script error: No such module "convert". projectile with a muzzle velocity of Script error: No such module "convert". to a maximum height of Script error: No such module "convert"..[10] The Kii class was also fitted with eight Script error: No such module "convert". above-water torpedo tubes, four on each broadside.[5]
The ships would have been protected by a waterline belt of armor Script error: No such module "convert". thick, sloped 15° outwards at the top to increase its ability to resist penetration at short range. The belt armor was designed to be able to defeat Script error: No such module "convert". shells from a distance of Script error: No such module "convert".. The main battery turrets and barbettes would have had between Script error: No such module "convert". of armor plating, and the conning tower would have had been protected by armor Script error: No such module "convert". thick. The decks would have been 120 mm thick. The Kii-class battleships would have had a torpedo bulkhead Script error: No such module "convert". thick, which connected at the top to a Script error: No such module "convert". splinter deck beneath the main deck.[3]
Construction
Two ships were ordered on 12 October 1921, and two more were ordered later that year. Kii was allocated to Kure Naval Arsenal, Kure, with a projected completion date of November 1923, and Owari (Script error: No such module "Lang"., an ancient province) was allocated to the Yokosuka Naval Arsenal, Yokosuka, with completion in September.[5] Two more unnamed ships, Numbers 11 and 12, were assigned to Kawasaki in Kobe and Mitsubishi in Nagasaki, respectively. The ships' keel laying was stopped on 5 February because the terms of the Washington Naval Treaty that forbade the construction of all battleships over Script error: No such module "convert".. Numbers 11 and 12 were formally canceled on 19 November 1923; Kii and Owari followed on 14 April 1924.[3]
Footnotes
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References
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