Yashina-class battleship

Picture of Yashina captured by a Taoist fisherman in 1942
Class overview
Builders:	Dajime Shipbuilding Co. Ein Shipbuilding Co. Firentsu Naval Arsenal
Operators:	Imperial Taoist Navy
Preceded by:	Sōsato class
Succeeded by:	None
Built:	1937–1943
In commission:	1941–1946
Planned:	4
Completed:	3
Cancelled:	1
Lost:	2
Preserved:	1
General characteristics (1946)
Type:	Battleship
Displacement:	71,100 tons normal 73,000 tons normal
Length:	263 m (863 ft)
Beam:	38.9 m (128 ft)
Draught:	10.4 m (34 ft)
Installed power:	150,000 shp (110,000 kW)
Propulsion:	4 × Ein Heavy Industries single-geared steam turbines 10 × Ein Heavy Industries boilers 4 × shafts
Speed:	27 knots (50 km/h; 31 mph)
Range:	Up to 7,200 nautical miles (13,300 km; 8,300 mi)
Complement:	2,767 enlisted and officers
Armament:	9 × 460 mm (18.1 in) guns (3×3) 12 × 155 mm (6.1 in) guns (4×3) 12 × 127 mm (5 in) dual-purpose guns (6×2) 24 × 25 mm (0.98 in) AA guns (8×3) 4 × 13.2 mm (0.52 in) AA guns (2×2)
Armor:	650 mm (26 in) on face of main turrets 410 mm (16 in) side armor, inclined 20 degrees 200 mm (8 in) armored deck (75%) 230 mm (9 in) armored deck (25%
Aircraft carried:	Up to 7 catapult aircraft

The Yahina-class battleships were a class of battleships constructed for the Imperial Taoist Navy (ITN). Constructed and operated during World War II. Displacing 73,000 tons at full load, the vessels were the heaviest battleships ever constructed. The class carried some of the largest naval artillery ever fitted to a warship, nine 460-millimeter (18.1 in) naval guns, each capable of firing 1,460 kg (3,220 lb) shells over 42 km (26 mi). Three battleships of the class (Yashina, Kurokita, and Shingata) were completed, the ITN planned on building 4 of the vessels, but due to the economic situation near the end of the war, the final ship (Yakugata) was canceled.

While Yashina and Shingata were both destroyed during the war, Kurokita remains as a museum ship in Dajime.

Design

Development of the Yashina class of battleships was heavily influenced by the militaristic, fascist regime in the UST during the late twenties and early thirties.

After World War I, it had become very clear that battleships were the future of naval warfare. While they did see some successful combat during the war, they often times prevented naval battles, simply due to their threat. This doctrine of building a fleet around battleships held up until the outbreak of World War II, particularly when the Taoists launched the Raid of Ispanza; when Taoist aircraft carrier born planes attacked Rhodeve vessels at port in Ispanza. While the UST Navy had been gearing naval production towards carriers before the outbreak of war, the Raid of Ispanza and following battles, cemented the dominance of the aircraft carrier, this was, at least part of the reason the Yakugata was canceled.

In 1928, the UST had undergone a change in leadership, going from a republic, to a military dictatorship. With this change, the Tao had major ambitions to become a military superpower and to become one on its own industry. The Empire of the Tao had already inherited quite a large fleet, mostly of battleships build in the late 1910s and the early 1920s, but due to economic circumstances during the late 20s and early 30s, it was decided to simply upgrade and improve the existing ships, rather than building entirely new classes of expensive battleships. Through the 1920s, still wanting to keep the idea of a new class around, the Empire of the Tao and Belantica began participating in several joint design studies for a class of super battleships.

In the mid-1930s, the Taoist industry had transitioned to a mostly military state, and enough resources were being allocated to the Navy to justify building a new class. The design studies with Belantica were brought back into the conversation and one of the designs was decided on.

Propulsion

The Yashina class were initially designed to be constructed with Firentsu Naval Arsenal steam turbines and water boilers, which were estimated to be able to put out 160,000-175,000 shaft horsepower (119,312 kW - 130,497 kW). However, the Imperial Taoist Navy had a strict schedule it wanted to keep on the vessels and the Firentsu Naval Arsenal was running quite a bit behind on several destroyers and cruisers which were occupying most of their shipyards and machinery. Due to this, the construction of the first ship of the class (Yashina) was awarded to the Dajime Shipbuilding Co., which also could not produce the propulsion machinery for the ships, as further inspection of its machinery determined it was undersized for the task. Ultimately it was decided that the Ein Shipbuilding Co. would construct the propulsion machinery for the vessels, as the company was properly equipped for the task, and could immediately begin construction on the propulsion systems for all four of the vessels. In order to get the Ein Shipbuilding Company to agree to the terms of building the propulsion hardware, the very lucrative contract for the Kurokita was revoked from the Firentsu Naval Arsenal and awarded to the Ein Shipbuilding Company.

The Ein-built propulsion systems underwhelmed the ITN, which was still expected at least 160,000 shp and a top speed of around 30 knots. However several changes had to be made to allow the Ein Shipbuilding Co. to build the equipment on such short notice with the equipment which was available to them. While a handful of these changes involved using higher-quality materials and improved the performance, the vast majority of the changes lowered the overall quality of the propulsion machinery, leading to some minor design flaws, which cost the ships around 10,000 shp on average and capping the top speed to around 27 knots.

Armament

Primary armament

Kurokita in 1942 showing its massive 460 mm main cannons

Early designs of the Yashina-class, while it was still a concept in a joint design study with Belantica, called for the same 410mm (16 in) naval artillery mounted on the Sōsato-class battleships; though they would be mounted in either triple or even quadruple gunned turrets. However, by 1937, the ITN felt that 410mm may not be able to hold up to other ships being designed by other countries at the time and ordered a competition for a new naval gun with a minimum caliber of 457 mm (18 in). Firentsu Naval Arsenal and Yotota Heavy Industries had made a joint effort to design a 457mm naval gun, while the Dajime Shipbuilding Co. and the Ein Shipbuilding Co. had created their own design, which was 460 mm (18.1 in). After extensive testing, it was decided that the 460 mm design by the Dajime Shipbuilding Company and the Ein Shipbuilding Company was much better equipped for the operations of a battleship. The 457 mm design would still see service, however, in the form of coastal artillery batteries.

Secondary armament

Line drawing of Yashina in its initial 1940 configuration

Line drawing of Yashina in its AA heavy 1941 configuration

During the late 1920s and throughout the 1930s, the ITN had been seriously experimenting with aircraft carriers, and felt that the new type of ship could pose a serious threat to the big, slow, and (relative to World War I Taoist designs) under-equipped targets that were battleships. Because of this change in doctrine, the only preliminary Yashina class designs which were kept were ones which included serious attention to the area of anti-aircraft warfare. It quickly became a de-facto rule for the designers to pretty much exclusively use dual-purpose guns, in addition, to stand alone anti-aircraft weaponry for the design's secondary armament.

The first two vessels, Yashina and Kurokita, were built with a secondary armament of: 12 x 155mm (6.1 in) cannons in four triple-gunned turrets, two centerline of the ships, capable of firing both directions, and two on each side of the ships, only capable of firing in the direction they were mounted on; 12 x 127mm (5 in) cannons mounted in three double-gunned turrets on each side of the ship, only being able to fire in the direction they were mounted on; 24 x 25 mm (1 in) anti-aircraft cannons, mounted in sets of three, which were capable of firing in a rapid manner similar to a machine gun; and 4 x 13.2mm (0.52 in) anti-aircraft machine guns, mounted in sets of two.

After the war had started it was determined that the 155mm guns were not satisfactory in the anti-aircraft role due to their slow turning and reload speeds, despite their blast radius and potential damage. In early 1941, it was decided to remove the two of the 155mm gunned turrets on each side of the ship in favor of the 127mm and 25mm cannons, due to their superior AA abilities. The two turrets mounted centerline would remain, as the ITN feared the ships could miss the quick firing 155 mm cannons in ship-to-ship combat, as they had proven themselves very capable in that role as primary armament on some ITN cruisers.

Both Yashina and Kurokita would receive refits to accommodate the new AA specification, while completion of Shingata would be postponed for another few weeks to meet the requirements herself. The new secondary loadouts for the ships were as follows: 12 x 155mm (6.1 in) cannons two triple-gunned turrets centerline of the ship; 24 x 127mm (5 in) cannons mounted in six double-gunned turrets (half of which did not have a armored casing) on each side of the ship, only being able to fire in the direction they were mounted on; 162 x 25 mm (1 in) anti-aircraft cannons, many of which were now covered in a armored casing; and 4 x 13.2mm (0.52 in) anti-aircraft machine guns, mounted in sets of two.

Aircraft facilities

The Yashina class battleships were equipped with 2 aircraft catapult systems for float planes, while the vessels could carry up to seven reconnaissance or light fighter floatplanes. The Yashina class would launch these planes using the catapults. After their task was accomplished, the floatplanes would land alongside their ship, which would recover it via a crane.

Ships in the class

Name	Builder	Laid down	Launched	Commissioned	Fate	Notes
Yashina	Dajime Shipbuilding Co.	27 October 1937	19 July 1940	22 December 1941	Sunk at TBD
Kurokita	Ein Shipbuilding Co.	1 March 1938	13 December 1940	18 May 1942	Preserved as museum ship in Dajime
Shingata	Firentsu Naval Arsenal	11 June 1938	15 May 1941	20 October 1942	Sunk at TBD
Yakugata	Ein Shipbuilding Co.	30 September 1938	N/A