FUSO class

The Fuso class entered service in 1915 and was the “battleship version” of the previous Kongo class battlecruisers but with twelve 356mm guns instead of 8 and more protection. They were rebuilt in the 30s increasing the armour from 8,588 to 12,199 tons and improving the elevation of the main artillery, reaching 25 km instead of 20. They were also equipped with a “Pagoda” type command tower and catapults to operate with 3 seaplanes. Fuso and Yamashiro formed the Second Battleships Division along with Ise and Hyuga battleships and participated in small operations until they were deployed as “decoy force” in the Leyte Gulf Battle. On October 25 1944, the two ships of the class were sunk in the night fighting within the Surigao Strait Battle by American naval forces in what was the last battleship to battleship combat in Naval History.

FUSO class gallery and more info