Drastically Modified Combined Fleet

Chapter 35 - Drastically Modified Battleship

According to reports from the observation post, the enemy's third ship was said to be equipped with four triple-gun turrets. Among the six battleships of the Pacific Fleet with four confirmed types, there are only two ships with this turret configuration. It could be either the Pennsylvania-class or the Tennessee-class.

Since the enemy's first and second ships were of the Colorado-class, judging from their order, the third ship was likely the formidable Tennessee-class in terms of firepower. Excluding the exception of the state-of-the-art battleship King George V-class, she can be rightfully called the world's strongest battleship with twelve 36-centimeter guns. The Tennessee-class, with high initial velocity and twelve long-barreled guns, was originally an opponent that the Fusō-class with the same twelve 36-centimeter guns couldn't possibly contend with. However, Fusō, Yamashiro, Ise, and Hyūga have been completely rejuvenated through renovations and are now reborn as ships capable of resisting even the new battleships.

Originally, each of the four battleships of the Fusō-class was supposed to be built with either eight 36-centimeter twin gun turrets, 75.000 horsepower, and a speed of 26 knots as lightly armed high-speed battleships, or five twin 36-centimeter gun turrets, ten guns, 60.000 horsepower, and 24 knots as moderately armed medium-speed battleships. However, upon receiving a proposal that the 36-centimeter guns could be replaced with 41-centimeter guns, all four ships were built as high-speed battleships with the assumption of replacing them with the 36-centimeter guns, and in the 1910s, all four sisters were renovated. The engine output increased from 75.000 horsepower to nearly double, reaching 136.0000 horsepower. In addition to the significant increase in displacement due to the extension of the stern, they achieved a high speed of 29 knots. Simultaneously, the main guns were replaced from 36-centimeter to 41-centimeter guns. While the shell weight increased from under 700 kilograms to over 1.000 kilograms, the firing rate was maintained. Moreover, the armor was strengthened from 36-centimeter to 40-centimeter defense.

However, what changed the most from the time of completion was the fire control system. In addition to the conventional optical rangefinders, radar aiming devices and observation devices were newly added. While optical rangefinders could achieve reasonable azimuth accuracy, they had difficulty in distance accuracy at long range. This was compensated for by the newly equipped radar aiming devices. Compared to optical rangefinders, which were easily affected by atmospheric fluctuations and water vapor rising from the sea, radar aiming devices provided extremely high distance accuracy. Nevertheless, in this era, there were several parameters that were difficult to incorporate into the gunfire data, such as high-altitude air currents, making it inevitable for deviations in the hits to occur. This was compensated for by real-time communication through observation planes. Unfortunately, the introduction of radar aiming devices was recent, and in Japan, with its low scientific and industrial standards, there was a significant reliance on skilled technicians and workers. Therefore, only battleships were prepared by the start of the war, and ships below heavy cruisers had not yet been deployed.

"That's why we can't afford to lose."

Rear Admiral Yamaguchi, the commander of the 2nd Battleship Division aboard the battleship Ise muttered to himself while facing the enemy's third ship. A battleship, favored with equipment more than any other ship except for aircraft carriers, should not lose. On the other hand, the crew of the enemy's third ship probably still underestimated Ise as a lightly armed battleship with eight 36-centimeter guns.

Yamaguchi recalled the words spoken by a certain shipbuilder with a voice of disbelief. The Fusō-class battleships, which had completely replaced guns, armor, and engines, were no longer renovations but modifications, and in a sense, they were drastically modified battleships that questioned the sanity of the planners. Moreover, the reason such extensive modifications were possible was that the Imperial Navy had kept the number of battleships and heavy cruisers low.

Among naval officers, some argued that with Japan's national strength, they could maintain nearly 30 battleships and heavy cruisers combined. Certainly, if the budget for escort forces and technical development were reduced, and the budget was focused on surface strike vessels, it might be possible. However, that would be a distorted image of the navy specialized in fleet decisive battles. In that case, the island nation, relying on overseas imports, could not protect its lifeline, the sea lanes of maritime traffic. Furthermore, it was precisely because the number of surface strike vessels was kept low that abundant development budgets were obtained, and without this, it would be highly questionable whether radar rangefinders, let alone radar aiming devices, could be practicalized at this time.

Yamaguchi shook off such tangential thoughts. The report that the distance to the enemy battleship had dropped below 30.000 meters reached his ears. Shortly thereafter, the order to commence firing was expected from the flagship Nagato.