Nagato is the No. 1 ship of the Nagato-class battleships of the Japanese Navy, with two Nagato-class battleships, Nagato and Mutsu, and was the flagship of the Japanese Navy until the service of the world's largest battleship, the Yamato. The Nagato is known for its super protection and super attack power, and once carried the attack of two atomic bombs of the US military without sinking.
After the end of the First World War, under the influence of the Battle of Jutland, the "big ship and giant cannon" doctrine also reached its peak, and Japan was the most loyal believer in the "big ship giant gun".
As we all know, Japan has always dreamed of "conquering Asia and dominating the world" and has always played the role of an aggressor, whether it is defeating the Beiyang Naval Division in the late Qing Dynasty or the Battle of Tsushima in the Russo-Japanese War, the japanese Navy's large-caliber naval guns have determined the victory or defeat of the naval battle. Therefore, the Japanese Navy has appeared naval armament plans such as the "66 Fleet" and the "88 Fleet", and the battleship "Nagato" is the flagship of the "88 Fleet".
Nagato was built at the Kure Naval Plant on 28 August 1917 and commissioned on 25 November 1920, and was named after the old Nagato Nation in accordance with the naming conventions of the Japanese Navy.
At the same time, because the Japanese army had been secretly carrying out the construction and service of the Battleship Yamato, the Yamato was far less famous in the minds of the Japanese people than the Nagato.
The main gun caliber of the "Nagato" is 410 mm, the speed is 26.5 knots, because of Japan's lack of resources, when building the "Nagato", it also follows the purpose of "insufficient quantity and quality compensation", not only increases the caliber of the main gun, but also the thickest part of its defensive armor reaches a terrifying 475 mm, so it can hard carry the attack of the two atomic bombs of the US army.
Nagato, along with its sister ship Mutsu, two British Nelson-class battleships, and three American Colorado-class battleships, possessed the world's largest caliber main guns at the time, so they were called the "Seven Battleships".
However, it should be noted that at that time, the main guns of large warships around the world were below 406 mm and the speed was below twenty-five knots, but when the Japanese Navy unveiled the "Nagato", it falsely referred to the 410 mm caliber main gun as 406 mm, and its speed of 26.5 knots was also concealed as 23 knots, enough for chicken thieves.
However, this is not entirely the case, and here are some of the Nagato's combat records:
"Nagato" is a battleship designed and manufactured entirely by the Japanese themselves, most of the battleships built by Japan before are modeled on the design of British warships, while the "Nagato" has changed the British-style triangular bridge to a multi-beam bridge, and the eight twin 410 mm main guns are also in the way of the first two and two backs, two two stacked on top of the bow and stern, officially getting rid of the style of the British battleship and becoming the "first pure Japanese-blood battleship".
At the beginning of World War II, Japan had a large naval fleet, consisting of the 1st Fleet as the Battleship Fleet, the 2nd Fleet as the Heavy Cruiser Fleet, the 3rd Fleet as the Blockade Transport Fleet, the 4th Fleet as the Occupied Zone Fleet, the 5th Fleet as the Northern Fleet, the 6th Fleet as the Submarine Fleet, the 1st Air Fleet as the Aircraft Carrier Fleet, the 11th Air Fleet as the Shore-based Air Fleet, and the Southern Fleet.
However, because battleships such as Nagato and Yamato were regarded by the Japanese as the main force in the final battle, Pillar Island, which had been stationed in Hiroshima Bay for a long time, was ridiculed by the officers and men of the aircraft carrier fleet who were deadlocked with the US army as the "island fleet".
On December 2, 1941, Yamamoto issued an order to attack Pearl Harbor aboard his flagship, the Nagato.
During the Battle of Midway in June 1942, Nagato was assigned to the 1st Fleet, but the protagonist of this naval battle was an aircraft carrier, so nagato did not fire a single shot.
In June 1944, Nagato took part in operation A and was wounded in an American air raid.
In October 1944, Nagato was assigned to the 2nd Fleet to participate in operations on the Jet, where she was wounded again during the Battle of Leyte Gulf and returned to Suga Port.
On July 18, 1945, the Nagato was hit by three bombs from a U.S. carrier-based aircraft, partially damaging the bridge and killing Maj. Gen. Kan tsuka, the captain.
By the end of World War II, nagato had become the only surviving warship of the Japanese Navy with combat capabilities, which should be said to have benefited entirely from its super protective capabilities.
In October 1945, the battleship Nagato was taken over by the U.S. military and subsequently awarded to the United States as war reparations. In July 1946, Nagato, as the target ship of the U.S. "Operation Crossroads", was continuously hit by two atomic bombs at Bikini Atoll, Gilda and Helen of Bikini, on July 1 and July 25.
Operation Crossroads conducted two nuclear tests, the first in the air and the second underwater, both the fourth and fifth U.S. atomic bombs and the first underwater nuclear test in human history. As we all know, the Americans dropped two atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, which wiped out the two cities, and then the Americans wanted to confirm whether the atomic bomb could destroy a fleet in the water.
During operation "Operation Crossroads", the US military arranged a total of 95 target ships, and placed 57 guinea pigs, 109 mice, 146 pigs, 176 goats and 3030 white rats on the target ship, with the purpose of simulating the degree of casualties of officers and men on the target ship. At the same time, because the Nagato had commanded the attack on Pearl Harbor as the flagship of the Japanese army, the US military deliberately arranged the Nagato in the center of the explosion, and its purpose was self-evident.
At 9 a.m. on July 1, the nuclear bomb code-named "Gilda" was detonated 160 meters above the target ship, directly causing the sinking of 6 target ships and the heavy damage of 14 target ships. However, the expected results of the Americans did not appear, and the Nagato became the only battleship that was within the heart of the explosion but was not seriously damaged, so the Americans only hoped for a second underwater detonation.
At 8:35 a.m. on July 25, the atomic bomb code-named "Helen of bikini" was detonated 27 meters underwater, causing 9 warships to sink, 8 warships to be seriously damaged, and the rest of the target ships to varying degrees. However, it is inconceivable that the "Nagato" that is once again located in the heart of the explosion only caused a 5-degree tilt on the starboard side, and the good Americans did not help it but did not push it when it was about to fall, but just let it fend for itself.
On July 29, 1946, the battleship Nagato, which had been floating alone at sea for five days and five nights, finally sank, and the symbol of the Japanese Navy sank, but to be honest, this guy was really resistant to beating.