Japanese Capital Ship Guns Reused for Coastal Defence
The Washington Naval Treaty required Japan to dispose of a large number of capital ships - both new ones under construction, and older vessels. Many of the guns from these ships were re-used as coastal defence batteries as shown in the following table:
| Ship | Guns | Location |
|---|---|---|
| Tosa | Twin 16” turrets | Toyo Battery, Kunoshita Saki, Tsushima Island (A Turret) Chosito Battery, Pusan, Korea (B Turret) |
| Akagi | Twin 16” turret | Kurosaki battery, Iki Shima (A Turret) |
| Kashima | Twin 12” turrets | Chiyoga Saki battery, Tokyo Bay (Fore Turret) Azuchioshima battery, Iki Shima (After Turret) |
| Ibuki | Twin 12” turrets | Omazaki battery, Tsugaru (Fore Turret) Tsurumi Saki battery, Houyo Fortress, Kyushu (After Turret) |
| Settsu | Twin 12” turrets | Tatsuno Saki battery, Tsushima (both 50 cal turrets) |
| Ikoma | Twin 12” turret | Suzaki battery, Tokyo Bay (fore turret) |
| Aki | Twin 10” turrets | Jagoshima battery, Tokyo Bay (Two Turrets) |
| Kurama | Twin 8” turrets | Daibusamisaki battery, Tokyo Bay (Two Turrets) |
Sources
Anon, n.d., Kurosaki, Iki Turret Fortress, retrieved 30 June 2012 from http://www006.upp.so-net.ne.jp/fortress/thanks/kurosaki.htm.
J Campbell, 1985, Naval Weapons of World War Two, Naval Institute Press, Annapolis, MD.
Navweaps.com, various sub-pages.
T Ishibashi, 2008, Ship’s Data IJN Warships 1868-1945, Part 1: Battleships and Battlecruisers, Namiki Shobu, cited in J Bren, private correspondence, 4 Jul 2012.
IV Hogg, 1977, Fortress: A History of Military Defence, St Martins Press, New York, NY, pp128-129.
U.S. Naval Technical Mission to Japan, January 1946, Defenses of Tsushima and Entrance to Sea of Japan, Report O-55(N).
DP Kirchner, 1999, Guns on the Inland Sea: the Hiroshima and Ehime Fortresses 1897-1926, Coast Defence Study Group Journal, 13 (1), pp14-36.
B Hackett, S Kingsepp & P Cundall, Kijukisen: IJA Crane Ship Seishu Maru: Tabular Record of Movement, 2010, retrieved 29 June 2014 from http://www.combinedfleet.com/Seishu_t.htm.
J Gibbs, 2010, Japanese ex-Naval Coast Defense Guns, Warship International, 47 (3), pp217-218.
J Gibbs & T Tamura, 1982, Question 51/80, Warship International, 19 (2), pp190-195.
CB Robbins, 2004, Japanese 16-in/45 coast defense guns, Warship International, 41 (1), pp16-17.
V Frampton, 2005, Japanese Facilities at Truk Lagoon, Warship International, 42 (2), pp144-145.
T Zolandez, 2017, Loss of Japanese Battleship Mutsu, Warship International, 54 (3), pp193-195.