Ise-class battleship

Ise at speed, shortly after completion
Class overview
Name	Ise class
Builders	Kawasaki, Kobe Mitsubishi, Nagasaki
Operators	Imperial Japanese Navy
Preceded by	Fusō class
Succeeded by	Nagato class
Built	1915–1918
In service	1917–1945
Completed	2
Lost	2
Scrapped	2
General characteristics (as built)
Type	Dreadnought battleship
Displacement	31,260 long tons (31,762 t) (normal)
Length	208.18 m (683 ft)
Beam	28.65 m (94 ft)
Draught	8.93 m (29 ft 4 in)
Installed power	24 × water-tube boilers 40,000–45,000 shp (30,000–34,000 kW)
Propulsion	4 × shafts; 2 × steam turbine sets
Speed	23 knots (43 km/h; 26 mph)
Range	9,680 nmi (17,930 km; 11,140 mi) at 14 knots (26 km/h; 16 mph)
Complement	1,360
Armament	6 × twin 35.6 cm (14 in) guns 20 × single 14 cm (5.5 in) guns 4 × single 7.62 cm (3 in) AA guns 6 × 53.3 cm (21 in) torpedo tubes
Armour	Waterline belt: 299 mm (11.8 in) Decks: 85 mm (3.3 in) Gun turrets: 254 mm (10 in) Barbettes: 305 mm (12 in) Conning tower: 305 mm (12 in) Bulkheads: 199–224 mm (7.8–8.8 in)
General characteristics (after first reconstruction)
Displacement	42,001 long tons (42,675 t) (deep load)
Length	216 m (708 ft 8 in)
Beam	31.75 m (104 ft 2 in)
Draught	9.45 m (31 ft)
Installed power	8 × water-tube boilers 80,000 shp (60,000 kW)
Propulsion	4 × steam turbines
Speed	25 knots (46 km/h; 29 mph)
Range	7,870 nmi (14,580 km; 9,060 mi) at 16 knots (30 km/h; 18 mph)
Complement	1,376
Armament	6 × twin 35.6 cm guns 16 × single 14 cm guns 4 × twin 12.7 cm (5 in) DP guns 10 × twin 25 mm (1 in) AA guns
Armour	Decks: 51–152 mm (2–6 in)
Aircraft carried	3
Aviation facilities	1 catapult
General characteristics (as hybrid carriers, 1945)
Displacement	42,675 long tons (43,360 t) (deep load)
Length	219.62 m (720 ft 6 in)
Beam	31.71 m (104 ft)
Draught	9.03 m (29 ft 8 in)
Range	9,500 nmi (17,600 km; 10,900 mi) at 16 knots
Complement	1,463
Sensors and processing systems	1 × Type 21 air-search radar 2 × Type 13 early warning radars 2 × Type 22 surface-search radars
Armament	4 × twin 35.6 cm guns 8 × twin 12.7 cm DP guns 31 × triple, 11 × single 25 mm AA guns 6 × 30-round AA rocket launchers
Aircraft carried	22
Aviation facilities	2 catapults

The Ise-class battleships (伊勢型戦艦, Ise-gata senkan) were a pair of dreadnought battleships built for the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) during World War I. Both ships carried supplies for the survivors of the Great Kantō earthquake in 1923. They were modernized in 1934–1937 with improvements to their armour and machinery and a rebuilt superstructure in the pagoda mast style. Afterwards they played a minor role in the Second Sino-Japanese War.

Despite the expensive reconstructions, both vessels were considered obsolete by the eve of the Pacific War, and neither saw significant action in the early years of the war. Following the loss of most of the IJN's large aircraft carriers during the Battle of Midway in mid-1942, they were rebuilt with a flight deck replacing the rear pair of gun turrets to give them the ability to operate an air group of floatplanes. A lack of aircraft and qualified pilots, however, meant that they never actually operated their aircraft in combat. While awaiting their air group, the sister ships were occasionally used to ferry troops and material to Japanese bases. They participated in the Battle off Cape Engaño in late 1944, where they decoyed the American carrier fleet supporting the invasion of Leyte away from the landing beaches. Afterwards both ships were transferred to Southeast Asia; in early 1945 they participated in Operation Kita, where they transported petrol and other strategic materials to Japan. The sisters were then reduced to reserve until they were sunk during American airstrikes in July. After the war they were scrapped in 1946–1947.