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IJN-BB-八島

IJN-BB-八島（やしま）

八島型戦艦　八島

公試排水量 Displacement 152,000.0 t
全長 Length 325.1 m (1066.601 ft)
最大幅 Beam 44.0 m (144.36 ft)
吃水 Draft 12.00 m (39.37 ft )
出力 Propulsion 450,140 hp
速力 Speed 25.4 knots (29.23 mph; 47.04 km/h)
乗員 Complement 3950

兵装 Armament
12 × 540 mm (5.5 in) guns (4 × 3)
48 x 140 mm (5.5 in) guns (12 x 4)
12 x 127 mm (5.0 in) guns (6 x 2)
26 × 25 mm type 96-turret (triple)
22 × 25 mm type 96 (triple)


The Yashima-class battleship was a super battleship built by the Empire in the late Ocean War. It was originally planned to build two ships, but only one was actually completed.
The Yashima-class battleship did not participate in any front-line battles throughout its service life, but was only used as a Nominal naval headquarters, the flagship of the Pacific Fleet, and a national symbol, and was anchored in different ports most of the time. At the end of the war, it served as the Emperor's imperial ship, carrying him to London to sign the Axis-Allied peace and armistice treaty.
Interestingly, in the territorial waters and territory of the Empire, only a few ports could accommodate its huge hull, and the ports of Kure and Yokosuka even had to be specially expanded to accommodate it. This series of actions were regarded as a huge waste of national finances after the war, but due to its symbolic significance to the Empire, it was not dismantled after the war, but was transported to Kure Port and preserved as a war museum, becoming the largest battleship museum after the war.
The Yashima-class battleship is the only battleship built by the Empire with a 6-axis propeller. Due to its huge hull and heavy armor, its displacement reached an astonishing 152,000 tons. This means that even with a huge and complex power system, it can only sail at a speed of less than 26 knots. This is also a major reason why it did not participate in the battles in the later stages of the war - it was difficult to keep up with the speed of the newly built new aircraft carrier formation.
However, just like the Yamato-class built before, its huge internal space makes its internal living environment relatively good, which is one of the reasons why it can become the Emperor's imperial ship.
The Yashima-class battleship is the only battleship equipped with 12 540mm cannons. Although this gun has no experience of firing at the enemy in actual combat, it still does not affect its status as the most powerful sea-based artillery in human naval history. Due to the improvement of the Empire's radar technology and artillery manufacturing technology, the accuracy of this type of artillery in the bullet test during the exercise was satisfactory.
During the service of the Yashima battleship, it encountered an air raid, but this air raid did not cause too much damage to it and the entire fleet it was in, partly due to the timely counterattack of the escort aircraft carrier formation, and partly due to its excellent anti-aircraft firepower.The Yashima-type secondary guns are equipped with an unprecedented 12 quadruple-mounted dual-purpose guns and 6 twin-mounted dual-purpose guns, which makes its long-range anti-aircraft firepower and firepower against light armored ships extremely terrifying. However, it is worth mentioning that, unlike the relatively spacious space in most cabins, the huge boiler room in the middle of the hull is relatively close to some ammunition rooms, which makes this part of the space severely compressed. Only in this part, the working environment of the boiler operators and the relevant staff of the ammunition depot is relatively poor.
A major feature of the Yashima-class battleship is its two huge chimneys. The volume of a single chimney is larger than that of the Yamato-class chimney, which seriously squeezes the upper space in the middle of the deck and brings huge heat to the surrounding area.
Compared with other warships built in the late war, the Yashima-class did not leave many records and stories except that it was used as the Emperor's imperial ship to London. Its huge 540mm guns did not encounter any war against ships during its service life. It was sent to Kure Port for storage after the war. This is why it was crowned as "a miracle in the history of world shipbuilding" and "the largest warship in human history" in the post-war peace era. It was also called "the most wrong decision of the Imperial Navy" and the handle for the young generation of the new era to attack the old era imperial bureaucracy and the emperor system; according to the calculations of post-war experts, if the materials and productivity of the ship were invested in the production of the "Shūryū" aircraft carrier put into production in the late war, 5-6 more aircraft carriers of this type could be built.
But in any case, the Yashima-class battleship still became a symbol of the imperial power for quite a long time, and left a deep impression on many residents of the imperial colonies it visited.
Interestingly, it was not until long after the war ended that people learned an interesting story from the military leaders of other countries: At first, the armies and relevant analysts of major countries such as Britain, the United States and even Germany, which belonged to the Axis Powers, did not believe that the Yashima-class battleship was equipped with a 540mm caliber main gun. It was not until it was docked and opened as a museum in Kure port.