Fuso was a Japanese battleship laid under the keel in 1912, launched in March 1914, and commissioned in the Imperial Japanese Navy in November 1915. The ship was 205 m long, 30.6 m wide, and had a full displacement of 39,000 tons. The maximum speed of battleship Fuso was around 22 knots, and after upgrades it reached 25 knots. The main armament was 12 356 mm guns in six turrets, two guns each, and the secondary armament was mainly 16 152 mm guns.
Fuso, along with sister Yamashiro, formed the class of battleships of the same name. During World War I, Fuso was not subjected to major modernization, while in the interwar period it underwent a thorough reconstruction: the hull was lengthened by almost 8 m, the entire engine room was changed, the shape of the superstructure with the command bridge was changed, which reached over 40 m in height and resembled its shape. Japanese pagoda. Fuso's combat career did not begin until World War II, although it was considered rather obsolete by then. The battleship indirectly took part in the attack on Pearl Harbor (December 1941) and played only auxiliary functions in this operation. In May 1942 he fought in the area of the Aleutian Islands, which was a diversion against the action at Midway. From 1943 to 1944, it was stationed primarily on its home islands, but took part in the Battle of Surigao on October 25, 1944, where it was sunk in a torpedo attack.
The Shigure was a Japanese destroyer whose keel was laid in December 1933, launched in May 1935, and commissioned in the Imperial Japanese Navy in September 1936. The length of the ship at the time of launching was 107.5 m, width 9.9 m, and the actual full displacement - 1,690 tons. Destroyer Shigure's top speed was up to 34 knots. The main armament at the time of the launch was five 127 mm Type 3 guns in two twin turrets and one single turret, and secondary armament was two 13.2 mm machine guns, depth charge throwers and eight 610 mm torpedo tubes. Shigure was the second Shiratsuyu-class destroyer. Units of this type were created respecting the displacement limits imposed on the government in Tokyo by international disarmament treaties, especially the London Treaty of 1930. This type of ships was in fact a modification of the Hatsuharu-class ships - at the same time, it meant the temporary withdrawal of the Japanese fleet from building large destroyers like the Fubuki class. Compared to the Hatsuharu type, the Shiratsuyu type units differed in significantly improved stability, narrower hull and lower displacement. The same artillery armament was retained, but the torpedo armament was reinforced. The Achilles' heel turned out to be very weak anti-aircraft weapons, which were constantly modernized and strengthened during the war in the Pacific. Destroyer Shigure was one of the most meritorious destroyers in the Japanese fleet, and it is no coincidence that it deserves the title of "lucky" or "unsinkable." He started his combat route during World War II in an unimpressive way: in December 1941 he served as a cover for Japanese cable ships in their home waters, but in May and June 1942 he took part in the battles on the Coral Sea and Midway. Then, in the period from the second half of 1942 to the beginning of 1943, he took part in the battles in the Guadalcanal region, taking part in one of the naval battles near this island (12-15 November 1942). In 1944, Shigure took part in the great naval struggle in the Philippine Sea and in the Gulf of Leyte. The destroyer was sunk only on January 24, 1945 as a result of a torpedo attack carried out by the USS Blackfin submarine.
Mogami was a Japanese heavy cruiser whose keel was laid in 1931, launched in March 1934, and commissioned in the Imperial Japanese Navy in July 1935. The length of the ship was 201 m, width 18 m, and the actual displacement, after modifications - 13,400 tons. The maximum speed of the cruiser Mogami was approximately 34-35 knots. At the outbreak of World War II, the main armament was 10 203 mm guns in five twin turrets, and the additional armament included: 8 127 mm guns and 12 610 mm torpedo tubes.
The Mogami was the first cruiser of the type to bear the same name - ie the Mogami. Cruisers of this type were originally built light to meet the requirements of the Washington Disarmament Treaty of 1922. Moreover, at the time of launch, they displaced only 9,500 tons, instead of the 10,000 tons provided for by that treaty for cruisers. At the same time, they had powerful artillery in the form of as many as 15 155 mm cannons in five turrets of three guns each! The Japanese designers, however, assumed a later retrofitting of this type of units with 203 mm guns already at the design stage, which actually happened later. As one of the first Japanese ships, welding techniques were used in their construction, but due to the low experience of the shipyards in this field, it led to problems in operation - as did the wrong center of gravity. In the course of modernization, these defects were removed on all units of this type. The battle route of the cruiser Mogami in World War II began in December 1941 with support for Japanese actions in the area of French Indochina. At the turn of 1941/1942, Mogami continued to support and cover Japanese landings, but already in today's Indonesia. In February 1942, the cruiser fought in the Sunda Strait. He also took part in the Battle of Midway (June 1942), where while making a turn, he hit the side of the cruiser "Mikuma" with its stem. Due to heavy damage, it was directed to Japan, where the stern artillery towers were removed from it and the number of seaplanes carried was increased. Cruiser Mogami sank on October 25, 1944 during the Battle of Leyte Bay.