IJN YAMASHIRO |
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As seen in 1944 before the Battle of Surigao Strait (Leyte Gulf) |
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Pit-Road Hi Mold Resin kit no. HM-033 Scale 1:700 See how I build the kit on the bottom of this page Click on the pictures to enlarge. |
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Yamashiro history:
The
Yamashiro (山城) was the Imperial Japanese
Navy's second Fusō-class battleship, and was laid down
at the Yokosuka Naval Arsenal on November 20, 1913, launched on
November 3, 1915, and commissioned on March 31, 1917. She was the
first Japanese vessel equipped with aircraft catapults. The ship was
named after the Japanese province where Kyoto is located.
The
Yamashiro was reconstructed from December 1930 to March 1935.
The original 24 coal-fired Mijabara boilers producing 24,000 hp were
replaced with six new Kanpon oil-fired boilers producing 75,000 hp.
Torpedo bulges were fitted, increasing beam from 94 feet to 100
feet, 6 inches. The stern was lengthened by 24 feet to improve the
fineness ratio and restore lost speed. Deck armor was thickened to a
total of 7 inches on three decks. Elevation of the main armament was
increased from 30 degrees to 43 degrees. The forefunnel was removed,
but converted later, the Yamashiro differed slightly from its
sister ship Fusō in the arrangement of gun turrets; by
altering the "dead angle" of "C" turret from
foreward training to aft, deck space was left for a larger
superstructure (see picture above.) Eight 5-inch/40 heavy anti-aicraft
guns were fitted, one twin mount on each side of the bridge forward,
and the other pair of twin mounts high up on the tower structure
aft. At the battle of Surigao Strait on October 25, 1944, she came under attack and was sunk by U.S. naval forces, receiving four hits from destroyer torpedoes and numerous 14" and 16" shells from U.S. battleships. Nearly
all from Yamashiro 1400 crew were lost. Battle
of Surigao Strait
Nishimura's
"Southern Force" consisted of the battleships Yamashiro
and Fusō, the cruiser Mogami, and four
destroyers. They were attacked by bombers on October 24 but
sustained only minor damage.
Because
of the strict radio silence imposed on the Central and Southern
Forces, Nishimura was unable to synchronise his movements with Shima
and Kurita. When he entered the narrow Surigao Strait at about 02:00
Shima was 40 km behind him, and Kurita was still in the Sibuyan
Sea, several hours from the beaches at Leyte.
As
they passed the cape of Panaon Island, they ran into a deadly trap
set for them by the 7th Fleet Support Force. Rear Admiral Jesse
Oldendorf had six battleships (Mississippi, Maryland, West
Virginia, Tennessee, California, and Pennsylvania,
all but the Mississippi having been resurrected from Pearl Harbor),
eight cruisers (heavy cruisers USS Louisville (Flagship), Portland,
Minneapolis and HMAS Shropshire, light cruisers USS Denver,
Columbia, Phoenix, Boise), 29 destroyers and 39
PT boats. To pass the strait and reach the landings, Nishimura would
have to run the gauntlet of torpedoes from the PT boats, evade two
groups of destroyers, proceed up the strait under the concentrated
fire of six battleships in line across the far mouth of the strait,
and then break through the screen of cruisers and destroyers.
At
about 03:00, Fusō and the destroyers Asagumo, Yamagumo,
and Mishishio were hit by torpedoes launched by the destroyer
groups. Fusō broke in two, but did not sink. Then at
03:50, about half of the American battleships opened fire. Radar
fire control allowed about half of the American battleships to hit
targets from a distance at which the Japanese did not reply because
of their inferior fire control systems. Yamashiro and Mogami
were crippled by a combination of 14-inch (356mm) and 16-inch (406 mm)
armour-piercing shells. Shigure turned and fled, but lost
steering and stopped dead. Yamashiro sank at 04:19. At
04:25, Shima's two cruisers (Nachi and Ashigara) and
eight destroyers reached the battle. Seeing what they thought were
the wrecks of both Nishimura's battleships (actually the two halves
of Fusō), he ordered a retreat. His flagship, Nachi,
collided with Mogami, flooding the latter's steering-room. Mogami
fell behind in the retreat and was sunk by aircraft the next
morning. The bow half of Fusō was destroyed by Louisville
and the stern half sank off Kanihaan Island. Of Nishimura's seven
ships, only Shigure survived. Yamashiro was the last battleship to engage another in combat, and one of very few to have been sunk by another battleship during World War 2. The battle itself was the last in naval history to take place solely between all-gun warships. This was also the last battle in which one force (the Americans, in this case) was able to cross the T of its opponent, enabling the U.S. ships to bring all their firepower to bear on the Japanese ships. Technical specification: Launched 3.11.1915 Completed 31.03.1917 Rebuild in 1933, 1935, 1944 Sunk 25.10. 1944 displacement: 39,154 tons length: 212.75 m beam: 30.64 m draught: 9.69 m ship horse power: 75,000 Shp. speed : 24,7 knots main guns 12 (6x2) 14´ = 35,6 cm secondary guns 14 (14x1) 6´= 15,5 cm medium guns AA 8 (4x2) 5 = 12.7 cm light guns AA 92 25mm = (8x3)+(17x2)+(34x1) light guns AA 16 18mm = (3x2)+(10x1) 3 aircraft (DAVE) 1 catapult crew: approx 1396 Build process: Let me say this at first, this is a very good model kit with no need for any improvement, but will be even better if one choose to use PE-sets etc. I have made some parts of paper and metal wire etc. But the only new "milestone" for this building project was plating on the hull for and after section with the help of masking tape also "real "glass windows on the bridge (clear plastic behind horizontal ladders) and hand painted signal flags on metal sheets (house hold metal foil). For a more deeply explanation regarding the building process please see my models of HIEI and YAMATO.
Mostly from the net. Mr. Jeff Lin from Taiwan http://blog.roodo.com/duroyal420/archives/2031763.html Mr. MoXing from Taiwan http://blog.roodo.com/gf13_001nhii/archives/2558322.html Vangurd Factory in Japan http://homepage2.nifty.com/vanguard/intro/main2.htm Books: Die Japanischen Kriegsschiffe 1869-1945 by Hansgorg Jentschura, Dieter Jung, Peter Michel Japanese Warships of World War II by A.J.Watts Conway´s All the World´s Fighting ships 1906-1921, 1922-1946 Anatomy of the ship The Battleship FUSO by Janusz Skulsk
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