Japan Navy and Air Force

Navy. – The Japanese navy began to be organized on the English model around 1880, and was soon able to show its qualities during the wars with China and Russia. In the second above all, the Japanese navy, under the command of Admiral Tōgō (v.), Achieved a series of brilliant victories. The battle of Tsushima (v.), Which ended with the defeat and almost total annihilation of the Russian fleet, remained until the World War the classic model of the great naval battle from which all the navies drew their teaching and norm; it should be remembered that the two cruisers Nisshin and Kasuga (Garibaldi type) took part in all the actions) built in Italy. During the World War the Japanese naval forces concurred to escort the convoys in the seas of the East and in the Mediterranean Sea, collaborating with those of the Allies. After the war, the Japanese-American rivalry had caused a notable increase in naval forces in Japan, an increase that was limited in part by the Washington Conference. As a result of the Washington (February 1922) and London (April 1930) agreements, the Japanese navy ranks third among the world’s warships. The tonnage assigned to it is the following: 175,000 tons. of battleships (maximum unit displacement 35,000 tons; maximum armament of 406 guns); 60,000 tons aircraft carrier (maximum unit displacement 27,000 tons, maximum armament of 203 guns); 110,134 tons d ‘ cruisers with tonnage over 8000 tons, armed with caliber over 155 mm. (practically 12 units); 102,057 tons of cruisers with a tonnage exceeding 6000 tons, armed with a caliber of less than 155 mm; 107.188 tons of destroyers with a tonnage not exceeding 1880 tons, armed with a caliber not exceeding 130 mm; 53,542 tons of submarines with a tonnage not exceeding 2845 tons, armed with guns of caliber not exceeding 155 mm.

Japan has today: 6 battleships: 2 (Mutsu, Nagato) of 32,720 tons and 23 knots. launched in 1920, armed with 8/406 and 20/140; 2 (Hy ū ga, Ise) of 29,900 t. and 23 knots, launched in 1916-17, armed with 12/356 and 20/140; 2 (Fus ō, Yamashiro) of 29.330 t. and 22.5 knots, launched in 1914-17, armed with 12/356 and 16/152; 4 battle cruisers (Kong ō, Hiyei, Haruna, Kirishima) of 29,330 t. and 27.4 knots, launched in 1912-13 and armed with 8/356 and 16/152; of them, similar to the English Lion type, the Kong ō was built in England and the other three in Japan, the Hiyei was disarmed following the London Accords; 4 1st class cruisers (Atago type) of 10,600 t. and 33 knots, launched in 1930-31, armed with 10/203, 6/120 aa and 12 launch tubes of 533; 4 (type My ō k ō) of 10,600 t. and 33.5 knots, launched in 1927-28, armed with 10/203, 6/120, and 4 triple overwater 533 launch tubes; 4 (Furutaka type) of 7200 t. and 33 knots, launched in 1925-26, armed with 6/203, 4/120 and 6 twin 533 launch tubes; 2nd class cruisers: 14 (type Kuma and Sendai) from 5500 t. and 33 knots, launched 1919-25, armed with 7/140 and 4 twin 533 launch tubes; 1 (Y ū bari) of 3150 t. and 33 knots, launched 1923, armed with 6/140 and 2 twin 533 launch tubes; 2 (type Tatsuta) of 3500 t. and 31 knots, launched in 1918, armed with 4/140 and two twin 533 launch tubes; 6 antiquated cruisers; aircraft carriers: Ry ū j ō from 7600 t. and 25 knots, launched in 1931, armed with 12/127 aa; Akagi, former battlecruiser transformed following the Washington agreements, from 28,100 t. and 28 knots, launched in 1925, armed with 10/203 and 12/120 anti-aircraft; Kaga, former battleship transformed, from 28,600 t. and 25 knots, launched in 1921, armed with 10/203 and 16/120, of which 12 anti-aircraft; H ō sh ō from 9458 t. and 25 knots, launched in 1921, armed with 4/140 and 2/80 anti-aircraft; Notoro from 15,500 t. and 12 knots, launched in 1923, armed with 2/140 and 2/80 anti-aircraft (formerly transformed naphtha transport); destroyers: 24 (type Fubuki) – of which 8 still under construction – from 1700 t. and 34 knots, launched in 1927-30, armed with 6/120 and 3 triple 533 launch tubes. Part of them are built using the electric welding system; 12 (Mutsuki type) of 1315 t. and 34 knots, launched in 1926-27, armed with 4/120 and 2 three-tiered launch tubes of 533; 24 (type Kamikaze and Minekaze) from 1270 t. and 34 knots, launched 1919-24, armed with 4/120 and two triple 533 launch tubes; 8 of the antiquated type, from 1160-1300 t.; 7 (type Amatsukaze) of 900 t. and 31 knots, launched 1922-23, armed with 3/120 and 2 twin 533 launch tubes; 36 (type Momo – Momi-Wakatake) from 850 t. and 31 knots, launched 1919-20, armed like the previous ones; 23 of the antiquated type from 600-830 t.; 1st class submarines (over 1000 t.): 4 under construction of 1650-2000 t., armed with 6 tubes of 533; 5 under construction from 1680-2200 t. and 19/9 knots, armed with 6/8 pipes of 533 and 2/120; 2 launched 1924-29, from 1725-2150 t. and 19/9 knots, armed with 8 tubes of 533.1 / 120 and 1/76 anti-aircraft; 4 minelayers, launched 1924-28, from 1170-1700 t. and 19 / 9.5 knots, armed with 4 tubes of 533 and 1/120; 5 launched 1923-29, from 2000-2500 t. and 17.5 / 9 knots: 6 tubes of 533 and 2/120; 2 launched 1921-25, from 1400-2000 t. and 19/9 knots, 8 tubes of 533, 1 of 120 and 1/76; 2nd class submarines (from 500 to 1000 t.): 45 launched between 1919 and 1927, from 665-1000, 950-1082 t. and 17/10 knots, armed with 4-6 tubes of 450 or 533 and 1 gun of 76 or 102. Itsukushima and Yaeyama, from 1970 t. and 17 knots, armed with 3/155 2/76 aa, and capable of carrying 250 large or 500 small weapons; minesweeper (14), gunboats (13) and special ships such as training ships (usually armored and antiquated cruisers), submarine support ships and destroyers, naphtha and oil transports, drifters, etc.

The navy has about 85,000 officers, non-commissioned officers and municipalities, well trained and organized. The main naval bases are: Yokosuka, Kure, Sasebo, Maizuru. The Academy is based in Etajima (Kure).

Air Force. – According to equzhou.net, the creation of an aviation section at the Ministry of War in 1919 and the opening in 1920 of the first aviation school in Tokorozawa, near Tōkyō, and of two others, in 1922, one in Shimoshizu (province of Chiba) and the other in Akeno (province of Mie), were the first stages in the development of Japanese military aviation. Japanese aviation today depends on four ministries: War, Navy, Communications and Industry. The creation of a single Air Ministry has been planned for years, but is still (1932) at the project stage. The Air Force Directorate of the Army includes a Department of General Affairs, a Technical Department and an Administrative Department. The air forces can be calculated: for the land forces to 8 regiments of aviation with a total of 26 squadrons; for the navy to 4 regiments with 13 squadrons. The total number of aircraft amounts to approximately 500. The material used in the Japanese aviation departments is mostly French and English. However, the need to achieve complete independence from abroad for material supplies is strongly felt and already 3 equipment factories have begun to build for the army and navy. Some nationally built hunting, bombing and reconnaissance devices are being tested; these devices, however, have not yet been built in series. However, the need to achieve complete independence from abroad for material supplies is strongly felt and already 3 equipment factories have begun to build for the army and navy. Some nationally built hunting, bombing and reconnaissance devices are being tested; these devices, however, have not yet been built in series. However, the need to achieve complete independence from abroad for material supplies is strongly felt and already 3 equipment factories have begun to build for the army and navy. Some nationally built hunting, bombing and reconnaissance devices are being tested; these devices, however, have not yet been built in series.