IJN No.13 - Guide 261 (NB)

The No.13 class, the final never-built battleships of the Imperial Japanese Navy's 1920's program, are today's subject.

Read more about the ship here:

[admiraltiberius]

I do absolutely love never built ship designs. Something is absolutely fascinating about what may have been.

[Brenosakaguti]

1:36 "They are forever to be known only by the hull number of the first proposed ship of the class, No.13"
Or until World of Warships comes up with a fictional name for them

[Philistine]

No doubt these ships, if built, would have been extraordinarily effective at pushing Japan's already-overstretched economy past the breaking point. (Always assuming that building and operating the planned numbers of _Amagis, _ _Tosas, _ and _Kiis_ didn't trigger a financial collapse before these could even be laid down, of course.)

[johnfisher]

The ships cancelled by the Washington Treaty and their successors are truly fascinating and will forever be considered for many "What If" scenarios.
The drawing of the Number 13 with the guns of B turret do seem to have an extremely high elevation.

[cartmann]

“I have failed you, I’m sorry.
But i’ll save your idea for when the time is right.”
IJN scrapping the Number 13 designs

[michaelsnyder]

Given the limitations of Japanese industry, their maximum production was three capital ships every two years, every alternate set of two years. The other limitation was a launch displacement of 40, 000 metric tons and a maximum draft of 35 feet due to the depths in Japanese harbors and the main channels of the Inland Sea. Thus the No.13 class would not be laid down before 1929 and the first not completed before 1932, at best. Any rebuilds by the Japanese after 1932 would have focused on the earlier ships, at about 1.5 ships a year, between 1933 and 1940, ( 12 ships, the "Fuso", "Ise", "Nagato", "Tosa", the three "Akagis" (Amagi being destroyed during the Great Tokyo Earthquake, scrapped on the slip and replaced by a fifth "Kii") and one of the "Kii") which would have delayed the laying down of any successor class to the No.13 until around 1937-38. Facing at least two "Lexington" CVs or more likely three, the Japanese would have been more likely to convert the "Kongos" to aircraft carriers between 1928 and 1931, delaying completion of the Japanese capital ship program. The British would have completed four N3 class battleships in 1928. and another four by 1932. The USN would have completed six of the BB1918 battleships which combined "South Dakota" armament and armor with the "Lexington" machinery by 1929 and the next four capital ships authorized under the 1918 Act, would have been completed to a design similar to the smaller Tillman IV springstyles, 64, 000 tons normal load, twelve 18" L/50 guns, 16" belt and 25-27 knots by 1931. This assumes that the British and Japanese economies hadn't collapsed back around 1926 or that Congress hadn't fallen under the control of isolationist, pacifist and anti-Navy mid-Western congressmen in 1920. There was a reason the Washington Treaty got done.

[augustosolari]

The Japanese were very understanding of their ships and let them be classified as they perceived themselves.

Kongo class: we are battleships!
IJN command: yes you are mate.

[Niels_Larsen]

"We want a ship with the firepower of a battleship, but it will have speed of a cruiser at the expense of the armour"
Isn't that just a battlecruiser?

Edit: To anyone who apparently don't understand this comment. It's a joke not a question.

[pegzounet]

Nice thumbnail. "Is that a 15in gun in your turret or are you just happy to see me ?"

[seegurke]

lol I fist thought its about the IJN no13 anti sub chasers :D and was already happy :( :D

[Big_E_Soul_Fragment]

So it's essentially a prototype Yamato? or a Battlecruiser version of Yamato? Neat

[thedevilinthecircuit]

GREAT content as usual. Thanks Drach!

[BobSmith-dknw]

Thanks. It's interesting to see what they had in mind.
.

[benjaminmunson]

Battle of Trafalgar please. You left Nelson's life undone.

[triggerunhappy.]

6 minutes?!
This is a drachinfel YouTube short!

[craigpalmer]

the timing on the dec7th special cpu;d not have been better, 12 noon, i remember my Mother [passed on] telling the the news . noon central time, tulsa time is 0800 in the islands, Gin thanks

[RCAvhstape]

"...it would've been more along the lines of 'I suppose it's the thought that counts'": my nomination for Drachism of the Day

[afancypirate]

Nice

I hope one day you get to the A-150 class battleship

[admiralprinceeric]

The Number 13 class Battleship in the game on WoWs known as Tier IX Adatara.

As this ship based on the battleship design with her main armanent is 18-inch guns in 2 gun turrets

[paulsteaven]

You know what's the sad thing IF the No. 13s were built together with the projected "8-8 fleet" aside from the economy of Imperial Japan? The Kongos will be decommissioned and will be put to reserve or maybe even to the scrapyard.