Japanese battleship Ise

Ise, late 1920s
History
Empire of Japan
Name	Ise
Namesake	Ise Province
Ordered	11 April 1913
Builder	Kawasaki, Kobe
Laid down	10 May 1915
Launched	12 November 1916
Completed	15 December 1917
Stricken	20 November 1945
Fate	Sunk by air attack, 28 July 1945, and subsequently scrapped
General characteristics (as built)
Class and type	Ise-class battleship
Displacement	29,980 long tons (30,460 t) (standard) 36,500 long tons (37,100 t) (deep load)
Length	208.18 m (683 ft) (o.a.)
Beam	28.65 m (94 ft)
Draught	8.93 m (29 ft 4 in)
Installed power	24 × water-tube boilers 45,000 shp (34,000 kW)
Propulsion	4 × shafts; 2 × steam turbine sets
Speed	23 knots (43 km/h; 26 mph)
Range	9,680 nmi (17,930 km; 11,140 mi) at 14 knots (26 km/h; 16 mph)
Complement	1,360
Armament	6 × twin 35.6 cm (14 in) guns 20 × single 14 cm (5.5 in) guns 4 × single 7.62 cm (3 in) AA guns 6 × 53.3 cm (21 in) torpedo tubes
Armour	Belt: 299 mm (11.8 in) Decks: 85 mm (3.3 in) Turrets: 254 mm (10 in)
General characteristics (after first reconstruction)
Displacement	42,001 long tons (42,675 t) (full load)
Length	215.8 m (708 ft)
Beam	31.75 m (104 ft 2 in)
Draught	9.45 m (31 ft)
Installed power	8 × water-tube boilers 80,000 shp (60,000 kW)
Propulsion	4 × steam turbine sets
Speed	24.5 knots (45.4 km/h; 28.2 mph)
Range	7,870 nmi (14,580 km; 9,060 mi) at 16 knots (30 km/h; 18 mph)
Complement	1,376
Armament	6 × twin 35.6 cm (14 in) guns 16 × single 14 cm (5.5 in) guns 4 × twin 12.7 cm (5 in) DP guns 10 × twin 2.5 cm (1 in) AA guns
Armour	Decks: 152 mm (6 in)
Aircraft carried	3
Aviation facilities	1 catapult
General characteristics (as hybrid carrier, 1945)
Displacement	39,805 long tons (40,444 t) (full load)
Length	219.62 m (720 ft 6 in)
Beam	31.71 m (104 ft)
Draught	9.03 m (29 ft 8 in)
Range	9,500 nmi (17,600 km; 10,900 mi) at 16 knots
Complement	1,463
Sensors and processing systems	1 × Type 21 air-search radar 2 × Type 13 early-warning radars 2 × Type 22 surface-search radars
Armament	4 × twin 35.6 cm guns 8 × twin 12.7 cm DP guns 31 × triple, 11 × single 2.5 cm AA guns 6 × 30-round 12.7 cm AA rocket launchers
Aircraft carried	22–24
Aviation facilities	2 catapults

Ise (Japanese: 伊勢, named after the ancient Ise Province) was the lead ship of her class of two dreadnought battleships built for the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) during the 1910s. Although completed in 1917, she played no role in World War I. Ise supported Japanese forces in the early 1920s during the Siberian Intervention in the Russian Civil War. In 1923, she assisted survivors of the Great Kantō earthquake. The ship was partially modernised in two stages in 1928–1929 and 1931–1932, during which her forward superstructure was rebuilt in the pagoda mast style. Ise was reconstructed in 1934–1937, with improvements to her armour and her propulsion machinery. Afterwards she played a minor role in the Second Sino-Japanese War.

Despite the expensive reconstruction, the ship was considered obsolete by the eve of the Pacific War, and did not see significant action in the early years of the war. Following the loss of most of the IJN's large aircraft carriers during the Battle of Midway in mid-1942, she was rebuilt with a flight deck replacing the rear pair of gun turrets to give her the ability to operate an air group of floatplanes; lack of aircraft and qualified pilots meant that Ise never actually operated aircraft in combat. She participated in the Battle off Cape Engaño in late 1944, where she was one of the ships that decoyed the American carrier fleet supporting the invasion of Leyte away from the landing beaches. Afterwards the ship was transferred to Southeast Asia. In early 1945 Ise participated in Operation Kita, where she transported petrol and other strategic materials to Japan. The ship was then reduced to reserve until American airstrikes in July sank her. After the war Ise was scrapped in 1946–1947.