Battleship Fuso
Open the military map戦艦扶桑
Battleship
Fuso-class battleship sunk at the Battle of Surigao Strait on October 25, 1944 — the last battleship surface engagement in history.
- Armament
- 36cm砲12門、15.2cm砲14門、12.7cm高角砲8門
- Fate
- Sunk in battle
History
IJN Fuso was the lead ship of her class, built at Kure Naval Arsenal with twelve 36cm guns in six turrets. At Surigao Strait during the Battle of Leyte Gulf on October 25, 1944, she came through the PT-boat attacks but was hit amidships by one or two destroyer torpedoes (possibly from USS Melvin) at about 03:09 and fell out of formation before reaching the American battle line, whose six battleships "crossed the T" of her sister Yamashiro instead. Long said to have broken in two, she more probably capsized and sank within about 40 minutes; only about ten of her crew are known to have survived. Her wreck was found by RV Petrel in 2017.
Related sites (2)
- Built34.231, 132.565
Kure Naval Arsenal
- Sunk10.317, 125.367
Surigao Strait, Philippines — torpedoed by US destroyers and sunk in the early hours of 25 October 1944; wreck located by RV Petrel in 2017
Sources
- Japanese battleship Fusō – WikipediaWebsite
- 扶桑 (戦艦) – WikipediaWebsite