2024-01-21 09:12:00
At the Maritime Self-Defense Force school in Etajima City, Hiroshima Prefecture, the turret and main gun of the battleship Mutsu, which were taken down before the war, are still in place for educational purposes. This time, we obtained special permission to go inside this turret and conduct interviews under the guidance of Self-Defense Force personnel.
Why does the battleship turret that went up on land still exist?
Etajima City in Hiroshima Prefecture, an island town in the Seto Inland Sea, was home to the former Japanese Navy’s education and training institution for naval personnel from 1888 (Meiji 21) before the Sino-Japanese War to 1945 (Showa 20) at the end of the Pacific War. There was a school. After the war, the Maritime Self-Defense Force took over the facility, and it is still used today as the Officer Candidate School and the First Technical School. In this way, the red brick school hall and large auditorium, which are still in use today, convey the traditions of Etajima that have spanned over 130 years.
By the way, if you look out over Etajima Bay from this Maritime Self-Defense Force school facility, you’ll notice a long chimney-like object jutting out horizontally toward the sea between the cutter boat dock and the building on the left. This large and strange structure is actually a turret that was once mounted on the battleship Mutsu. People who see it for the first time and don’t know of its existence are all surprised and wonder, “Why is there a huge turret on land like this?” But there was a reason for that.
Former No. 4 turret with two gun barrels protruding toward Etajima Bay. In the foreground are Type 92 quadruple torpedo tubes installed on the destroyer “Nashi” and reused following the war on the destroyer “Wakaba” (photo by Kazuatsu Yoshikawa).
The battleship Mutsu, which was equipped with this turret, was built at the Yokosuka Naval Arsenal as the second Nagato-class battleship, and was completed in 1921, three years following the end of World War I. .
The total length is 224.94 m, the standard displacement is approximately 39,000 tons, and the armament is 4 twin turrets (45 caliber three-year type 40 cm (accurately 16 inches / 40.6 cm, so it is also written as 41 cm)) and 20 50 caliber 14 cm single guns. It was equipped with a gate, four 40-caliber 7.6cm single high-angle guns, and eight 53cm torpedo tubes.
At that time, there were only seven battleships in the world equipped with 40cm class main guns, including the Mutsu and Nagato, and they were called the “World’s Seven Greatest Ships” and became the pride of the Japanese people. As it was the most advanced ship of its time, it also served as the flagship of the combined fleet for a time.
During the major renovation of the battleship “Mutsu” in 1935 (Showa 10), in order to increase the angle of elevation of the main gun, it was replaced with a three-year type 40cm twin turret for two Kaga-class battleships, which had been left over from construction cancellation. will be done. The No. 4 turret at the rear of the ship, which was taken down at that time, was relocated to the Naval Academy on Etajima as a teaching material, leaving the battleship’s huge turret on land.
[Next page]What is inside the Mutsu turret, which is generally not open to the public?
[Super rare!!]This is the inside of the turret of the battleship “Mutsu” that currently exists on Etajima, Hiroshima! (photograph)
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