Battleship Tōtōmi

Battleship Tōtōmi was the first Tōtōmi class battleship used by the Imperial Japanese Navy during the Second World War, and was one of the most powerful battleships constructed during World War II.

Named after the ancient Japanese Tōtōmi Province, Tōtōmi was designed in 1939 and commissioned in 1941 to act as the flagship of the Japanese 10th fleet.

Design
The Tōtōmi-class Battleships were designed as part of the 'Program K' launched by the Empire of Japan after the end of the Washington Naval Treaty.

The Tōtōmi-class Battleships were designed similarly to the Yamato-class, but were designed to be smaller, lighter and much more maneuverable than it.

She reached a top speed of 28 knots, and had a displacement of 52,000 long tons.

Equipped with four 42cm Type 1 Twin turret naval guns, being the only guns of their kind. She also carried two Type 1 15.5cm Triple turret naval guns. In addition to her main batteries, she was equipped with numerous Anti-Aircraft weaponry early into the war.

She also carried four reconnaissance float planes, which was launched from a singular catapult and also served as Seaplane fighters if needed.

In the late 1945s, The Tōtōmi-class Battleships were retrofitted with Anti-torpedo bulges which proved to be effective in the numerous battles that followed suit.

Initial Operations
Tōtōmi, the lead ship of her class was laid down on the early 1939s. She launched on the late 1940s and was commissioned on the early 1941s.

She served as the flagship of the 4th Battleship Division and as the flagship of the 10th Fleet

She was commanded by Admiral Fukui Takuma at the time of her commission.

Operation Paramount
The Tōtōmi taken serious damages during the Battle of Tanegashima after trading fire with the American Battleship Ohio and sinking it, along with her Destroyer escorts.

During the battle, her engines were struck by a torpedo fired from Destroyer Lyon, leaving her dead afloat. The Muteki tried to tow her away from the area, but began to take fire from numerous American bombers.

Takuma quickly ordered the crew of the Destroyers Kitakaze and Kirikaze to scuttle her with torpedoes in order to allow the rest of the 10th Fleet to flee the area of operations and disallow the American forces from capturing the Tōtōmi.

Although this was a strategical defeat for the Imperial Japanese Navy, they were able to inflict more damage during the fight and sink more ships than the American Navy.