Why Japanese Battleships Were So Tall — Pagoda Mast

Comments · 116

• JH

  @jhni1 · 3 days ago

  the arc they would of swung through in any sort of sea conditions would have been massive and scary if you were up there

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• PA

  @paulsmodels · 3 days ago

  If nothing else, those Japanese battleship looked really amazing!

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• CO

  @CoronadoBruin · 4 days ago

  One of the better informative presentations of the few very good historical sites on YouTube; thank you

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• EN

  @enscroggs · 4 days ago

  It&apos;s interesting to compare an IJN battleship to a WWII German capital ship in terms of height. None of the German ships had masts nearly as tall or massive, yet their reputation for accurate gunnery is remarkable. All of them were rather squat and beamy, with masts only slightly taller than their single funnels. (The Scharhorst-class and the Bismarcks closely resembled each other in silhouette. Probably a deliberate choice intended to confuse enemy intelligence.) Perhaps the German ships were designed exclusively for sea and weather conditions in the North Atlantic, which favored close-range fighting. (Hood was fatally hit by Bismarck at just 16,500 yards.) We see something similar in the King George V-class -- the main rangefinder located only slightly higher than the funnels.<br><br>Fuso&apos;s pagoda mast looks absurdly tall, but USS North Carolina (the first of the USN&apos;s modern fast battleships) has an even taller mast, though much more slender and tapered. Was that a design feature tailored to conditions in the Central Pacific, where over-the-horizon gun duels were more likely?

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• RA

  @raywhitehead730 · 3 days ago

  Excellent. Also! &nbsp;Japanese sailors got extra training for night watch. &nbsp;The glass used by the Japanese Navy optics was likely the best in the world.

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• SE

  @seanmalloy7249 · 3 days ago

  The pagoda design also played into the restrictions imposed on Japan by the Washington Naval Treaty. By enabling engagement at longer ranges, an IJN ship&apos;s gunfire was coming in to its target at an increased angle, increasing the chance that the shells would strike the thinner <i>deck</i> armor of the target, rather than the thicker <i>belt</i> armor. Because of shell dispersion, this couldn&apos;t be <b>planned</b> for with any given shot, but the ability to visually target ships at extreme range <i>did</i> give these ships a small advantage.

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• LE

  @leroycharles9751 · 3 days ago

  Excellent video that explained the pagoda and used the correct pictures. Thanks.

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• AN

  @anselmdanker9519 · 4 days ago

  Outstanding presentation 👏 thank you

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• EN

  @enscroggs · 4 days ago

  A beautifully executed presentation. Thank you.

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• NO

  @Nothinghappinghere-qz4ji · 3 days ago

  The other advantage of those structures is there&apos;s plenty of places to hang out the washing.

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• IN

  @inversepie6512 · 4 days ago

  Man, I play world of warships and have been wondering why the Japanese battleship superstructures are so funny looking. &nbsp;This video does a great job answering that!

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• RI

  @richardcleveland8549 · 3 days ago

  Excellent presentation; answered any questions I had about the pagoda masts. Well done.

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