Imperial Japanese Navy order of battle 1941

Order of battle

Warships

IJN at time of Pearl Harbor Attack in December 1941:

Battleships

• 10 (plus 3 building) (1)
• 4 Kongō class — converted from battlecruisers. Built in 1913–1915.
• Kongō — †November 1944
• Hiei — †November 1942
• Kirishima — †November 1942
• Haruna — †July 1945
• 2 Fusō class — built 1915–1917
• Fusō — †October 1944
• Yamashiro — †October 1944
• 2 Ise class — built 1917–1918
• Ise — †July 1945
• HyÅ«ga — run aground in July 1945
• 2 Nagato class — built 1920–1921
• Nagato
• Mutsu — †June 1943
• 0 Yamato class (3 building (1 converted to aircraft carrier Shinano) and 1 cancelled later in 1941).
• Yamato — commissioned 1941 † 1945
• Musashi — commissioned 1942 † 1944
• The fourth of the class, Hull Number 111 was scrapped in 1942 when only 30% complete, and a proposed fifth hull, Number 797, proposed in the 1942 5th Supplementary Program, was never ordered.

Aircraft carriers

• 6 heavy and 6 light (plus 7 building )(1)
• Hōshō built in 1922
• Akagi (2) (ex-battlecruiser converted by 1927) — †1942
• Kaga (ex-battleship converted in 1928) — †1942
• RyÅ«jō completed 1933 — †1942
• SōryÅ« — †1942
• HiryÅ« — †1942
• 2 Zuihō class commissioned as aircraft carriers 1940–1941
• Shōhō - †1942
• Zuihō - †1944
• 2 Shōkaku class built 1941
• Shōkaku — †1944
• Zuikaku — †1944
• 3 Taiyō class
• Taiyō — †1944
• ChÅ«yō — †1943
• Unyō — †1944
• 2 Hiyō class
• Hiyō — †1944
• Jun'yō
• Shinano (ex-battleship converted in 1942–44) — †1944

(1) Does not include Imperial Japanese Army built aircraft transports.

(2) Amagi — sister ship to Akagi both as a battlecruiser and as a conversion to an aircraft carrier, was destroyed during construction by an earthquake and replaced with the Kaga.

Heavy cruisers

• 18 (plus 1 building) (1)
• 2 Furutaka built 1926–1927
• 2 Aoba built 1926–1927
• 4 Myōkō built 1928–1929
• 4 Takao built 1932
• 4 Mogami built 1935–1937(2)
• 2 Tone built 1941

(1) Ibuki ordered but not laid down (2) Mogamis designated light cruisers but were built to be up-gunned as heavies once the London Naval Treaty was broken.

Light cruisers

• 20 (plus 5 building) (1)
• 2 TenryÅ« built 1919
• 5 Kuma built 1920–1921
• 1 Yubari built 1923
• 3 Sendai built 1924–1925
• 6 Nagara built 1922–1925
• 3 Katori (1 cancelled) built 1938–1940

(1) 4 Agano and 2 Ōyodo (1 cancelled).

Destroyers

• 115 (plus 43 building) (1)
• 3 Momi-class destroyer (3) built 1920–1922
• 13 Minekaze-class destroyer built 1920–1922
• 6 Wakatake-class destroyer built 1922–1923
• 9 Kamikaze-class destroyer built 1922–1924
• 12 Mutsuki-class destroyer built 1925–1927
• 19 Fubuki-class destroyer built 1926–1933 (included Ayanami subclass)
• 4 Akatsuki-class destroyer built 1932–1933 (subclass of Fubuki class)
• 6 Hatsuharu-class destroyer built 1933–1935
• 10 Shiratsuyu-class destroyer built 1936–1937
• 10 Asashio-class destroyer built 1937–1938
• 19 Kagerō-class destroyer built 1939
• 4 YÅ«gumo-class destroyer built 1941

(1) 27 YÅ«gumo class and 16 Akizuki-class building (2) Others ships of the Momi-class were re-rated as patrol vessels. Also, note than Momi name was assigned in 1944 to a Matsu-class destroyer ship

Submarines

• 68 Fleet submarines
• 50 Ko-hyoteki-class midget submarines

Others

• 90 patrol ships, gunboats, armed merchant ships, and submarine chasers
• 6 minelayers
• Itsukushima
• 42 minesweepers
• 55 auxiliaries

Merchant ships

Many under direct navy control as armed merchantmen.

• 1939 - 2,337 with 5,629,845 tons
• World War II construction of 4,250,000 tons
• 2,346 sunk

Aircraft

• Total 1,750 first line with 370 trainers
• 660 Fighters
• 330 Carrier based strike aircraft
• 240 Land-based twin engine bombers
• 520 Seaplanes and flying boats.

Commanders

Imperial Japanese Navy commanders at the time of the Attack on Pearl Harbor:

See also

• List of Japanese Navy ships and war vessels in World War II

References