This illustrated encyclopedia features every warship of the Imperial Japanese Fleet from its inception in 1869 to its final defeat in 1945. It includes ironclads, battleships, submarines and many others with drawings and photographs.

For almost 20 years, more than 200 reels of microfilmed Japanese naval records remained in the custody of the U.S. Naval History Division, virtually untouched. This unique book draws on those sources and others to tell the story of the Pacific War from the viewpoint of the Japanese. Former Marine Corps officer and Asian scholar Paul Dull focuses on the major surface engagements of the war—Coral Sea, Midway, the crucial Solomons campaign, and the last-ditch battles in the Marianas and Philippines. Also included are detailed track charts and a selection of Japanese photographs of major vessels and actions.

This photographic archive contains some 125 stunning images of the battleships of the Imperial Japanese Navy, many unfamiliar, some very rare. They constitute an archive that is pretty much without equal in publications in the West. The period covered is from the launch of Japan's first real contemporary battleship, Yashima, built by Armstrong's on the Tyne, up the final destruction of her fleet in the Pacific in 1945. During that time Japan built up the third largest navy in the world and, before the First World War, it was Britain that armed her at sea. All her dreadnoughts saw action the the Second World War, and of all these numerous ships only Nagato survived the conflict. She was to become a target in the Bikini A-bomb tests in 1946 Just as the ships were lost, so were the majority of photographic records, and relatively few images have come down to us. This selection from R A Burt's archive, represents therefore a remarkable portrayal of these ships, and the large format of the book combined with the quality of many of the images ensures that it offers the reader maximum detail and visual impact. Extended captions and ship specifications enhance its reference value and it is destined to become a 'must-have' volume for enthusiasts and modellers and for all those with an interest in the Second World.

87 photos, 202 figures and drawings, 60 tables, and 15 maps and tracks. Recognising the impossibility of improving upon the (in)famous 5:5:3 ratio of the Washington Naval Treaty when the expected naval race would begin as the treaty expired, the Imperial Japanese Navy resorted to a strategy of qualitative superiority to overcome the American quantitative edge. The IJN succeeded, after many studies and false starts, in creating the world's most heavily armed (nine 18.1" main guns in three triple turrets - the largest calibre ever mounted) and protected (410-mm thick VH belt armor, 660-mm thick front shields of the gun houses - the thickest armour plates ever mounted) battleships. With a displacement in excess of 70,000 tons their size was unprecedented but despite this restrictions resulted in defects, which otherwise might have been avoided; other defects were the result of techniques below the highest standard. Because the qualities of a battleship were generally measured by gun power, protection and mobility the authors have focused upon these items after giving a rough outline of the design and building processes. The result is probably the most detailed description based upon Japanese sources published outside Japan. Stimulated by Gustav Jensen's expanded dissertation Japans Seemacht and encouraged by Messrs. Erich Gröner and Prof. Jürgen Rohwer, Hans Lengerer began writing on the IJN in 1969. Over the years more than 50 articles have appeared in magazines like Marine Rundschau, Marine Forum, Warship and Interconair Aviation e Marina. After retirement from service in an executive organ, Lengerer continues to write books and articles using a considerable amount of time for his hobby. He is also the author of the privately published Contributions to the History of Imperial Japanese Warships, referred to in this book, and is presently working to revise and condense his 250,000-word manuscript Development of Warship Construction in Japan and to complete A History of the Imperial Japanese Navy. As "hobby researcher" at best, his writings depend heavily upon information supplied by other IJN fans; they come first therefore. Lars Ahlberg is on active duty with the Swedish Air Defence Regiment and is a military historian by avocation. He has written monographs about the IJN battleships of the Nagato class and the IJN aircraft carrier Taihô. His articles have appeared in Sveriges Flotta, Warship International and Okrety Wojenne and for several years he has been the editor of Contributions to the History of Imperial Japanese Warships. Ahlberg has also co-authored two books about Swedish regiments: Kungl Hallands regementes historia 1962-2000 and Kasernerna på Galgberget.