World War II Database

Contributor: C. Peter Chen

ww2dbaseBattleship Settsu was a warship of a prior era, having been initially commissioned in 1912. During WW1, she bombarded German fortifications during the Battle of Tsingtao (Qingdao). In Dec 1923, she was struck from the Japanese Navy list per terms of the Washington Naval Treaty. In 1924, she received additional armor for her new role as a target ship; the thicker armor allowed her to absorb hits from 203-millimeter, or 8-inch, shells. In the mid-1930s, as Japan prepared for full scale war with China, Settsu was converted into a radio-controlled large armored transport; in this role, she landed a battalion of Sasebo 4th Special Naval Landing Force naval infantry troops during the Second Battle of Shanghai in 1937. In 1940, she returned to her role as a target ship for training carrier bomber pilots; during the training of what would become the Pearl Harbor raiding force, Settsu played the role of USS Arizona. In Nov and Dec 1941, under the command of Captain Chiaki Matsuda, she sailed from the Inland Sea in Japan toward Taiwan and then on to the Philippine Islands, generating fake radio traffic of eight aircraft carriers, which confused the Americans on the actual locations of them (meanwhile, six of the carriers which Settsu was generating false transmissions for were en route toward Pearl Harbor). After this successful deception operation, she returned to Japan and largely remained in home waters for the rest of the war. Her main duties were, once again, serving as a target ship for carrier pilot trainees. In mid-1944, she was fitted with Type 96 25-millimeter anti-aircraft guns, among other defensive weapons. On 24 Jul 1945, US Navy carrier aircraft attacked the area near Kure, Hiroshima, Japan, where Settsu was located. She suffered a direct bomb hit and five near misses, which killed two and wounded two, Captain Masanano Ofuji grounded the ship on the island of Etajima to prevent sinking. Four days later, she was attacked by carrier aircraft again, receiving two more bomb hits. The first hit penetrated the deck on the starboard side and exploded in No. 3 crew space; the second bomb detonated on the top of the deck on the port side. Her anti-aircraft armaments were removed, thus effectively ending her career. In Jun 1946, she was refloated and towed to Kure, where she was scrapped at the Harima shipyard; the scrapping was completed in Aug 1947.

Battleship Settsu Interactive Map

Photographs

Settsu Operational Timeline