Wooden guns make Asahi look combat-ready

Japan needed to move troops to China quickly during the Second Sino-Japanese War but lacked enough active warships to accompany every movement. The former pre-dreadnought Asahi therefore carried troops while wooden guns restored the silhouette of a combat-ready battleship. The false armament encouraged observers in a Chinese harbor to interpret the transport as an active warship protecting the landing force. The example shows how a retired hull could combine real lift capacity with deceptive force presentation after its original weapons and role had changed.