This opening sets the Number 13s within Japan's ambitious Eight-Eight Fleet rather than treating them as an isolated predecessor to Yamato. The planned ships combined eight 18-inch guns, roughly 30-knot speed, a 13-inch armour belt, and a 47,500-ton normal displacement. They were intended as the final four ships in a sixteen-capital-ship programme proposed under Prime Minister Hara Takashi. Their place after the Nagato, Amagi, and Kii classes explains why they demanded long-range industrial planning.
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Number 13 in Japan's Eight-Eight Fleet
The proposed Number 13 class emerges as the fast, 18-inch-gunned successor to Japan's Nagato, Amagi, and Kii programmes.