The captured Chinese ironclad Zhenyuan appeared in Japanese lists as a fifth battleship, but her commanders kept her in a supporting division rather than treating her as an equal of Mikasa. Modernization and a bounded second-line role made the old ship useful without allowing her to dictate the fleet's speed or tactics. Matsushima served as the third squadron flagship alongside additional torpedo-boat divisions. The older unprotected cruiser Takao also reflected the earlier French and Jeune École influence on Japanese naval thinking. Japan's advantage was not that every hull was modern, but that its organization assigned legacy ships jobs they could still perform.
Notable Point · 1:30:17-1:35:20
Japan gave legacy ships bounded supporting roles
Captured and older ships remained useful because Japan modernized them, placed them behind the main line, and matched their assignments to their limitations.