The Tantalizing Tale of the Tosa: Japan’s Could-Have-Been Battleship

Ahoy, history buffs and naval enthusiasts! Today, we embark on a journey that explores the fascinating “what ifs” of naval warfare.

Gather around as we delve into the story of the Imperial Japanese Navy’s grand endeavor: the Tosa battleship. Spoiler alert: it never quite made it past the drawing board, but oh, what a dream she was!

Imagine a majestic ship, displacing a whopping 39,900 long tons (or as I like to call it, an excellent excuse to skip leg day)! Designed by the ingenious Yuzuru Hiraga, Tosa was envisioned as the first of two Tosa-class ships, armed with ten fearsome 410 mm guns—because who wouldn’t want to go into battle with the equivalent of a dozen oversized firecrackers?

Launched in December 1921 and full of potential, the Tosa was originally intended to help Japan achieve its ambitious naval goals of an “eight–four” fleet—eight battleships and four battlecruisers. It’s almost like the Japanese Navy was playing a strategic game of Battleship with real ships! However, fate had different plans.

In a plot twist worthy of a Shakespearean tragedy, the winds of change blew in with the Washington Naval Conference of 1922. With the signing of the Washington Naval Treaty, the Tosa’s shipbuilding progress came to a screeching halt. After all, who knew diplomacy could sink ships faster than any torpedo?

But wait, there’s more! Before Tosa was met with a watery grave, she underwent a series of tests designed to showcase the Japanese weaponry. Just think: a grand finale before the ultimate swan song! On February 9, 1925, Tosa was finally scuttled, making her one of history’s quieter exits—definitely not a dramatic last stand, but rather a philosophical musing on what might have been.

In retrospect, the Tosa’s story is a poignant reminder of how the tides of geopolitics can alter the course of history. If she had sailed into the world’s oceans, who knows how she would have changed the battleships’ game? For now, we’ll have to settle for imaginative tales and dreams of what could have been.

So, here’s to the Tosa, a ship that never sailed but remains a buoyant muse in the naval archives of our minds. May she forever float in the seas of our imagination, a splash of ambition, innovation, and unfulfilled destiny!

Wikipedia article of the day is “Japanese battleship Tosa”.

Check it out: Article-Link