Imperial Japanese Navy order of battle 1941

Order of battle[edit]

Warships[edit]

IJN at time of Pearl Harbor Attack in December 1941:

Battleships[edit]

10 (plus 3 building) (1)
- 4 Kongō class — converted from battlecruisers. Built in 1913–1915.
  - Kongō — †November, 1944
  - Hiei — †November, 1942
  - Kirishima — †November, 1942
  - Haruna — †July, 1945
- 2 Fusō class — built 1915-1917
  - Fusō — †October, 1944
  - Yamashiro — †October, 1944
- 2 Ise class — built 1917-1918
  - Ise — †July, 1945
  - Hyūga — run aground in July, 1945
- 2 Nagato class — built 1920-1921
  - Nagato
  - Mutsu — †June, 1943
- 0 Yamato class (3 building (1 converted to aircraft carrier Shinano) and 1 cancelled later in 1941).
  - Yamato — commissioned 1941, † 1945
  - Musashi — commissioned 1942, † 1944
  - The fourth of the class, Hull Number 111 was scrapped in 1942 when only 30% complete, and a proposed fifth hull, Number 797, proposed in the 1942 5th Supplementary Program, was never ordered.

Aircraft carriers[edit]

6 heavy and 6 light (plus 7 building )(1)
- Hōshō built in 1922
- Akagi (2) (ex-battlecruiser converted by 1927) — †1942
- Kaga (ex-battleship converted in 1928) — †1942
- Ryūjō completed 1933 — †1942
- Sōryū — †1942
- Hiryū — †1942
- 2 Zuihō class commissioned as aircraft carriers 1940-1941
  - Shōhō - †1942
  - Zuihō - †1944
- 2 Shōkaku class built 1941
  - Shōkaku — †1944
  - Zuikaku — †1944
- 3 Taiyō class
  - Taiyō — †1944
  - Chūyō — †1943
  - Unyō — †1944
- 2 Hiyō class
  - Hiyō — †1944
  - Jun'yō
- Shinano (ex-battleship converted in 1942–44) — †1944

(1) Does not include Imperial Japanese Army built aircraft transports.

(2) Amagi — sister ship to Akagi both as a battlecruiser and as a conversion to an aircraft carrier, was destroyed during construction by an earthquake and replaced with the Kaga.

Heavy cruisers[edit]

18 (plus 1 building) (1)
- 2 Furutaka built 1926-1927
- 2 Aoba built 1926-1927
- 4 Myōkō built 1928-1929
- 4 Takao built 1932
- 4 Mogami built 1935-1937(2)
- 2 Tone built 1941

(1) Ibuki ordered but not laid down (2) Mogamis designated light cruisers but were built to be up-gunned as heavies once the London Naval Treaty was broken.

Light cruisers[edit]

20 (plus 5 building) (1)
- 2 Tenryū built 1919
- 5 Kuma built 1920-1921
- 1 Yubari built 1923
- 3 Sendai built 1924-1925
- 6 Nagara built 1922-1925
- 3 Katori (1 cancelled) built 1938-1940

(1) 4 Agano and 2 Ōyodo (1 cancelled).

Destroyers[edit]

115 (plus 43 building) (1)
- 3 Momi-class destroyer (3) built 1920-1922
- 13 Minekaze-class destroyer built 1920-1922
- 6 Wakatake-class destroyer built 1922-1923
- 9 Kamikaze-class destroyer built 1922-1924
- 12 Mutsuki-class destroyer built 1925-1927
- 19 Fubuki-class destroyer built 1926-1933 (included Ayanami subclass)
- 4 Akatsuki-class destroyer built 1932-1933 (subclass of Fubuki class)
- 6 Hatsuharu-class destroyer built 1933-1935
- 10 Shiratsuyu-class destroyer built 1936-1937
- 10 Asashio-class destroyer built 1937-1938
- 19 Kagerō-class destroyer built 1939
- 4 Yūgumo-class destroyer built 1941

(1) 27 Yūgumo class and 16 Akizuki-class building (2) Others ships of the Momi-class were re-rated as patrol vessels. Also, note than Momi name was assigned in 1944 to a Matsu-class destroyer ship

Submarines[edit]

68 Fleet submarines
50 Ko-hyoteki-class midget submarines

Others[edit]

90 patrol ships, gunboats, armed merchant ships, and submarine chasers
6 minelayers
- Itsukushima
42 minesweepers
55 auxiliaries

Merchant ships[edit]

Many under direct navy control as armed merchantmen.

1939 - 2,337 with 5,629,845 tons
World War II construction of 4,250,000 tons
2,346 sunk

Aircraft[edit]

Total 1750 first line with 370 trainers
- 660 Fighters
- 330 Carrier based strike aircraft
- 240 Land-based twin engine bombers
- 520 Seaplanes and flying boats.