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{{short description|Distinctive superstructure of the Imperial Japanese Navy ships of World War II}}
[[File:Japanese Battleship Nagato 1944.jpg|thumb|300px|Pagoda mast on the Japanese battleship {{ship|Japanese battleship|Nagato||2}} (1944)]]
[[File:Pagodemast van de Fuso in 1944.jpg|300px|thumb|The typical pagoda mast of ''Fusō'', which towered {{convert|40|m|ft|abbr=on}} above the waterline]]
A '''pagoda mast''' was a type of [[superstructure]] erected on a tripod mast that was common on [[Japanese Empire|Japanese]] [[capital ship]]s that were reconstructed during the 1930s in a bid to improve their fighting performance. These modifications were deemed to be necessary by the [[Imperial Japanese Navy]] as a result of the "Battleships Holiday" that was imposed by the [[Washington Naval Treaty]],<!-- All signatory nations had the same limitations. Missing from this article is ''why'' the Japanese alone pursued this extreme approach to mast development. --> which strictly limited the construction of new battleships.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.ibiblio.org/pha/pre-war/1922/nav_lim.html|title=CONFERENCE ON THE LIMITATION OF ARMAMENT, 1922.|website=www.ibiblio.org|access-date=2017-05-31}}</ref>
== Development ==
Pagoda masts were built on existing [[tripod mast]]s by adding searchlight and other platforms, lookouts and shelters upon each other, the result resembling a [[pagoda]] temple. The superstructures were constructed on the majority of the ships that were rebuilt by the Japanese during the 1930s, including the {{sclass|Kongō|battlecruiser|1}}s and the {{sclass|Fusō|battleship|5}}, {{sclass|Ise|battleship|5}}, and {{sclass|Nagato|battleship|5}}-class [[battleship]]s.
The additional platforms were supported on the ships' original tripod foremasts (a design also extensively used by the [[Royal Navy]]), which were suitably strengthened to bear the extra weight. As completed, the masts could reach {{convert|40|m|ft|abbr=on}} or more above the waterline.
[[File:Yamashiro and Kaga.jpg|300px|right|thumb|Japanese battleship ''Yamashiro'' (foreground) in October 1930, with original tripod mast]]▼
[[File:Japanese battleships Yamashiro, Fuso and Haruna.jpg|300px|right|thumb|Pagoda masts on the battleships ''Yamashiro'' (foreground), ''Fusō'' and ''Haruna'']]▼
▲[[File:Yamashiro and Kaga.jpg|300px
Like the British [[Royal Navy]], which was considered to be a likely enemy of Japan in the event of an armed conflict, the Imperial Japanese Navy wanted to prepare their warships for engaging in combat at night. Prior to the outbreak of [[World War II]], powerful searchlights were placed on the pagoda masts for the purpose of illuminating enemy ships at night. However, during the early 1940s, the searchlights mounted on the pagoda became less important as new radar technology was developed that allowed a ship to aim and shoot at targets at night.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.combinedfleet.com/radar.htm|title=Japanese Radar Equipment in WWII|website=www.combinedfleet.com|access-date=2017-05-31}}</ref><ref>Nakajima, S.; "Japanese radar development prior to 1945," ''IEEE Antennas and Propagation Magazine'', vol. 34, Dec., 1992, pp. 17-22</ref>▼
▲[[File:Japanese battleships Yamashiro, Fuso and Haruna.jpg|300px
[[File:Yamato sea trials 2.jpg|thumb|300px|''Yamato'', lead ship of Japan's largest and final battleship class]]
▲Like the British [[Royal Navy]], which was considered to be a likely enemy of Japan in the event of an armed conflict, the Imperial Japanese Navy wanted to prepare their warships for engaging in night combat
In the navies of Europe and the Americas, tall pagoda-style masts were generally frowned upon. [[Naval architecture|Naval architects]] and sailors from the Western hemisphere claimed that the Japanese battleships were too "top-heavy" and critics often mocked these vessels by nicknaming them "[[Christmas tree|Christmas Tree]]s". Uniquely, the battleship ''[[Japanese battleship Hiei#1937–1941: Reconstruction and fast battleship|Hiei]]'' received a prototype of the pagoda-style tower-mast that would eventually be used on the upcoming {{sclass|Yamato|battleship|1}}s, then still in the design phase, rather than the pagoda masts used on her sister ships and other modernized World War I-era capital ships.<ref>{{Cite web | url=http://www.combinedfleet.com/atully03.htm | title=Imperial Japanese Navy Mysteries}}</ref>▼
▲In the navies of Europe and the Americas, tall pagoda-style masts were generally frowned upon. [[Naval architecture|Naval architects]] and sailors from the Western hemisphere claimed that the Japanese battleships were too "top-heavy"
During the same interwar period, the Royal Navy implemented the "[[Nelson-class battleship#Superstructure|Queen Anne's Mansions]]" style conning tower and bridge, either retrofitted World War I-era battleships (three of the {{sclass|Queen Elizabeth|battleship|4}}, {{HMS|Renown|1916|6}}) or for new battleships (the {{sclass|Nelson|battleship|5}} and {{sclass|King George V|battleship|5||1939}} classes). Between World War I and World War II, the US Navy gradually phased out the [[cage mast]]s on its [[Standard-type battleship]]s in favor of [[tripod mast]]s, and after [[Attack on Pearl Harbor|Pearl Harbor]] some of the salvaged battleships were reconstructed with conning towers similar to those on its post-treaty battleships.▼
▲During the same interwar period, the Royal Navy implemented the "[[Nelson-class battleship#Superstructure|Queen Anne's Mansions]]"
{{-}}
Japanese battleship {{ship|Japanese battleship|Ise||2}}, showing the development of her pagoda mast over time.▼
==Example==
▲Chronological images of the Japanese battleship {{ship|Japanese battleship|Ise||2}}, showing the development of her pagoda mast over time.
<gallery mode="packed" heights=100px>
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File:Ise03cropped.jpg|''Ise'', unknown date, with tripod mast
File:Ise05cropped.jpg|''Ise'', after reconstruction
File:Battleship-carrier Ise.jpg|Higher resolution image of ''Ise'', c. 1943
</gallery>
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[[Category:Nautical terminology]]
[[Category:Battleships]]
[[Category:Watercraft components]]
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