By the time of the Russo-Japanese War, it had reached the scale of 76 warships and 76 mining ships. 1920 (the ninth year of Taisho), after the Russo-Japanese War, the navy began a set of strengthening policies for the "88th Fleet" (8 warships and 8 cruisers) with the US Navy as its imaginary enemy. Due to the influence of the Washington Naval Treaty signed by 1922 (Taisho 1 1) and the london navy treaty signed by 1930 (Showa 5), the construction of the capital ship was once interrupted, but it resumed its expansion after the london navy treaty broke down. 194 1 (Showa 16) Before the Pacific War, the Japanese navy had 10 warships, 385 warships and 3,260 military aircraft, including the zero war. From the victory of the Russo-Japanese War (Meiji 38) to the defeat of the Pacific War (Showa 20), imperial japanese navy, the British Royal Navy and the US Navy have always formed the "three major navies in the world". The fact that Russia was forced to return to Liaodong Peninsula after the Japanese-Qing War made the Japanese navy begin to plan future wars. Immediately, under the slogan of "service for a living", the naval expansion plan that spanned ten years began. During this period, 109 warships were built, with a total tonnage of more than 200,000 tons, and the size of naval personnel was expanded from 1.5 1.000 to 40,800. The new fleet includes six battleships, eight armored cruisers, nine cruisers, twenty-four destroyers and sixty-three torpedo boats. Among them, the battleship Sandali delivered by 1902 (Meiji 35) was one of the largest warships in the world at that time. During this period, Mitsubishi and other companies also began to build their own ships. The Japanese navy has also begun to form submarine forces. 1904 (Meiji 37), five submarines purchased by the Japanese Navy from General Power Electric Ship Company arrived at Yokosuka Naval Factory, assembled and put into use at the end of the following year.
1February 8, 904 (Meiji 37), the long-simmering Russo-Japanese War officially broke out. 1905 in may (meiji 38), in the sea battle of Japan, admiral Tougou Heihachirou's flagship led the Japanese navy to almost wipe out the second Pacific fleet of the Russian navy on the 3rd. Of the 38 Russian naval warships sent to the Far East, 2 1 was sunk, 7 were captured, 6 were disarmed, 4,545 officers and men were killed and 6 106 were captured. The Japanese navy only lost three torpedo boats and 1 16 people. After that, the Japanese navy continued to expand under the policy of "copying, improving and innovating". Factories often buy two foreign ships of the same model to test and decompose them, and then study and improve them. In this way, warships that can only rely on imports at first can be assembled in China gradually, and finally they can be completely made in China, from/kloc-0 to small torpedo boats in the 1980s to large battleships in the early 20th century. 1905 (Meiji 38), 80% of the Samo parts came from Britain, while Hanoi, which was built in 19 10 (Meiji 43), only needed to import 20% of the parts.
The last large warship imported by the Japanese navy was the King Kong-class combat cruiser purchased from Vickers in 19 13 (Taisho II). 19 18 (taisho 7 years), Japan has reached the world level in the manufacturing technology of most warships. After the "naval battle" (against Ma Haixia), Tetsutaro Sato and other naval thinkers began to plan their future policies against the "US Navy". Sato hopes that the size of Japanese battleships must reach more than 70% of each other's strength. 1907 (40 years of Meiji), the navy began to establish the "August 8th Fleet" policy, but it failed to be realized due to financial problems. From 65438 to 0920 (the ninth year of Taisho), the Japanese navy basically became the third in the world. Between the anglo-japanese alliance Treaty signed in 1902 (Meiji 35), Japan joined the First World War as an ally of Britain. In the "Battle of Qingdao", the German naval base in Qingdao was seized. 19 14 (the third year of Taisho) On September 5, the Japanese navy seaplane carrier "Ruogong" launched the world's first HNA attack. 19 14 (the third year of taisho)165438+16 October, after the German troops stationed in Qingdao surrendered, a fighting force chased the German navy's "East Asian Cruisers" to the South Atlantic, which was annihilated by the British Royal Navy in the "Falklands War". According to the Treaty of Versailles, Japan acquired some German territories in Micronesia under the "Nanyang Hall", including Mariana Islands (except Guam), Caroline Islands and Marshall Islands. Although Britain once asked to borrow four "King Kong class" battleships from the Japanese navy, it was rejected by Japan.
19 17 (taisho 6th year) In March, the Japanese navy sent a special team to the Mediterranean, including a protective cruiser "Akashi" and eight latest destroyers, to protect the allied sea routes in Marseille, taranto and Egypt. "Akashi" was later replaced by "Izumo" and joined four other destroyers and the "Golden Sun" armored cruiser. By the end of World War I, the Japanese navy had protected 788 allied ships, and the destroyer Hua was sunk by an Austrian submarine, killing 59 officers and men. 19 18 (the seventh year of taisho), the cruiser "My Wife" was sent to the Indian Ocean to maintain the sea area between Singapore and the Suez Canal. After the war, Japan obtained seven submarines from the German navy. Main items: Qingdao Campaign and World War I 19 18 (the seventh year of Taisho), the Japanese Navy invited a French military team to Japan to demonstrate the operation of aviation. 192 1 year (taisho 10 year), a British military advisory group named "Sempill" lived in Japan for a year and a half, showing the latest aircraft (such as Gloucester sparrow hawk) and tactics. In the same year, the budget of the Japanese navy reached 32% of the national fiscal revenue, and the world's first official aircraft carrier "Fengxiang" was built. The 4 10/0mm Nagato and the 460mm Yamato battleships later became the symbols of the Japanese navy's "gunboat doctrine". 1928 (the third year of Showa), the Japanese navy launched the destroyer "Blowing Snow". The first 127mm caliber naval gun and torpedo tower became the targets of other navies, and its 6 10mm "Jiusan torpedo" was one of the best torpedoes in the world until the end of World War II.
Before the outbreak of the Second World War, especially because of the influence of the Second Sino-Japanese War, the Japanese navy began to designate its future main rival as the US navy. The problems faced by the Japanese navy during this period can be said to be more serious than any other navy. Japan's economic operation depends largely on the import of overseas resources, and in order to protect the oil in the South China Sea, it is necessary to maintain a huge ocean fleet. However, such a system conflicts with the principle of "decisive battle of the fleet" originally influenced by Mahan's thought (let submarines ambush the attacking enemy ships in the Pacific Ocean first, and then fight the remaining enemies in the Sea of Japan). At Sato Tetsutaro's suggestion, Japan emphasized in the Washington Naval Treaty that it should keep 70% of the number of American naval battleships (so that Japan can have an advantage in the decisive battle), while the other side only hoped to keep it at 60%.
The restriction of Japanese industrial export forces Japan to be superior to its rivals in warship quality, training and tactics. However, the Japanese navy forgot the enemies they would face in the "Pacific War" in the future, lacked the political and geographical constraints of the former warring opponents, and failed to count the losses of the fleet and personnel. In recent years, the debate between battleships and aircraft carriers has been fierce, but no final argument has been reached, which has enabled both types of warships to develop, but failed to help one side gain absolute superiority in quantity. 194 1 year (Showa 16), imperial japanese navy has 10 battleships, 10 aircraft carriers, 38 light and heavy cruisers, 112 destroyers and 65 submarines. Before the end of World War II (Pacific War), the Japanese navy set up many "special attack teams" (hereinafter referred to as "special attack teams") for the purpose of "one man, one ship" in order to make up for the main fleet that was gradually at a disadvantage. These troops include kamikaze bombers, attack boats that shake the ocean, special submarines like Hailong, torpedoes that return to the sky and hand-held mines like Long Fu. 1945 (the 20th year of Showa) In June, about 2,000 planes of "special attack" troops sank 34 warships and 364 people were injured in the battle of Okinawa.