The Imperial Japanese Navy had adopted the Kantai Kessen naval strategy before World War 2 even broke out.
Based on the works of American naval historian Alfred Thayer Mahan, Japanese strategists believed their country could emerge victorious in an ocean war by a single, decisive action through the effective use of a strong battleship force that could out-gun and outfight the enemy.
To achieve the purpose of Kantai Kessen, the Japanese Navy aimed to create the largest guns ever installed on a vessel. The result was the 46-centimeter 45 Type 94 naval rifle, a wire-wound gun mounted in three 3-gun turrets. This weapon was so massive that it had roughly the weight of an average destroyer vessel.
The mighty Yamato-class battleship was equipped with this formidable weapon, and sailed in the Pacific for years. However, instead of boasting about the size of the gun, the Japanese kept it hidden from the Allies until after the war had ended.
The Allies didn’t know it yet, but they were fighting against the largest guns ever made…
