Kongo/Fuso-replenishment battleships?

[lancer21]

I found these two intriguing entries on this website a while ago , and i've been puzzled since...

http://homepage2.nifty.com/nishidah/e/s_xt01.htm
http://homepage2.nifty.com/nishidah/e/stc0128.htm
http://homepage2.nifty.com/nishidah/e/stc0129.htm
I even had to ask a friend what "replenishment " exactly meens and i'm still not sure, it meens that the above mentioned ship clases were planned to be rebuild according to the specs ?(9x16in guns in i assume triple turrets for Fuso, 10x16in for Kongo among other things-rather like the planned Gneisenau upgun project) , or that these were new-built ships intended to replace the Fusos and Kongos ?( although for the second option , the speed and hp seems fairly low)

I couldn't find anything anywhere about these "Fuso/Kongo-replenishment battleships" , does anyone has more info about these projects( if they existed)?

Thank you very much.

 

[Brickmuppet]

It's an awkward translation.

Replacement is a better word, they were not replenishment ships.

See here:

http://xoomer.virgilio.it/bk/NWS/Imperial_Japanese_Navy/Kongo_replenishment/index.html

UPDATE:

Note that there are also pics on that page of something called the "dream battleship". This was a notational design by a naval architect named Fujimoto for the maximum battleship studies that resulted in the Yamato. However, Fujimoto fell out of favor when his designs proved to be too tight (resulting in a capsized ship and a dead crew). It is unclear to me if there was ANY official support for the "dream battleship" or if it had been worked out in any detail beyond a spring style. It is popular amongst Alt/History enthusiasts, though iIm not sure it isn't mostly apocryphal.

The Kongo and Fuso replacement designs were initially designed in anticipation of the battleship moratorium being lifted in 1930 and were developed under the assumption that the Washington/London treaty system was going to be honored by the Japanese. As the militarists consolidated their power it was decided around 1935 to abandon the treaties and build ships as big as the graving docks would allow. After that that point the Kongo and Fuso replacements were a dead issue.

 

[lancer21]

Wow there's some great stuff on that site , thanks for the link and for your most educative reply Brickmuppet. I was indeed wondering of the timescale of these projects ( Kongo/Fuso-replacement).

As a sidenote, awesome to see that Nelson-style Yamato project. I think they should have built that one ( 30-32kt speed)!

(Gee gotta hurry and save all those goodies. ;D )