The Imperial Japanese Navy was the third-largest navy in the world, according to Wikipedia. Moreover, their ships are also of excellent quality and size. This article will feature the top 25 longest ships of the Imperial Japanese Navy and some interesting facts about them.

Rank	IJN Ship	Type	Length (in meters)
1	Shinano	Aircraft carrier	265.80
2	Yamato-class	Battleship	263.00
3	Akagi	Aircraft carrier	260.67
4	Taihō	Aircraft carrier	260.60
5	Shōkaku-class	Aircraft carrier	257.50
6	Amagi-class	Battlecruiser	251.80
7	Kaga	Aircraft carrier	247.65
8	Tosa class	Battleship	234.09
9	Sōryū	Aircraft carrier	227.50
10	Hiryū	Aircraft carrier	227.40
11	Unryū-class	Aircraft carrier	227.35
12	Kongō class	Battlecruiser	222.00
13	Hiyō-class	Aircraft carrier	219.32
14	Nagato class	Battleship	215.80
15	Ryūhō	Aircraft carrier	215.65
16	Ise class	Battleship	208.18
17	Zuihō-class	Aircraft carrier	205.50
18	Myōkō-class	Cruiser	204.00
19	Takao-class	Cruiser	203.76
20	Fusō class	Battleship	202.70
21	Mogami-class	Cruiser	201.60
22	Ibuki	Cruiser	200.60
23	Nisshin	Seaplane carrier	192.50
24	Chitose-class	Aircraft carrier	192.50
25	Ōyodo	Cruiser	192.00

ANALYSIS

On the top spot is Shinano, an aircraft carrier measuring 265.80 meters long. It was initially a battleship from the Yamato-class but was converted into an aircraft carrier. Thus, 12 out of 25, or 48% of the ships on our list are also aircraft carriers, including Akagi, Taiho, Shōkaku-class, Ryūhō, Sōryū, and Kaga.

Japanese aircraft carrier *Shinano* (Image Source: Wikipedia)

Aside from Shinano, other ships on this list were also converted like the Ryūhō on the 15th spot, for instance, was a submarine tender (known as Taigei) and was converted into a light aircraft carrier. Similarly, the Chitose-class were Seaplane tenders converted into aircraft carriers, while the Kongō class were battlecruisers converted into fast battleships.

Ryuho, Chitose-class, and Haruna from Kongo-class (Image Source: Wikipedia)

On the other hand, the second-longest ship is the Yamato-class battleship measuring 263 meters long. It is also widely known as the largest battleship of all time, according to navygeneralboard.com. Only five out of 25 ships on our list are battleships – Yamato-class, Tosa-class, Nagato-class, Ise-class, and Fusō class.

Longest battleships (Image Source: Wikipedia)

Some of the longest ships of the IJN were made as early as 1911 to 1917, like the Kongō, Nagato, Ise, and Fusō class. However, The Yamato-class, including Shinano, was the last built, along with Taihō and Unryū-class.

The Amagi-class on the 6th spot is the only battlecruiser on our list, measuring 251.80 meters. Also, Nisshin is the only Seaplane tender in this list after the Chitose-class was converted into aircraft carriers. Finally, five cruisers are on the lower rank – Myōkō-class, Takao-class, Mogami-class, Ibuki, and Ōyodo, all measuring from 204 to 192 meters long.

While most ships sunk and were lost in the sea, the Musashi from the Yamato-class was found in 2015 after eight years of searching, as reported by BBC news. It was found in the Sibuyan Sea of the Philippines through a private exploration team by Mr. Paul Allen, Microsoft Co-Founder. Meanwhile, a report by The Diplomat reveals that only one Japanese battleship survived World War II – Nagato, on the 14th spot.