Talk:General Discussion/@comment-24980562-20150422005401/@comment-16545476-20150422112941

Technically Nagato and Mutsu were the ones who didn't saw much action during the war thanks to the shortage of fuel and their status as the pride of the Imperial Japanese Navy. (The reason Japan gave to saved Mutsu from being scrapped during the Washington Naval Treaty was an example of the Nagato class battleships popularity in Japan during that period.)

We always tend to think that Yamato and Musashi were the pride of the IJN, but in reality, only a handful of the Japanese population knew about the Yamato class and the general public during that period were a lot familiar to Nagato and Mutsu and believed that those two were still the flagships of the navy. The two Nagato class battleships were so important as the symbol of the navy, that even after Mutsu exploded and sunk, the IJN covered up the accident for quite a few years and faked a news saying she sanked during a glorious battle with the Americans afterwards.

It wasn't until after the war did the public get to learn about the existence of the secret Yamato class and the fad about the Yamato class battleships turned on. During the war, it's more like if the Nagato class were sunk without a good reason, the general public would lose their total confidence and support to the IJN. Nagato and Mutsu were the idols of the navy, so you can see the IJN was quite "careful" when it comes to deploying these two into the battlefield.

But I do agree that Shoukaku and Zuikaku need a second remodel to reflect their battle records. The current status of these two are more or less stuck in the pre-Pearl Harbor days when Kaga still regards the two as a pair of useless greenhorns. lol