Nagato briefly participated in the Second Sino-Japanese War in 1937 and was the flagship of Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto during the attack on Pearl Harbor.

Other than participating in the Battle of Midway in June 1942, where she did not see combat, the ship spent most of the first two years of the Pacific War training in home waters.

She was attacked in July 1945 as part of the American campaign to destroy the IJN's last remaining capital ships, but was only slightly damaged and went on to be the only Japanese battleship to have survived World War II.

During her 1934–1936 reconstruction, the ship's stern was lengthened by 7.55 meters (24.8 ft) to improve her speed and her forward superstructure was rebuilt into a pagoda mast.

[6] In November 1944, the tops of Nagato's mainmast and funnel were removed to improve the effective arcs of fire for her anti-aircraft guns.

The turbines were designed to produce a total of 80,000 shaft horsepower (60,000 kW), using steam provided by 21 Kampon water-tube boilers; 15 of these were oil-fired while the remaining half-dozen consumed a mixture of coal and oil.

[10] Additional fuel oil was stored in the bottoms of the newly added torpedo bulges, which increased her capacity to 5,560 long tons (5,650 t) and thus her range to 8,560 nmi (15,850 km; 9,850 mi) at 16 knots.

[15] Around 1926, the four above-water torpedo tubes were removed and the ship received three additional 76 mm AA guns that were situated around the base of the foremast.

[16] They were replaced by eight 40-caliber 12.7-centimeter Type 89 dual-purpose (DP) guns in 1932,[7] fitted on both sides of the fore and aft superstructures in four twin-gun mounts.

[7] This was the standard Japanese light AA gun during World War II, but it suffered from severe design shortcomings that rendered it a largely ineffective weapon.

It controlled the main and secondary guns; no provision was made for anti-aircraft fire until the Type 31 fire-control director was introduced in 1932.

A new anti-aircraft director called the Type 94 that was used to control the 127 mm AA guns was introduced in 1937, although when Nagato received hers is unknown.

Together with her sister ship Mutsu, she sank the hulk of the obsolete battleship Satsuma on 7 September 1924 during gunnery practice in Tokyo Bay in accordance with the Washington Naval Treaty.

During the attempted coup d'état on 26 February by disgruntled Army officers, the ship was deployed in Tokyo Bay and some of her sailors were landed in support of the government.

[7] In June 1942 Nagato, commanded by Captain Hideo Yano, was assigned to the Main Body of the 1st Fleet during the Battle of Midway, together with Yamato, Mutsu, Hosho, the light cruiser Sendai, nine destroyers and four auxiliary ships.

[7] On 10 June, Battleship Division 1 departed Tawi-Tawi for Batjan in preparation for Operation Kon, a planned counterattack against the American invasion of Biak.

Three days later, when Admiral Soemu Toyoda, commander-in-chief of the Combined Fleet, was notified of American attacks on Saipan, Operation Kon was canceled and Ugaki's force was diverted to the Mariana Islands.

She fired 41 cm Type 3 Sankaidan incendiary anti-aircraft shrapnel shells at aircraft from the light carrier Belleau Wood that were attacking Jun'yō and claimed to have shot down two Grumman TBF Avenger torpedo bombers.

[7] During the battle Nagato rescued survivors from Hiyō that were transferred to the carrier Zuikaku once the ship reached Okinawa on 22 June.

Three days later, Nagato sailed for Brunei Bay, Borneo, to join the main Japanese fleet in preparation for "Operation Sho-1", the counterattack planned against the American landings at Leyte.

[42] In the Battle of the Sibuyan Sea on 24 October, Nagato was attacked by multiple waves of American dive bombers and fighters.

Turning back, Nagato engaged the American escort carriers and their screening ships, claiming to have damaged one cruiser[Note 5] with forty-five 410 mm and ninety-two 14 cm shells.

The ineffectiveness of her shooting was the result of the poor visibility caused by numerous rain squalls and by smoke screens laid by the defending escorts.

Four gunners were washed overboard at 16:56 as the ship made a sharp turn to avoid dive-bomber attacks; a destroyer was detached to rescue them, but they could not be found.

Over the course of the last two days she fired ninety-nine 410 mm and six hundred fifty-three 14 cm shells, suffering 38 crewmen killed and 105 wounded during the same time.

After an aerial attack at Brunei on 16 November, Nagato, Yamato, and the fast battleship Kongō left the following day, bound for Kure.

On 20 April, Nagato was reduced to reserve and retired Rear Admiral Miki Otsuka assumed command a week later.

The Yokosuka Naval District received an alarm on the night of 1/2 August that a large convoy was approaching Sagami Bay and Nagato was ordered to attack immediately.

Her consort, the light cruiser Sakawa, broke down on 28 March and Nagato attempted to take her in tow, but one of her boilers malfunctioned and the ship ran out of fuel in bad weather.

[7] Operation Crossroads began with the first blast (Test Able), an air burst on 1 July; she was 1,500 meters (1,640 yd) from ground zero and was only lightly damaged.