Consequently, aspiring captains of this warship will need to plan their movements in advance and seek the company of allies if they wish to avoid being turned into an expensive man-made coral reef. This, coupled with the lacking anti-air protection leaves Settsu largely vulnerable against air attack and smaller vessels, performing a torpedo attack. As a result, despite being powered by a 25,000 horsepower propulsion system, Settsu can only reach a rather modest top speed of 21 kts (39 km/h). Naturally, in order to include all this tremendous firepower and armor on Settsu’s design, Japanese shipbuilders had to make some concessions in mobility. The ship’s hulk was subsequently raised and broken up for scrap in the immediate postwar years. In the end, Settsu was badly damaged by an Allied air raid on Kure in July 1945, leaving the ship beached. Shortly after, Settsu was converted into a target ship, keeping this role throughout the interwar period as well as WWII.

In 1919, Settsu was put in reserve, receiving an overhaul before being disarmed in 1922 under the terms of the Washington Naval Treaty. During WWI, Settsu served alongside her sistership, but seeing only limited action.

Settsu was laid down in January 1908 at the Kure Naval Arsenal, launched in March 1911 and completed in July 1912. These two warships became the first two dreadnought-type battleships to be built by Japan. This resulted in the creation of the Kawachi-class, made up from the battleships Kawachi and Settsu. Nonetheless, a new fleet expansion strategy was adopted and whose first steps were the construction of two new dreadnought-type battleships. In addition to all this, a severe economic recession following the war greatly reduced Japan’s ability to build new warships and expand its naval power. Furthermore, in terms of quantity and quality, the Japanese navy was lagging behind other naval powers such as Great Britain or the United States.

Following the end of the Russo-Japanese War in the early 1900’s, the state of the IJN was generally perceived to be unsatisfactory by high ranking Japanese officials.

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