The Japanese battleship Fuso (an old name for Japan) was the lead ship of the Fuso-class. She was laid down by the Kure Kaigun Kosho on 11 March 1912, launched on 28 March 1914 and completed on 18 November 1915. Her 356 mm (14 in) main gun turrets were placed in an unorthodox 2-1-1-2 style (with her sister ship Yamashiro having her third turret reversed when compared to Fuso) and with a funnel separating the middle turret placement. This arrangement was not entirely successful as the armoured section was needlessly lengthened and the middle guns had trouble targeting. However, Fuso's relatively fine hull form allowed her to reach a speed of 22 kn (41 km/h; 25 mph).