The German heavy cruiser PRINZ EUGEN was an enlarged version of the Admiral Hipper class ships. The keel was laid on 23 April 1936, she was launched on 22 August 1938, and commissioned on 1 August 1940. She took part in the first mission of the battleship BISMARCK, during which they sank the British battlecruiser HMS HOOD. Having split with BISMARCK, PRINZ EUGEN was supposed to commence hunting the Allied convoys, but due to engine failure she sailed back to France. Once repaired, she participated in Operation “Cerberus” - the passage of German ships from France to Germany through English Channel.

The battleship "Nagato" was the first dreadnought equipped with a main artillery with a caliber exceeding 400 mm. It was armed with eight 406 mm (16 in) guns. The keel of "Nagato" was laid in 1917 in the naval shipyard in Kure. The ship was launched in 1919 and incorporated into service on November 15, 1920. The sister unit was “Mutsu”. Before the war, "Nagato" underwent many modifications and repairs increasing combat value of the ship. With the outbreak of World War II, "Nagato" became the flagship of Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto. The attack on Pearl Harbor was ordered from battleship’s deck.

The IJN battlecruiser Kongo was laid down on January 17, 1911 at Vickers, Sons & Co. at Barrow-in-Furness. The ship's hull was launched on May 18, 1912 and on August 16, 1913 the vessel entered service with the Imperial Japanese Navy.

In the years after she had been launched the Kongo had undergone two major reconstructions, each having a deep impact on the ship's characteristics and her overall arrangement.