IJN Kōtetsu – A Confederate Ironclad in Japan

Japan's First Ironclad. An interesting ship, with an interesting story. Originating as an ironclad ram built in France, for the Confederate Navy. A navy she would only serve under for a few months. Between ending up in Denmark, Spain and the United States. Eventually, the mostly forgotten ship was bought up by the Japanese. Who put her to good use, first in a civil war, and then as a guard ship. Kotestu would have quite the story to tell, in multiple different languages. Further Reading: https://www.usni.org/magazines/naval-history-magazine/2004/december/emperors-confederate-ironclad https://www.amazon.com/United-States-France-Civil-Diplomacy/dp/0812276043? https://www.amazon.com/Confederate-Steam-Navy-1861-1865/dp/0764348248? https://www.amazon.com/Warships-Imperial-Japanese-Navy-1869-1945/dp/087021893X? https://web.archive.org/web/20151003041154/https://www.history.navy.mil/research/histories/ship-histories/confederate_ships/stonewall.html