Upon commissioning , the sister ships were assigned to the 1st Battleship Division of the 1st Fleet . Hyūga had an explosion in one of her main gun turrets that killed 11 men and injured 25 in 1919 ; the following year she accidentally collided with and sank a schooner , losing two crewmen . Before the start of the Pacific War , both ships frequently exercised off the coasts of the Soviet Union , Korea and China in addition to training in Japanese waters . Ise hosted Edward , Prince of Wales , and his aide @-@ de @-@ camp Lieutenant Louis Mountbatten in 1922 during the prince 's visit to Japan . In Korea Bay when the 1923 Great Kantō earthquake struck , they sailed to Kyushu where they loaded supplies from for the victims on 4 September . Together with two other battleships and a pair of light cruisers , Ise sank the destroyer Yayoi in 1926 during gunnery practice . Ise 's AA armament was upgraded in 1931 and Hyūga 's two years later . The latter ship was modernized in 1934 – 36 and Ise in 1935 – 37 , both at Kure Naval Arsenal . During the Second Sino @-@ Japanese War , the sisters frequently patrolled the Chinese coast in support of the blockade imposed by Japan . In August 1937 Hyūga ferried two battalions of Special Naval Landing Forces to Port Arthur . Three years later , she served as the flagship for the Emperor of the puppet state of Manchukuo , Henry Pu @-@ yi , during his state visit to Japan in June 1940 . On 15 November the ships were transferred to the 2nd Battleship Division of the 1st Fleet . The sisters were refitted in late 1940 in preparation for war , which included the fitting of external degaussing coils and additional AA directors .