 Fusō was designed to work in conjunction with the four battlecruisers . After coordination with the British on the Kongō class , Japanese designers had access to the latest British design studies in naval architecture and were now able to design their own capital ships . In an effort to outmatch the American New York class , planners called for a ship armed with twelve 14 @-@ inch ( 36 cm ) guns and faster than the 21 knots ( 39 km / h ; 24 mph ) of their rivals . Vickers files show that the Japanese had access to the designs for double- and triple @-@ gun turrets , yet opted for six double turrets over four triple turrets . 
