 Yamashiro was completed on 31 March 1917 and assigned to the 1st Division of the 1st Fleet in 1917 – 18 , though she had no combat role in World War I. Like her sister , she patrolled off the coast of China during the war and assisted during the Great Kanto Earthquake . Little detailed information is available about her activities during the 1920s , although she did make a port visit to Port Arthur , China , on 5 April 1925 and also conducted training off the coast of China . Yamashiro became flagship of the Combined Fleet in 1935 . In early 1941 , the ship experimentally launched radio @-@ controlled Kawanishi E7K2 floatplanes . 
