 The final design — designated A @-@ 64 by the IJN — called for a displacement of 29 @,@ 000 long tons ( 29 @,@ 465 t ) with twelve 14 @-@ inch ( 36 cm ) guns in six double turrets ( two forward , two aft , two separated amidships ) with a top speed of 23 knots ( 43 km / h ; 26 mph ) . This design was superior to its American counterparts in armament , armor and speed , thus following the doctrine the Japanese had used since the First Sino @-@ Japanese War of 1894 – 95 of compensating for quantitative inferiority with qualitative superiority . 
