<p>A few points that rule out ship age as a deciding factor:</p>

<ul>
<li>The <em>Nagato</em> and the <em>Mutsu</em> are the secretary ships of the fleet and hold highest seniority, yet the construction of the four <em>Kongou</em>-class battleships had all been completed at least five years beforehand. The <em>Kongou</em>-class were all originally battle cruisers, which is a possible reason for their lower seniority assuming it's based on ship class, as the <em>Nagato</em>-class were dreadnoughts, and the <em>Nagato</em> often served as flagship IRL.</li>
<li>The <em>Ashigara</em> and the other three <em>Myoukou</em>-class heavy cruisers are depicted as teachers. However, every single <em>Mutsuki</em>-class destroyer was completed around 4-5 years before them, and they're <em>Ashigara</em>'s students in the show.</li>
<li>The <em>Ooyodo</em> light cruiser was completed in 1943, well after most other ships in the fleet, but works with <em>Nagato</em> and <em>Mutsu</em>, which is likely because she was originally intended as a command vessel for submarine operations and briefly served as flagship of the Combined Fleet before being sunk.</li>
<li>The <em>Shimakaze</em> was also older than the <em>Mutsu</em>.</li>
</ul>

<p>Given the other references to real-life attributes of the various ships and their histories (e.g. the <em>Sendai</em> fought all of her battles at night, hence her character's obsession therewith), I would guess fleet seniority is handled based on ship roles in the actual Combined Fleet, which would roughly follow ship class just because of the different capabilities/stats of each. </p>

<p>The information of the ships are referenced from Wikipedia</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-03-30T05:21:58.327Z
2015-03-30T05:55:24.840Z
2015-03-30T05:55:24.840Z
Henry Zhang
<p>I notice, for example, that <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_aircraft_carrier_Akagi">the <em>Akagi</em></a> and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_aircraft_carrier_Kaga">the <em>Kaga</em></a> both began construction in 1920, and they're portrayed as being more senior than <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_destroyer_Fubuki_(1927)">the <em>Fubuki</em></a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_destroyer_Mutsuki">the <em>Mutsuki</em></a>, and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_destroyer_Y%C5%ABdachi_(1936)">the <em>Yuudachi</em></a>, all of which only began construction later on. </p>

<p>Is this a reasonably consistent pattern among the other fleet girls? Or is it more or less arbitrary which girls are portrayed as being senior to others? (Or is it not arbitrary, but based on something else entirely, like ship class?)</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-02-05T12:25:40.823Z
I always assumed it was an 'age' thing.
Tsugumori-704
<kantai-collection>
Do seniority relations among the fleet girls have any basis in properties of the actual ships?
# Do seniority relations among the fleet girls have any basis in properties of the actual ships?
Posted by: username_0 on 2015-02-05
I notice, for example, that [the *Akagi*](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_aircraft_carrier_Akagi) and [the *Kaga*](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_aircraft_carrier_Kaga) both began construction in 1920, and they're portrayed as being more senior than [the *Fubuki*](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_destroyer_Fubuki_(1927)), [the *Mutsuki*](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_destroyer_Mutsuki), and [the *Yuudachi*](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_destroyer_Y%C5%ABdachi_(1936)), all of which only began construction later on.

Is this a reasonably consistent pattern among the other fleet girls? Or is it more or less arbitrary which girls are portrayed as being senior to others? (Or is it not arbitrary, but based on something else entirely, like ship class?)
**Tags:** kantai-collection
> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: I always assumed it was an 'age' thing.  
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## 1 answers
### Answer by username_2 on 2015-03-30. Score: 5
A few points that rule out ship age as a deciding factor:

* The *Nagato* and the *Mutsu* are the secretary ships of the fleet and hold highest seniority, yet the construction of the four *Kongou*-class battleships had all been completed at least five years beforehand. The *Kongou*-class were all originally battle cruisers, which is a possible reason for their lower seniority assuming it's based on ship class, as the *Nagato*-class were dreadnoughts, and the *Nagato* often served as flagship IRL.
* The *Ashigara* and the other three *Myoukou*-class heavy cruisers are depicted as teachers. However, every single *Mutsuki*-class destroyer was completed around 4-5 years before them, and they're *Ashigara*'s students in the show.
* The *Ooyodo* light cruiser was completed in 1943, well after most other ships in the fleet, but works with *Nagato* and *Mutsu*, which is likely because she was originally intended as a command vessel for submarine operations and briefly served as flagship of the Combined Fleet before being sunk.
* The *Shimakaze* was also older than the *Mutsu*.

Given the other references to real-life attributes of the various ships and their histories (e.g. the *Sendai* fought all of her battles at night, hence her character's obsession therewith), I would guess fleet seniority is handled based on ship roles in the actual Combined Fleet, which would roughly follow ship class just because of the different capabilities/stats of each.

The information of the ships are referenced from Wikipedia
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