 The ships were reconstructed from late 1933 to mid-1936. In August 1937, the sisters transported 3,749 men of the 11th Infantry Division to Shanghai during the Second Sino-Japanese War. Their floatplanes bombed targets in Shanghai on 24 August before they returned to Sasebo the following day. Nagato became a training ship on 1 December 1937 until she again became the flagship of the Combined Fleet on 15 December 1938. The ship participated in an Imperial Fleet Review on 11 October 1940. The sisters were refitted in 1941 in preparation for war, which included the fitting of external degaussing coils and additional armor for their barbettes.
