Shikishima class battleship

The nihongo|"Shikishima" class|敷島型戦艦|Shikishima-gata senkan was a two-ship class of pre-dreadnought battleships of the Imperial Japanese Navy designed and built in the UK. The "Asahi" is included within the "Shikishima"-class by some authors, due to commonality of specifications, but it has a completely different silhouette.

Background

Combat experience in the First Sino-Japanese War convinced the Imperial Japanese Navy of weaknesses in the Jeune Ecole naval philosophy, and Japan embarked on a program to modernize its fleet with the latest in battleship technology. As with the previous "Fuji" class battleships, Japan lacked the technology and capability to construct its own battleships, and turned again to the United Kingdom. An order was placed for two vessels in 1896 ("Shikishima" and "Asahi") and one more in 1897 ("Hatsuse").

Design

The design of the "Shikishima" class was a modified version of the "Majestic" class of the British Royal Navy. With a full load displacement of 16,000 tons, the "Majestic" class ships were considered the largest and most advanced capital ships at the time of their construction.

Armament

The main battery, on the "Shikishima" class was the same Elswick Type 41 12 inch (305 mm) / 40 caliber naval guns used on the "Fuji" class. These guns were mounted in twin gun turrets fore and aft.

Secondary armament on the "Shikishima" class consisted of fourteen Type 41 6-inch (152 mm)/40-caliber quick firing guns to counter torpedo boat attacks and were widely spaced on two decks so that a single hit would not disable more than one of them. The guns on the upper deck were enclosed within casemates. Tertiary armament consisted of twenty Type 41 3 inch (7.62 cm) /40 caliber naval guns, also known as "twelve pounders" and twelve three pounders.

The "Shikishima" class was also equipped with Whitehead torpedoes, with four tubes below the waterline, and one more on deck.

Armor

The "Shikishima" class vessels were armored using convert|9|in|mm|0|adj=on of Harvey armor on the side belt thinning to convert|6|in|mm|0|adj=on on the upper hull and tapering at both ends. The deck armor was convert|3|in|mm|0|adj=on thick, with convert|10|in|mm|0|adj=on around the barbettes and convert|5|in|mm|0|adj=on around the secondary turrets.

Propulsion

The engines on the "Shikishima" class vessels were triple expansion steam engines with water tube boilers and two screws. The engines produced Auto shp|14500|-1, yielding a design speed of convert|17|kn|km/h|0; in trials "Shikishima" achieved convert|18.7|kn|km/h|0. However, unlike the "Majestic"'s side-by-side funnel arrangement, the "Shikishima"-class had the orthodox three smokestack arrangement along the centerline.

Ships in class

* " Shikishima " Commissioned on 1900-01-26, "Shikishima" served with distinction during the Russo-Japanese War in the naval Battle of Port Arthur, Battle of the Yellow Sea and Battle of Tsushima. After the war, she was de-rated to a Coastal defence ship, and was used for training duties in various capacities until disarmed in 1922. Her hulk continued to be used as a floating barracks and training center until 1948.

* " Hatsuse"Commissioned on 1901-01-18, "Hatsuse" was sunk by a naval mine on 1904-05-15 off Port Arthur in one of the greatest naval disasters of the Japanese navy in the Russo-Japanese War.

References

*cite book
last = Andidora
first = Ronald
year = 2000
title = Iron Admirals: Naval Leadership in the Twentieth Century
publisher = Greenwood Press
location =
id = ISBN 0-313-31266-4
*cite book
last = Brown
first = D. K.
year = 1999
title = Warrior to Dreadnought, Warship Development 1860-1906
publisher = Naval Institute Press
location =
id = ISBN 1-84067-529-2
*cite book
last = Evans
first = David
year = 1979
title = Kaigun: Strategy, Tactics, and Technology in the Imperial Japanese Navy, 1887-1941
publisher = US Naval Institute Press
location =
id = ISBN 0870211927
*cite book
last = Hoare
first = J.E.
year = 1999
title = Britain and Japan, Biographical Portraits, Volume III
publisher = RoutledgeCurzon
location =
id = ISBN 1873410891
*cite book
last = Howarth
first = Stephen
year = 1983
title = The Fighting Ships of the Rising Sun: The Drama of the Imperial Japanese Navy, 1895-1945
publisher = Atheneum
location =
id = ISBN 0689114028
* Jane, Fred T. "The Imperial Japanese Navy". Thacker, Spink & Co (1904) ASIN: B00085LCZ4
*cite book
last = Jentsura
first = Hansgeorg
year = 1976
title = Warships of the Imperial Japanese Navy, 1869-1945
publisher = Naval Institute Press
location =
id = ISBN 087021893X
*cite book
last = Schencking
first = J. Charles
year = 2005
title = Making Waves: Politics, Propaganda, And The Emergence Of The Imperial Japanese Navy, 1868-1922
publisher = Stanford University Press
location =
id = ISBN 0804749779

External links

* [http://homepage2.nifty.com/nishidah/e/stc0108.htm Materials of the Imperial Japanese Navy]
* [http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/japan/shikishima-bb.htm Global Security site]