Japanese battleship Kawachi
 Kawachi at anchor
| |
| History | |
|---|---|
 Japan | |
| Name | Kawachi |
| Namesake | Kawachi Province |
| Ordered | 22 June 1907 |
| Builder | Yokosuka Naval Arsenal |
| Laid down | 1 April 1909 |
| Launched | 15 October 1910 |
| Commissioned | 31 March 1912 |
| Stricken | 21 September 1918 |
| Fate | Sunk by magazine explosion, 12 July 1918 (34°00′N 131°36′E / 34.00°N 131.60°E) |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type | Kawachi-class battleship |
| Displacement | 21,833 long tons (22,183 t) (normal) |
| Length | 526 feet (160.32 m) ( o/a ) |
| Beam | 84 feet 2 inches (25.65 m) |
| Draft | 27 feet 8 inches (8.43 m) |
| Installed power |
|
| Propulsion | 2 shafts, 2 steam turbine sets |
| Speed | 21 knots (39 km/h; 24 mph) |
| Range | 2,700 nmi (5,000 km; 3,100 mi) at 18 knots (33 km/h; 21 mph) |
| Complement | 999 |
| Armament |
|
| Armor |
|
Kawachi (河内) was the
Battle of Tsingtao in 1914. She sank in 1918 after an explosion in her ammunition magazine
with the loss of over 600 officers and crewmen.
Background
Brassey's Naval Annual
1915The Kawachi class were Japan's first true dreadnoughts.
Design and description
Kawachi had an overall length of 526 feet (160.32 m), a beam of 84 feet 2 inches (25.65 m), and a normal draft of 27 feet 8 inches (8.43 m). She displaced 21,833 long tons (22,183 t) at normal load and had a metacentric height of 5.2 feet (1.59 m). Her crew numbered 999 officers and enlisted men as completed.[4]
The Kawachi-class ships were fitted with a pair of
kW) for a design speed of 21 knots (39 km/h; 24 mph). They carried enough coal and fuel oil to give them a range of 2,700 nautical miles (5,000 km; 3,100 mi) at a speed of 18 knots (33 km/h; 21 mph).[5]
The main armament of the Kawachi class consisted of four 50-
saluting guns.[7] In addition, the battleships were fitted with five submerged 18-inch (457 mm) torpedo tubes, two on each broadside and one in the stern.[8]
The
amidships and tapered to a thickness of 5 inches (127 mm) at the ends of the ship.[2] Above the belt, a 6-inch strake of armor protected the casemates. The barbettes for the main guns were 9–11 inches (229–279 mm) thick. Eleven-inch armor plates protected the front and sides of the Kawachis' main-gun turrets. The deck armor was 1.1 inches (29 mm) thick and the conning tower was protected by 6 to 10 inches (254 mm) of armor.[9]
Construction and career
Kawachi was
Vice Admiral Dewa Shigetō.[12] On 3 October, the ship was present when the battleship Mikasa had a fire that was started by a sailor in the forward magazine. It was flooded before the fire could get out of control and Kawachi sent over fire-fighting teams to assist Mikasa's crew in case they were needed.[13] The ship cruised in the South China Sea in February 1913 and then off the north China coast in April; she became a private ship on 1 December.[12] When World War I began in August 1914, Kawachi was at Yokosuka.[8]
Together with her
Battle of Tsingtao.[14] The ship was present in Yokosuka on 8 January 1915 when the victorious Second Squadron returned to Japan after the Battle of Tsingtao.[15] She was assigned to the First Squadron of the First Fleet on 15 August. On 1 December 1916 she began a lengthy refit.[12]
Under the command of the newly appointed
capsized at 15:55, only four minutes after the explosion.[18] Over a thousand men were aboard Kawachi at the time of the explosion and over 600 were killed, with 433 survivors.[18][Note 1]
The Imperial Japanese Navy convened a commission to investigate the explosion the day after the incident, with Vice Admiral
navy list on 21 September 1918, the wreck was later partially dismantled although most of the hull was abandoned in place to serve as an artificial reef.[20]
Notes
Footnotes
- ^ a b Lengerer, p. 74
- ^ a b c d e Gardiner & Gray, p. 239
- ^ Lengerer, p. 73
- ^ Lengerer & Ahlberg, pp. 436, 438, 440–441
- ^ a b c Jentschura, Jung & Mickel, p. 24
- ^ Lengerer & Ahlberg, p. 448
- ^ Lengerer, p. 80
- ^ a b Preston, p. 196
- ^ Lengerer, pp. 76, 81
- ^ Lengerer & Ahlberg, p. 436
- ^ Silverstone, p. 333
- ^ a b c Lengerer & Ahlberg, p. 457
- ^ Kingsepp 2008, pp. 37–38
- ^ Hackett & Kingsepp
- ^ "Return of Japanese Squadron". The Queensland Times. Ipswich, Queensland. 12 January 1915. p. 3. Retrieved 8 September 2013.
- ^ In this Japanese name, Masaki is the family name.
- ^ a b Lengerer & Ahlberg, p. 458
- ^ a b Lengerer, p. 83
- ^ Kingsepp 2007, p. 99
- ^ Lengerer, pp. 83–84
References
- Gardiner, Robert & Gray, Randal, eds. (1985). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1906–1921. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 0-87021-907-3.
- Hackett, Bob & Kingsepp, Sander (2009). "IJN Settsu: Tabular Record of Movement". Combinedfleet.com. Retrieved 8 September 2013.
- Jentschura, Hansgeorg; Jung, Dieter & Mickel, Peter (1977). Warships of the Imperial Japanese Navy, 1869–1945. Annapolis, Maryland: United States Naval Institute. ISBN 0-87021-893-X.
- Kingsepp, Sander (September 2008). Ahlberg, Lars (ed.). "Fire and Low-Order Explosion in the Forward Magazine – 3 October 1912". Contributions to the History of Imperial Japanese Warships (Paper V): 37–40.(subscription required)(contact the editor at [email protected] for subscription information)
- Kingsepp, Sander (March 2007). Ahlberg, Lars (ed.). "Reader Reactions and Questions". Contributions to the History of Imperial Japanese Warships (Paper II): 99–100.(subscription required)
- Lengerer, Hans (September 2006). Ahlberg, Lars (ed.). "Battleships Kawachi and Settsu". Contributions to the History of Imperial Japanese Warships (Paper I): 66–84.(subscription required)
- Lengerer, Hans & Ahlberg, Lars (2019). Capital Ships of the Imperial Japanese Navy 1868–1945: Ironclads, Battleships and Battle Cruisers: An Outline History of Their Design, Construction and Operations. Vol. I: Armourclad Fusō to Kongō Class Battle Cruisers. Zagreb, Croatia: Despot Infinitus. ISBN 978-953-8218-26-2.
- Preston, Antony (1972). Battleships of World War I: An Illustrated Encyclopedia of the Battleships of All Nations 1914–1918. New York: Galahad Books. ISBN 0-88365-300-1.
- Silverstone, Paul H. (1984). Directory of the World's Capital Ships. New York: Hippocrene Books. ISBN 0-88254-979-0.
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Kawachi.
- "Japanese Battleship Lost; 500 of the Crew Drown" (PDF). The New York Times. 17 July 1918.
Shipwrecks and maritime incidents in July 1918 | |
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| Shipwrecks |
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| Other incidents |
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