Japanese cruiser Asama
![]() A colorized photo of Asama at anchor, Plymouth, 1902
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History | |
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Name | Asama |
Namesake | Mount Asama |
Awarded | 6 July 1897 |
Builder | Armstrong Whitworth, United Kingdom |
Laid down | 20 October 1896 |
Launched | 21 March 1898 |
Completed | 18 March 1899 |
Decommissioned | 30 November 1945 |
Reclassified |
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Fate | Scrapped, 1947 |
General characteristics | |
Class and type | Asama-class armored cruiser |
Displacement | 9,710 t (9,560 long tons) |
Length | 134.72 m (442 ft) (o/a) |
Beam | 20.48 m (67 ft 2 in) |
Draft | 7.43 m (24 ft 5 in) |
Installed power |
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Propulsion | 2 shafts; 2 triple-expansion steam engines |
Speed | 21 knots (39 km/h; 24 mph) |
Range | 10,000 nmi (19,000 km; 12,000 mi) at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph) |
Complement | 676 |
Armament |
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Armor |
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Asama (淺間) was the
Background and description
The 1896 Naval Expansion Plan was made after the First Sino-Japanese War and included four armored cruisers in addition to four more battleships, all of which had to be ordered from British shipyards as Japan lacked the capability to build them itself. Further consideration of the Russian building program caused the IJN to believe that the battleships ordered under the original plan would not be sufficient to counter the Imperial Russian Navy. Budgetary limitations prevented ordering more battleships and the IJN decided to expand the number of more affordable armored cruisers to be ordered from four to six ships. The revised plan is commonly known as the "Six-Six Fleet".[1] Unlike most of their contemporaries which were designed for commerce raiding or to defend colonies and trade routes, Asama and her half-sisters were intended as fleet scouts and to be employed in the battleline.[2]
The ship was 134.72 meters (442 ft) long
Asama had two 4-cylinder
The
All of the "Six-Six Fleet" armored cruisers used the same armor scheme with some minor differences, of which the most important was that the two Asama-class ships used less tough Harvey armor. The waterline belt ran the full length of the ship and its thickness varied from 178 millimeters (7.0 in) amidships to 89 millimeters (3.5 in) at the bow and stern. It had a height of 2.13 meters (7 ft 0 in), of which 1.52 meters (5 ft 0 in) was normally underwater. The upper strake of belt armor was 127 millimeters (5.0 in) thick and extended from the upper edge of the waterline belt to the main deck. It extended 65.42 meters (214 ft 8 in) from the forward to the rear barbette. The Asama class had oblique 127 mm armored bulkheads that closed off the ends of the central armored citadel.[8]
The barbettes, gun turrets and the front of the casemates were all 152-millimeters thick while the sides and rear of the casemates were protected by 51 millimeters (2.0 in) of armor. The deck was 51-millimeters thick and the armor protecting the conning tower was 356 millimeters (14.0 in) in thickness.[9]
Construction and career
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/2d/Japanese_cruiser_Asama_on_completion.jpg/220px-Japanese_cruiser_Asama_on_completion.jpg)
The contract for Asama, named after
Russo-Japanese War
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/7c/Crew_of_the_Japanese_cruiser_Asama.jpg/220px-Crew_of_the_Japanese_cruiser_Asama.jpg)
At the beginning of the Russo-Japanese War in February 1904, Asama was assigned to the 2nd Division of the
In early March, Kamimura was tasked to take the reinforced 2nd Division north and make a diversion off
On 23 June, the ship was present
Battle of the Yellow Sea
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/ea/Asama-cruiser.jpg/220px-Asama-cruiser.jpg)
On the morning of 10 August 1904, Asama was coaling when the Russians sortied from Port Arthur in another attempt to reach Vladivostok. The ship was not in position to join the battle until around 19:00 when she opened fire at a range of 9,000 meters (9,800 yd) from the damaged Russian battleship Poltava. The shell fell short and the Russian cruisers came to the support of the battleship so that by 19:25, Asama hotly engaged with the Russian ships at a range of 7,500 meters (8,200 yd). Despite the arrival of the elderly cruisers of Rear Admiral Hikohachi Yamada's 5th Division around 19:30, Asama was forced to disengage when the other Russian battleships came within range. The following morning she met up with Tōgō's 1st Division and then rejoined the 3rd Division. On 14 August, the 3rd Division was ordered to Qingdao to confirm that the Germans had indeed interned the battleship Tsesarevich and three destroyers that had taken shelter there after the battle. After their return, they were reassigned to the blockade of Port Arthur.[23]
On 18 September, Asama and the armored cruiser Iwate were transferred to the 1st Division. When the Imperial Japanese Army began sinking the Russian ships in Port Arthur with large-caliber howitzers in early December, Tōgō ordered the two cruisers home to refit. On 30 December, Asama and the armored cruiser Azuma were ordered north to the Tsugaru Strait. Before the Russian ships from the Baltic Fleet approached Japan, the two cruisers were recalled south and rejoined the armored cruisers of Kamimura's 2nd Division.[24]
Battle of Tsushima
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/1d/Japanese_cruiser_Asama.jpg/220px-Japanese_cruiser_Asama.jpg)
As the Russian
After 17:30 Kamimura led his division in a fruitless pursuit of some of the Russian cruisers, leaving Tōgō's battleships to their own devices. He abandoned his chase around 18:03 and turned northwards to rejoin Tōgō. His ships spotted the rear of the Russian battleline around 18:30 and opened fire when the range closed to 8000–9000 meters. Nothing is known of any effect on the Russians and they ceased fire by 19:30 and rejoined Tōgō at 20:08 as night was falling. Asama's flooding increased overnight and she was forced to stop at 06:30 for nearly an hour before continuing.
The ship was assigned to the Training Squadron from 1 June 1910 to 1 April 1911, during which time she made a training cruise with
World War I
On 14 September 1914, Asama was departed Yokosuka as part of the 1st South Seas Squadron that searched for Vice Admiral
Asama searched
The armored cruiser
Inter-war activities
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4f/Asamatowed.jpg/220px-Asamatowed.jpg)
After World War I, Asama was used primarily for long range oceanic navigation training by officer candidates. On 21 August 1920, she began a training voyage to South America and Polynesia that lasted until 2 April 1921.[36] She was re-designated a 1st class coast defense ship on 1 September 1921. In 1922, all of her main deck guns, six 6-inch and four 12-pounder guns, were removed and their casemates plated over. In addition all of her QF 2.5-pounder guns were removed and a single
Beginning on 26 June 1922, Asama resumed making training cruises, usually at two-year intervals, that took her to Australia, Southeast Asia, and the Mediterranean Sea among other places. They came to an end after she ran aground on the night of 13 October 1935 north north-west of the Kurushima Strait in the Inland Sea. Her bottom was badly damaged and she was deemed no longer seaworthy after repairs were completed at Kure Naval Arsenal. The ship was then assigned as a stationary training ship for the Kure Naval Corps on 5 July 1938.[38]
World War II
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/df/Japanese_cruiser_Asama_1946.jpg/220px-Japanese_cruiser_Asama_1946.jpg)
Asama was reclassified as a training ship in July 1942
Notes
- ^ "Cwt" is the abbreviation for hundredweight, 12 cwt referring to the weight of the gun.
- ^ The squadron was the Japanese component of a joint Anglo-Japanese command to protect shipping of the western coast of the Americas.[33]
Footnotes
- ^ Evans & Peattie, pp. 57–62
- ^ Milanovich, p. 72
- ^ Milanovich, pp. 74, 80
- ^ a b Jentschura, Jung & Mickel, p. 72
- ^ Milanovich, p. 81
- ^ a b Brook, p. 109
- ^ Milanovich, p. 78
- ^ Milanovich, pp. 80–81
- ^ Chesneau & Kolesnik, p. 224
- ^ Silverstone, p. 326
- ^ Milanovich, p. 73
- ^ "The Japanese Navy: A Review by the Emperor". Glasgow Herald. 2 June 1900. p. 8. Retrieved 14 April 2015 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ "Naval & Military intelligence". The Times. No. 36831. London. 28 July 1902. p. 7.
- ^ "Naval & Military intelligence". The Times. No. 36852. London. 21 August 1902. p. 8.
- ^ Inaba, pp. 66–67
- ^ Kowner, p. 465
- ^ Warner & Warner, pp. 188–95
- ^ Corbett, I, pp. 127, 138–39
- ^ Warner & Warner, pp. 236–38
- ^ Forczyk, pp. 45–46
- ^ Corbett, I, pp. 208, 223, 294–95
- ^ Warner & Warner, pp. 305–06
- ^ Corbett, I, pp. 389, 397–98, 417, 425, 451–52
- ^ Corbett, II, pp. 47, 104, 153, 217
- ^ Corbett, II, pp. 232, 235
- ^ Campbell, Part 2, pp. 128–32; Part 4, p. 263
- ^ Campbell, Part 3, pp. 186–87, 191
- ^ Corbett, II, pp. 319–20, 329–31
- ^ Campbell, Part 4, p. 263
- ^ a b c Brook, p. 110
- ^ Corbett, II, p. 336
- ^ Lacroix & Wells, pp. 656–59
- ^ a b c d Estes
- ^ a b c Lacroix & Wells, p. 659
- ^ Lacroix & Wells, pp. 552, 657
- ^ Lacroix & Wells, p. 657
- ^ Jentschura, Jung & Mickel, p. 73
- ^ Lacroix & Wells, pp. 657–59
- ^ a b Fukui, p. 53
References
- Brooke, Peter (1999). Warships for Export: Armstrong Warships 1867-1927. Gravesend: World Ship Society. ISBN 0-905617-89-4.
- Campbell, N.J.M. (1978). "The Battle of Tsu-Shima, Parts 2, 3 and 4". In Preston, Antony (ed.). Warship. Vol. II. London: Conway Maritime Press. pp. 127–135, 186–192, 258–265. ISBN 0-87021-976-6.
- Chesneau, Roger, ed. (1980). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1922–1946. Greenwich, UK: Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 0-85177-146-7.
- Chesneau, Roger & Kolesnik, Eugene M., eds. (1979). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1860–1905. Greenwich: Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 0-8317-0302-4.
- ISBN 1-55750-129-7.
- Estes, Donald H. (1978). "Asama Gunkan: The Reappraisal of a War Scare". Journal of San Diego History. 24 (3). Archived from the original on 3 April 2016. Retrieved 2 April 2013.
- Evans, David & ISBN 0-87021-192-7.
- Forczyk, Robert (2009). Russian Battleship vs Japanese Battleship, Yellow Sea 1904–05. Botley, UK: Osprey. ISBN 978-1-84603-330-8.
- Fukui, Shizuo (1991). Japanese Naval Vessels at the End of World War II. London: Greenhill Books. ISBN 1-85367-125-8.
- Gardiner, Robert & Gray, Randal, eds. (1985). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1906–1921. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 0-85177-245-5.
- Inaba, Chiharu (2004). "Military Co-operation Under the First Anglo-Japanese Alliance". In Phillips Payson O'Brien (ed.). The Anglo-Japanese Alliance, 1902–1922. London and New York: RoutledgeCurzon. pp. 64–81. ISBN 0-415-32611-7.
- 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.
- ISBN 978-0-81084-927-3.
- Lacroix, Eric & Wells, Linton (1997). Japanese Cruisers of the Pacific War. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 0-87021-311-3.
- Milanovich, Kathrin (2014). "Armored Cruisers of the Imperial Japanese Navy". In Jordan, John (ed.). Warship 2014. London: Conway. ISBN 978-1-84486-236-8.
- Newbolt, Henry (1996). Naval Operations. History of the Great War Based on Official Documents. Vol. IV (reprint of the 1928 ed.). Nashville, Tennessee: Battery Press. ISBN 0-89839-253-5.
- Silverstone, Paul H. (1984). Directory of the World's Capital Ships. New York: Hippocrene Books. ISBN 0-88254-979-0.
- Stewart, William (2009). Admirals of the World: A Biographical Dictionary, 1500 to the Present. McFarland & Co. ISBN 978-0-7864-3809-9.
- Warner, Denis & Warner, Peggy (2002). The Tide at Sunrise: A History of the Russo-Japanese War, 1904–1905 (2nd ed.). London: Frank Cass. ISBN 0-7146-5256-3.