Japanese cruiser Chikuma (1911)

Chikuma in 1912 during commissioning
History
Empire of Japan
Name	Chikuma
Namesake	Chikuma River
Ordered	1907 Fiscal Year
Builder	Sasebo Naval Arsenal
Laid down	1 April 1909
Launched	1 April 1911
Completed	17 May 1912
Stricken	1 April 1931
Fate	Sunk as a target ship, 1935
General characteristics
Class and type	Chikuma-class protected cruiser
Displacement	5,040 long tons (5,121 t)
Length	144.8 m (475 ft 1 in)
Beam	14.2 m (46 ft 7 in)
Draught	5.1 m (16 ft 9 in)
Propulsion	2 shaft Curtiss steam turbines; 16 Kampon boilers 22,500 hp (16,800 kW) 1,128 tons coal, 300 tons oil
Speed	26 knots (30 mph; 48 km/h)
Range	10,000 nmi (19,000 km) at 10 kn (12 mph; 19 km/h)
Armament	8 × Type 41 6 inch 45 caliber naval guns 4 × QF 12 pounder 12 cwt naval guns 2 × 7.7 mm Lewis Guns 3 × 450 mm (18 in) torpedo tubes
Armour	Belt: 50–89 mm (2.0–3.5 in) Deck: 37–57 mm (1.5–2.2 in) Conning tower: 100 mm (3.9 in)

Chikuma (筑摩) was the

Background

The Chikuma-class protected cruisers were built as part of the 1907 Naval Expansion Program, based on lessons learned during the

The basic design of the Chikuma-class cruisers was modeled after the Royal Navy Town class with some modifications and was also largely influenced by the design of the cruiser Tone^[2] The silhouette of the Chikuma class was readily distinguishable due to its four tall smokestacks.

Chikuma had a hull with an overall length of 144.8 metres (475 ft) and width of 14.2 metres (47 ft), with a normal displacement of 5040 tons and

Chikuma was propelled by two Curtis steam turbine engines (produced by Kawasaki, with a total capacity of 22,500 shp (16,800 kW), which drove two screws. The engine had 16 Kampon boilers. These newly developed engines gave the ship an incredible (for the time) 26.87-knot (49.76 km/h; 30.92 mph) speed in trials,^[3] but problems with material strength in the gears of the new engines created a maintenance nightmare, and Chikuma could seldom live up to her potential. The ship was armed with eight

Chikuma participated in World War I, as part of Japan's contribution to the Allied war effort under the Anglo-Japanese Alliance. She was in the Japanese squadron which gave chase to the German East Asia Squadron led by Admiral Graf Maximilian von Spee in 1914.^[3] The Imperial Japanese Navy also dispatched the cruisers Ibuki, Chikuma and Nisshin to the Indian Ocean to deal with the threat posed to shipping by the German cruiser Emden.

From December 1914 to January 1915, Chikuma and Yahagi were assigned to patrols off the coast of northern

After World War I, Chikuma was assigned to patrols of the China coast from 1921 to 1924. After 1924, she was deemed too obsolete to be of any further combat use, and was primarily used as a moored training ship at Yokosuka Naval District after having been officially transferred to the reserves.

Chikuma was officially stricken from the

Notes

References

• Evans, David C.;
  ISBN 0-87021-192-7
  .
• ISBN 0-87021-907-3
  .
• Jentschura, Hansgeorg; Jung, Dieter & Mickel, Peter (1977). Warships of the Imperial Japanese Navy, 1869–1945. Annapolis, Maryland: United States Naval Institute.
  ISBN 978-0-87021-893-4
  .
• Schencking, J. Charles (2005). Making Waves: Politics, Propaganda, And The Emergence Of The Imperial Japanese Navy, 1868-1922. Stanford University Press.
  ISBN 0-8047-4977-9
  .
• Tucker, Spencer C (2005). Encyclopedia of World War I: A Political, Social, And Military History. ABC-Clio Inc.
  ISBN 1-85109-420-2
  .

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