Japanese cruiser Otowa
Otowa in 1905
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History | |
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Empire of Japan | |
Name | Otowa |
Ordered | 1897 Fiscal Year |
Builder | Yokosuka Naval Arsenal, Japan |
Laid down | 3 January 1903 |
Launched | 2 November 1903 |
Completed | 6 September 1904 |
Stricken | 1 December 1917 |
Fate |
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General characteristics | |
Type | Protected cruiser |
Displacement | 3,000 long tons (3,048 t) |
Length | 98 m (321 ft 6 in) w/l |
Beam | 12.62 m (41 ft 5 in) |
Draft | 4.8 m (15 ft 9 in) |
Propulsion | 2-shaft VTE reciprocating engines ; 10 boilers; 10,000 hp (7,500 kW); 575 tons coal |
Speed | 21 knots (24 mph; 39 km/h) |
Complement | 280-312 |
Armament |
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Armor |
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Otowa (音羽) was a protected cruiser of the Imperial Japanese Navy, designed and built by the Yokosuka Naval Arsenal in Japan. The name Otowa comes from a mountain in Kyoto, located behind Kiyomizu-dera. The waters from a waterfall at this temple were traditionally held to be a cure for all illnesses.
Background
Authorized under the 2nd Naval Expansion Program of 1897, Otowa was originally intended to be the third vessel in the Niitaka-class cruiser series. However, due to budget constraints, Otowa was redesigned with 10 percent smaller displacement, and with considerably lighter weaponry. The ship was completed in less than 20 months; its rapid construction time set a new record for Japan. She was laid down on 3 January 1903, launched on 2 November 1903 and completed on 6 September 1904.[1]
Otowa was the first ship to be equipped with the Japanese-designed
Service record
Russo-Japanese War
Otowa was rushed into service in order to participate in the Russo-Japanese War, joining the Japanese fleet blockading Port Arthur on 16 September 1904 under the command of Commander Arima Ryōkitsu.[2] On 13 December, she assisted in the rescue of survivors from Takasago, which had been sunk by a naval mine. In early 1905, she was assigned to escort troop transports ferrying reinforcements from Japan to northern Korea.
During the crucial
After the Battle of Tsushima, Otowa was assigned to patrols of Tsushima Strait and escorting transports to Korea until the end of the war. On 10 October, she captured the German merchantman Hans Wagner en route to Beijing with suspected war materials.
World War I
In 1908, Otowa participated in the first post-war fleet maneuvers of the Imperial Japanese Navy, as part of the 4th brigade of Cruiser Squadron 1. From October 1910 through June 1912, Otowa was stationed in northern China together with the cruisers
On 28 August 1912 Otowa was re-designated as a 2nd class cruiser[4]
During
During the February 1915 Singapore Mutiny by Indian Sepoy troops against the British in Singapore, Otowa was the first ship to respond to the British government's request for assistance.[6] Together with Niitaka and Tsushima, she landed marines to help quell the disturbances.
On 25 July 1917, when en route from Yokosuka to
Notes
References
- David C. Evans; Mark R. Peattie (1997). Kaigun: Strategy, Tactics, and Technology in the Imperial Japanese Navy, 1887-1941. Naval Institute Press. ISBN 978-0-87021-192-8.
- Chesneau, Roger (1979). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1860–1905. Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 0-85177-133-5.
- Howarth, Stephen (1983). The Fighting Ships of the Rising Sun: The Drama of the Imperial Japanese Navy, 1895-1945. Atheneum. ISBN 0-689-11402-8.
- Jane, Fred T. (1904). The Imperial Japanese Navy. Thacker, Spink & Co.
- Jentsura, Hansgeorg (1976). Warships of the Imperial Japanese Navy, 1869-1945. Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 0-87021-893-X.
- Mauch, Peter (2011). Sailor Diplomat: Nomura Kichisaburo and the Japanese-American War. Harvard University Asia Center. ISBN 978-0-674-05599-5.
- Roberts, John (ed). (1983). 'Warships of the world from 1860 to 1905 - Volume 2: United States, Japan and Russia. Bernard & Graefe Verlag, Koblenz. ISBN 3-7637-5403-2.
- 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.
- Warner, Dennis & Peggy (1974). The Tide at Sunrise; A History of the Russo-Japanese War, 1904-1905. Charterhouse. ISBN 0-7146-8234-9.
External links
- Nishida, Hiroshi. "Materials of IJN". Imperial Japanese Navy.