Japanese cruiser Tsukuba
_1.jpg) Tsukuba before 1913 refit.
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| History | |
|---|---|
 Empire of Japan | |
| Name | Tsukuba |
| Ordered | 1904 Fiscal Year |
| Builder | Kure Naval Arsenal |
| Laid down | 14 January 1905 |
| Launched | 26 December 1905 |
| Commissioned | 14 January 1907 |
| Reclassified | battlecruiser (1912) |
| Stricken | 1 September 1917 |
| Fate | Explosion, Tokyo Bay 14 January 1917 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type | Tsukuba-class armored cruiser |
| Displacement | 13,750 long tons (13,970 t) (normal); 15,400 long tons (15,600 t) (max) |
| Length |
|
| Beam | 22.80 m (74.8 ft) |
| Draught | 7.95 m (26.1 ft) |
| Installed power | 20,500 shp (15,290 kW) |
| Propulsion | Two shaft reciprocating VTE steam engine; 20 Miyabara boilers |
| Speed | 20.5 knots (38 km/h) |
| Range | 5,000 nautical miles (9,000 km) at 14 knots (26 km/h) |
| Complement | 879 |
| Armament |
|
| Armor |
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Tsukuba (筑波) was the
Background
Construction of the Tsukuba-class cruisers was ordered under the June 1904 Emergency Fleet Replenishment Budget of the Russo-Japanese War, spurred on by the unexpected loss of the battleships Yashima and Hatsuse to naval mines in the early stages of the war.[2] These were the first major capital ships to be designed and constructed entirely by Japan in a Japanese shipyard, albeit with imported weaponry and numerous components. However, Tsukuba was designed and completed in a very short time, and suffered from numerous technical and design problems, including strength of its hull, stability and mechanical failures.[2] The ship was reclassified as a battlecruiser in 1912.[1]
Design
The Tsukuba-class design had a conventional armored cruiser hull design, powered by two vertical triple-expansion steam engines, with twenty Miyabara boilers, yielding 20,500 shp (15,300 kW) design speed of 20.5 knots (38.0 km/h; 23.6 mph) and a range of 5,000 nautical miles (9,000 km) at 14 knots (26 km/h; 16 mph). During speed trials in Hiroshima Bay prior to commissioning, Tsukuba attained a top speed of 21.75 knots (40.28 km/h; 25.03 mph).[1]
In terms of armament, the Tsukuba-class was one of the most heavily armed cruisers of its time, with four
Service record
Tsukuba was laid down on 14 January 1905, launched 26 December 1905 and commissioned on 14 January 1907 at Kure Naval Arsenal, with Captain Heitarō Takenouchi as her chief equipping officer and first commander.
Shortly after commissioning, and with Vice Admiral Ijuin Gorō on board, Tsukuba and Chitose were sent on a voyage to the United States to attend the International Naval Review by President Theodore Roosevelt as a part of Jamestown Exposition of 1907, the tricentennial celebrations marking the founding of the Jamestown Colony. They then traveled on to Portsmouth, England to pay respect to the fellow Royal Navy in the Anglo-Japanese Alliance, and attended the 25th anniversary of Kiel Regatta in Kiel, Germany, where she received the imperial visit of Kaiser Wilhelm II. She then visited Flushing and Ostend in Flanders, Holland; Brest and Bordeaux in France; Vigo, Lisbon, Naples, Malta, Venice and Trieste before returning to Japan via the Suez Canal and Indian Ocean, thus circumnavigating the globe.[4]
After her return to Japan, Tsukuba was assigned to Commander
Tsukuba served in
On 4 December 1915, Tsukuba was in a fleet review off of Yokohama, attended by Emperor Taishō in which 124 ships participated. A similar fleet review was held again off Yokohama on 25 October 1916.
On 14 January 1917, Tsukuba exploded while in port at
The masts, bridge and smokestacks of the vessel remained above water, and afterwards, her hulk was raised, and used as a target for
Notes
- ^ ISBN 0-87021-893-X. page 77
- ^ a b c Chesneau, Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1906–1921, page 232
- ^ See Military attachés and observers in the Russo-Japanese War
- ^ Office of the Navy Minister Records (1907). "Tsukuba, Chitose and one more item" (in Japanese). p. 18(0077 in original).
References
- Evans, David (1979). Kaigun : Strategy, Tactics, and Technology in the Imperial Japanese Navy, 1887-1941. Naval Institute Press. ISBN 0-87021-192-7.
- 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.
- Gibbs, Jay (2010). "Question 28/43: Japanese Ex-Naval Coast Defense Guns". Warship International. XLVII (3): 217–218. ISSN 0043-0374.
- 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.
- 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.
- Sieche, Erwin F. (1990). "Austria-Hungary's Last Visit to the USA". Warship International. XXVII (2): 142–164. ISSN 0043-0374.
External links
Shipwrecks and maritime incidents in January 1917 | |
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