Matsushima-class cruiser

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Itsukushima, the lead ship of the Matsushima class
Class overview
NameMatsushima class
Operators Imperial Japanese Navy
Preceded byNaniwa class
Built1888–1894
In commission1891–1926
Planned4
Completed3
Cancelled1
Lost1 (Matsushima)
Retired2
General characteristics
TypeProtected cruiser
Displacement4,217 long tons (4,285 t) (Matsushima); 4,278 long tons (4,347 t) (Itsukushima and Hashidate)
Length91.81 m (301 ft 3 in)
w/l
Beam15.6 m (51 ft 2 in)
Draft6.05 m (19 ft 10 in)
Propulsion2-shaft
reciprocating
; 6 boilers; 5,400 hp (4,000 kW), 680 tons coal
Speed16.5 knots (19.0 mph; 30.6 km/h)
Complement360
Armament
Armor

The Matsushima class (松島型防護巡洋艦, Matsushima-gata bōgojun'yōkan) was a class of protected cruisers of the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN), with three ships named after the three most famous scenic spots in Japan (nicknamed Sankeikan (三景艦, 'three-views ships')). The Matsushima class was a highly unorthodox design among cruisers of the 1890s, as each ship had a primary armament of a single massive 320 millimetres (13 in) Canet gun, resulting in a monitor-like appearance.

Background

Forming the backbone of the Imperial Japanese Navy during the

Jeune Ecole, as promoted by French military advisor and naval architect Louis-Émile Bertin.[1] The Japanese government did not have the resources or budget to build a large battleship navy to counter the heavier vessels of the Imperial Chinese Beiyang Fleet; instead, Japan adopted the radical theory of using smaller, faster warships, with light armor and small caliber long-range guns, coupled with a massive single main weapon. The design eventually proved impractical, as the recoil from the huge cannon was too much for vessels of such small displacement, and reloading time on the cannon was impractically long; however, the Matsushima-class cruisers served their purpose well against the poorly equipped and poorly led Imperial Chinese Beiyang Fleet.[2]

There were originally plans to build a fourth vessel in this class, and its cancellation due to concerns over the design was one of the factors that led to Bertin's resignation and return to France.

Design

The Matsushima-class vessels had steel hulls with 94 frames constructed of mild steel, and a double bottom, divided into waterproof compartments, with the area between the bulkheads and armor filled with

QF 3 pounder Hotchkiss were mounted at various locations, with range of 2,200 metres (2,400 yd), rate of fire of 32 rounds/minute, and 800 rounds per gun. Each ship in the class also had four 356-mm torpedo tubes, three in the bow and one in the stern, with a total of 20 torpedoes carried on board.[3][4]

Imperial Japanese Navy Cruiser Matsushima JANE'S FIGHTING SHIPS 1906-07, Edi

Propulsion was by two

triple expansion steam engines with six boilers, driving two shafts at a rated power of 5,400 hp (4,000 kW). Theoretical speed was 16.5 knots (19.0 mph; 30.6 km/h), which was seldom realistic in actual service.[3]

Ships in class

Itsukushima (厳島)

Built by the Société Nouvelle des Forges et Chantiers de la Méditerranée naval shipyards in France; launched on 18 July 1889; completed on 3 September 1891. Struck on 12 March 1926 and scrapped.[5]

Matsushima (松島)

Built by the Société Nouvelle des Forges et Chantiers de la Méditerranée naval shipyards in France; launched on 22 January 1890; completed on 5 April 1892. Matsushima differed from her two sister ships in that the Canet gun was mounted abaft the superstructure, rather than forward. Sunk on 30 April 1908 after an accidental explosion while at anchor in the Pescadores islands off Taiwan, with the loss of 207 of her 350 crewmembers.[5]

Hashidate (橋立)

The only ship of the class built in Japan, by the Yokosuka Naval Arsenal; launched on 24 March 1891; completed on 26 June 1894. Struck on 1 April 1922 and scrapped in 1927.[5]

Service life

All three ships of the Matsushima class were completed just prior to the start of the First Sino-Japanese War, and saw combat in the Battle of the Yalu River and the subsequent Battle of Weihaiwei.

During the

Port Arthur, the Battle of the Yellow Sea, and the final Battle of Tsushima. Later assigned to the IJN 4th Fleet, all were part of the flotilla that provided protection for the Japanese invasion of Sakhalin
.

See also

Notes

  1. ^ Roksund, The Jeune École: The Strategy of the Weak;
  2. ISBN 0-87021-192-7
    .
  3. ^ a b Chesneau, Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1860–1905.
  4. ^ "Japanese 12.6"/38 (32 cm) Canet". navweaps.com. 16 March 2006.
  5. ^ a b c Jentsura, Warships of the Imperial Japanese Navy;

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Matsushima class protected cruisers.
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