Suma-class cruiser
 Japanese cruiser Suma around 1905
| |
| Class overview | |
|---|---|
| Name | Suma class |
| Builders | Yokosuka Naval Arsenal, Japan |
| Operators |  Imperial Japanese Navy |
| Preceded by | Akitsushima |
| Succeeded by | Takasago |
| Built | 1892–1899 |
| In commission | 1896–1930 |
| Completed | 2 |
| Retired | 2 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type | Protected cruiser |
| Displacement | 2,657 long tons (2,700 t) |
| Length | 93.5 m (306 ft 9 in) |
| Beam | 12.3 m (40 ft 4 in) |
| Draught | 4.6 m (15 ft 1 in) |
| Propulsion | 2-shaft VTE reciprocating engines; 8 boilers; 8,500 hp (6,300 kW) |
| Speed | 20 knots (23 mph; 37 km/h) |
| Range | 11,000 nmi (20,000 km) at 10 kn (19 km/h) |
| Complement | 256 |
| Armament |
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| Armour |
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The two Suma-class cruisers (須磨型防護巡洋艦, Suma-gata bōgojun'yōkan) were protected cruisers operated by the Imperial Japanese Navy. While more lightly armed and armored than many of its contemporaries, their small size and relatively simple design facilitated their construction and their relatively high speed made them useful for many military operations. Both participated in combat during the Russo-Japanese War and World War I.
Background
The Suma-class cruisers were designed and built in Japan at the
Design
The overall dimensions and layout of armaments on the Suma-class cruisers was almost the same as on Akitsushima.[3] The design incorporated an all-steel, double-bottomed hull, with an armored deck, divided underneath by watertight bulkheads. The armor, of the Harvey armor variety, covered only vital areas, such as the boilers, gun magazines and critical machinery, with a thickness of 25 millimetres (0.98 in) on the deck.
Her
The Suma-class cruisers were slightly smaller in displacement than Akitsushima, and consequently had lighter weaponry (two six-inch guns instead of four) to reduce issues with weight and design lessons learned with Akitsushima (such as the need to locate the secondary battery lower to the center of gravity to improve stability were implemented. Nevertheless, as with most Japanese designs of the period, the design remained top-heavy and had issues with seaworthiness and stability.
The second ship of the class, Akashi differed from Suma in that its torpedo launch tubes were moved from the bow to the rear of the ship, and had a high foremast with a radio antenna. On Akashi the fighting top was eliminated from the mast from the start, resulting in a sleeker, "more modern" design. This was also eliminated from Suma at a later date.
Propulsion was by two vertical
Ships in class
Ordered in 1891, launched 9 March 1895, and completed 12 December 1896,
Ordered in 1893, launched 18 December 1897 and completed 30 March 1899,
Notes
References
- Chesneau, Roger (1979). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1860–1905. Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 0-85177-133-5.
- Evans DC, Peattie MR (1997). Kaigun: Strategy, Tactics, and Technology in the Imperial Japanese Navy, 1887-1941. Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 0-87021-192-7.
- 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.
- 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.