Japanese battleship Yashima
| |
| Career | 
|
|---|---|
| Ordered: | FY 1896 to Armstrong Whitworth, Great Britain |
| Laid down: | December 28, 1894 |
| Launched: | February 28, 1896 |
| Commissioned: | September 9, 1897 |
| Fate: | Struck Mine off Port Arthur, May 15, 1904 |
| Struck: | June 15, 1905 |
| General Characteristics | |
| Displacement: | 12,320 tons |
| Length: | 412 feet (126 m) |
| Beam: | 73.3 feet (22.3 m) |
| Draught: | 26.6 feet (8.1 m) |
| Propulsion: | Two Shaft Reciprocating Vertical Triple Expansion (VTE) Engines; 2 shafts, 13,500 shp |
| Fuel: | Coal, 1200 tons |
| Speed: | 18.5 knots (34 km/h) |
| Complement: | 741 |
| Armament: | 4 × 12 inch guns (2×2), 10 × 6 inch guns (1×14), 16 × 12 pdr guns, 4 × 2.5 pdr guns(1×4), 5 × torpedo tubes |
| Armor: | belt 18 inch (46 cm), deck 2.5 inch (6 cm), barbette 14 inch (36 cm), casement 6 inch (15 cm), conning tower 14 inch (36 cm) |
IJN Yashima (八島) was the second ship of the Fuji-class of early pre-dreadnought battleships of the Imperial Japanese Navy, and one of the six battleships (Shikishima, Fuji, Hatsuse, Yashima, Asahi, and Mikasa) that formed the main Japanese battle line in the Russo-Japanese War of 1904–1905. The Yashima had a very brief career.
History
Yashima and her sister-ship Fuji were the first two battleships built for Japan. As the Japanese were still incapable of building modern steel warships themselves, the Fuji was ordered to Armstrong Whitworth, at the Elswick Yard, Great Britain in 1894.
To help sell their products before the days of computer graphics, manaufacturers would commission highly detailed scale models of the proposed ship. The model of 'Yashima' still survives and is currently on display at RHS (Royal Hospital School) Holbrook in Suffolk, England. The plaque reads 'Japanese Armourclad "Yashima" 19 3/4 knots speed, built by Sir W.G. Armstrong Whitworth & Co Ld. Elswick Shipyard 1897 Newcastle on Tyne. Designed by Sir Philip Watts, KCB, FRS etc.' I have some photos but no idea how to post them.
The Yashima was delivered in 1897, and was assigned to the 1st Squadron, 1st Division, under Rear Admiral Nashiba Tokioki after the start of the Russo-Japanese War. On May 14 1904 Admiral Nashiba put to sea with the battleships Hatsuse (flag), Shikishima, and Yashima, the cruiser Kasagi, and the dispatch-vessel Tatsuta to relieve the Japanese blockading force off of Port Arthur. On the morning of May 15 1904, the squadron reached Encounter Rock and continued N.W., till about 15 miles off Port Arthur. Here Nashiba proceeded to patrol to the E. by N. across the mouth of the port. This course brought him into a minefield previously laid by the Russian minelayer Amur. Both the Hatsuse and the Yashima struck mines and were lost in one of the greatest naval disasters by the Japanese during the Russo-Japanese War.
References
- Gibbons, Tony: The Complete Encyclopedia of Battleships and Battlecruisers
- Burt, R.A.: Japanese Battleships, 1897–1945