Japanese battleship Settsu

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Japanese battleship IJN Settsu in 1910

Career

Builder:

Kure Naval Yards, Japan

Plan:

1907 Fiscal Year

Laid down:

Launched:

Completed:

Stricken:

Fate:

Converted to target ship, 1924

General Characteristics

Displacement:

21,443 tons (normal)

Length:

160.6 meters

Beam:

25.6 meters

Draught:

8.5 meters

Propulsion:

Two shaft Curtiss turbine engines; Miyabara 16 boilers, 25,000 hp (19 MW)

Speed:

20 knots (37 km/h)

Fuel:

2300 tons coal; 400 tons oil

Complement:

986

Armament:

• 4 × 305 mm / 50 cal guns
• 8 × 305 mm / 45 cal guns
• 10 × 152 mm guns
• 8 × 120 mm guns
• 8 × 80 mm / 40 cal guns
• 4 × 80 mm / 25 cal guns
• 5 × 450 mm torpedo tubes

Armor:

• belt:	102–300 mm
• turret:	280 mm
• conning tower:	150 mm
• deck:	30 mm

The Settsu (摂津) was a dreadnought type battleship of the Imperial Japanese Navy. She was built in Kure and launched in 1910.

The name Settsu comes from Settsu Province, now a part of Osaka prefecture. The Settsu had a sister ship, the Kawachi, which had a straight bow as opposed to the clipper bow of the Settsu.

The Settsu was a modified version of the IJN Aki initially designed with six dual 12 inch / 50 caliber guns, but completed as a "semi-dreadnought" with a mixed main battery of 12" / 50 caliber and 12" / 45 caliber guns due to worldwide shortages of 12" / 50 caliber guns. Construction was also delayed by a severe world economic depression. The 12 inch guns were acquired from Great Britain, but the 25.000shp Brown-Curtis turbine engines were built under license by Kawasaki.

The Settsu participated WW-1, patrolling the sea lanes south of Japan, in the South China Sea and the Yellow Sea, and assisting at the Battle of Tsingtao.

The Settsui was disarmed in Kure in 1922 under the terms of the Washington Naval Treaty and officially stricken from the Navy list on 01 October 1924.

In 1924, its hulk was converted into a 16-knot, 16,130 ton target ship, with the removal of one boiler room (and funnel), and increased armor to be able to absorb hits from 8 inch shells and 30 kilogram practice bombs. All weapons and the belt armor were removed. Between October 1935 and 1937, the Settsu was furthermore converted into a radio-controlled target ship (with the destroyer Yukaze as "mother" ship). Armor on the deck, funnels, and bridge were increased. During the Pacific War, it was stationed in the Inland Sea, and used for bombing and torpedoing training. Sunk by US aircraft on 24 July 1945, its hulk was raised and scrapped at Harima in 1947.