Japanese cruiser Itsukushima
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 The Japanese cruiser Itsukushima |
|
| Career |  |
|---|---|
| Built: | Compagnie des Forges et Chantiers de la Méditerranée à la Seyne, France |
| Ordered: | 1886 Fiscal Year |
| Laid down | January 7 1888 |
| Launched: | July 18 1889 |
| Completed: | September 3 1891 |
| Fate: | Scrapped 1926 |
| General Characteristics | |
| Displacement: | 4,217 tons |
| Length: | 91.81 meters at waterline |
| Beam: | 15.6 meters |
| Draught: | 6.05 meters |
| Propulsion: | 2-shaft reciprocating; 5400 HP |
| Speed: | 16.5 knots |
| Fuel: | 680 tons coal |
| Complement: | 360 |
| Armament: |
|
| Armor: | 50 mm deck; 300 mm turret; 100 mm gunshield |
The IJN Itsukushima (厳島) was a protected cruiser of the Imperial Japanese Navy, designed by Emile Bertin, and built by the Compagnie des Forges et Chantiers de la Méditerranée à la Seyne naval shipyards in France. The Itsukushima was the lead ship in the Matsushima-class. Like its sister ships, (the Matsushima and Hashidate) its name comes from one of the three most famous scenic spots in Japan, in this case, the Itsukushima Jinja in Hiroshima prefecture on the Inland Sea, home to a famous Shinto shrine dedicated to the goddess Benzaiten.
Forming the backbone of the Imperial Japanese Navy during the First Sino-Japanese War, the Matsushima-class protected cruisers were based on the principles of Jeune Ecole. The Japanese government did not have the resources or budget to build a battleship navy to counter the Chinese navy; 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 320 cm Canet gun. The design eventually proved impractical, as the recoil from the huge cannon was too much for a vessel of such small displacement, and the reloading time on the cannon was impractically long; however, the Matsushima-class cruisers served their purpose well against the poorly-equipped and poorly-led Chinese fleet. There were originally plans to build a fourth vessel in this class (name unknown), and its cancellation due concerns over the design was one of the factors that led to Bertin’s resignation and return to France.
The Itsukushima saw combat in the Battle of the Yalu River and the subsequent attack on Weihaiwei during the Sino-Japanese War.
The Itsukushima was reclassified as a 2nd class cruiser on 21 March 1898.
On 25 February 1901, the Itsukushima, and the Hashidate, departed Yokosuka on a tour which took it to Manila, Batavia, Hong Kong, Chelumpo, Pusan, Gensan, and Vladivostok, returning to Yokosuka on 14 August 1901.
During the Russo-Japanese War, the hopelessly obsolete Itsukushima and her sister ships were assigned to the 5th squadron of the reserve 3rd Fleet, together with the equally outdated ironclad battleship Chin'en under the command of Admiral Shichiro Kataoka.
On 28 August 1912, the Itsukushima was re-classified as a 2nd class Coastal Defense Vessel. It was struck from the active list on 12 March 1926.
The cruiser Itsukushima should not be confused with the Pacific War era minelayer of the same name, or the auxiliary oiler named Itsukushima-maru.
Imperial Japanese Navy  |
||||||||||||
| Major battles | List of ships | List of aircraft | List of weapons | Main admirals | ||||||||
