Japanese cruiser Matsushima
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 The French-built Matsushima, flagship of the Japanese Navy in the Sino-Japanese War. |
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| Career |  |
|---|---|
| Built: | Compagnie des Forges et Chantiers de la Méditerranée à la Seyne, France |
| Ordered: | 1886 Fiscal Year |
| Laid down | February 17 1888 |
| Launched: | January 22 1890 |
| Completed: | April 5 1892 |
| Fate: | Explosion, April 30 1908 |
| 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: |
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| Armor: |
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The IJN Matsushima (松島?) 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 Matsushima was the second ship in the Matsushima-class. Like its sister ships, (the Itsukushima and Hashidate) its name comes from one of the three most famous scenic spots in Japan, in this case, the Matsushima archipelago near Sendai in Miyagi prefecture.
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 the Jeune Ecole naval philosophy promoted by the French government at the time. The Japanese government did not have the resources or budget to build a large battleship navy to counter the heavier vessels of 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 mm (12.6") Canet gun. Matsushima differed from her two younger sister ships in that the 320 mm gun was mounted abaft the superstructure, rather than forwards. 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 Emile Bertin's resignation and return to France.
From June – November 1893, the Matsushima, Takachiho and Chiyoda made a 160-day, 7000 nautical mile cruise off the shores of China, Korea and Russia.
The Matsushima was the flagship of Admiral Ito Sukeyuki during the First Sino-Japanese War, and played a central role in the Battle of the Yalu River, where an ammunition explosion killed 90 crewmen, more than half of the Japanese casualties during the battle. During the battle, the Matsushima got off only 4 rounds of her 320 mm cannon, the Itsukushima 5 rounds, and the Hashidate 5 rounds. Of these shots, it appears that only one was a direct hit on any ships in the Chinese fleet.
The Matsushima saw subsequent action in the attack on Weihaiwei.
The Matsushima was reclassified as a 2nd class cruiser on 21 March 1898.
Prince Arisugawa Takehito (1862-1913) was later appointed captain followed by Uryu Sotokichi.
In 1902, the Matsushima was dispatched to Minami Torishima, in response to American claims that the island was US territory.
During the Russo-Japanese War, the hopelessly obsolete Matsushima 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 30 April 1908, while on a training cruise for the Imperial Japanese Naval Academy, an accident in the ammunition storage locker of the Matsushima caused a massive explosion, which sank the vessel while in route in the Pescadores islands off of Taiwan, with loss of 207 of her 350 member crew.
A memorial to the Matsushima-class ships in general, and the Matsushima in particular is located at the temple of Omido-ji in Mihama, Aichi prefecture. The memorial contains one of the Matsushima's 320 mm shells, weighing 450 kg, and standing 97.5 cm tall.
Imperial Japanese Navy  |
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