Japanese battleship Iwami
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 The Russian battleship Orel, which became the Japanese battleship Iwami after the Battle of Tsushima |
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| Career |   |
|---|---|
| Builder: | Galernii Island Shipyards, Saint Petersburg, Russia |
| Laid down: | June 2, 1900 |
| Launched: | July 19, 1902 |
| Commissioned: | September 1904 (Russia) December 12, 1905 (Japan) |
| Fate: | Expended as target, July 10, 1924 |
| General characteristics | |
| Displacement: | 13,516 tons (normal); 15,300 tons (max) |
| Length: | 121.0 meters |
| Beam: | 23.2 meters |
| Draught: | 7.9 meters |
| Propulsion: | 20 boilers Reciprocating vertical triple expansion (VTE) engines, 15,800 ihp two shafts |
| Fuel: | 2000 tons coal; Range: 8,500 nm (16,000 km) @ 10 knots (19 km/h) |
| Speed: | 18 knots (33 km/h) |
| Complement: | 806 |
| Armament: |
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Japanese battleship Iwami (Japanese: 石見) was one of eight Russian pre-dreadnought battleships captured by the Imperial Japanese Navy during the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-1905. It was built as the Borodino-class battleship Russian battleship Orel (Russian: Орёл), and was commissioned into the Imperial Russian Navy's Baltic Fleet. Some naval architects regard the Borodino-class as being among the worst battleships ever built.[citation needed] Based on the battleship Tsesarevich, these ships suffered from instability caused by a high centre of gravity, which was made worse by overloading.
The Orel was the only modern Russian battleship to survive the Battle of Tsushima. She was probably hit by five 12 inch, two 10 inch, nine 8 inch, and 28 6 inch shells, and possibly a number of smaller rounds. She suffered only moderate damage, including two 6 inch turrets disabled by 8 inch hits. Her armor was fairly effective: a 12 inch shell hit the 5 ¾ inch belt obliquely and was repulsed, and a main battery turret resisted a 10 inch shell.
She was substantially rebuilt after her capture by the Japanese, reducing her top weight and removing the smaller guns, and commissioned into the Imperial Japanese Navy as the battleship Iwami, taking her name from an ancient Japanese province, of Iwami now part of Shimane prefecture. The name Iwami was chosen as this province was geographically the closest to the location of the Battle of Tsushima.
On 28 August 1912, the Iwami was re-classified as a 1st class Coastal Defense Vessel.
During World War I, the Iwami was active at the Battle of Tsingtao.
Under the terms of the Washington Naval Agreement, Japan agreed to scrap the Iwami. She was decommissioned on 09 May 1923, and expended as a target, sunk by aircraft launched from Jogashima island (near Yokosuka) on 10 July 1924.
[edit] References
- Gibbons, Tony: The Complete Encyclopedia of Battleships, Crescent Books, New York, 1983 ISBN 0-517-378108
- Burt, R.A.: Japanese Battleships, 1897–1945
- Preston, Antony: World's Worst Warships, Conways Maritime Press 2002
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