Japanese battleship Settsu

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Japanese battleship Settsu in 1910
Career (Japan)
Name: Settsu
Ordered: 1907
Builder: Kure Naval Arsenal Japan
Laid down: 1909-01-18
Launched: 1911-03-30
Commissioned: 1912-07-01
Struck: 1924-10-01
Fate: Converted to target ship, 1924
General characteristics
Class and type: Kawachi class battleship
Displacement: 21,443 tons (normal)
Length: 160.6 metres (526.9 ft)
Beam: 25.6 metres (84.0 ft)
Draught: 8.5 metres (27.9 ft)
Propulsion: Two shaft Brown-Curtis turbine engines; 16 Miyabara boilers, 25,000 shp (18640 kW)
Speed: 20 knots (37 km/h)
Range: 2300 tons coal; 400 tons oil
Complement: 986
Armament:


  • 4 x 12-inch (305 mm)/50 caliber guns (2 x 2)
  • 8 x 12-inch (305 mm)/45 caliber guns (4 x 2)
  • 10 x 6-inch (152 mm)/45 caliber guns
  • 8 x 4.72-inch (120 mm)/40 caliber guns
  • 12 x 3-inch (76 mm)/40 caliber guns
  • 4 x 3-inch (76 mm)/28 caliber guns
  • 5 x 18-inch (457 mm) torpedo tubes
Armour:


  • belt: 100-300 mm
  • barbette: 180-240 mm
  • turret: 280 mm
  • conning tower: 150 mm
  • deck: 30mm

The Settsu ( 摂津 (戦艦) Settsu (senkan)?) was the second of the two ship Kawachi class dreadnought battleships of the Imperial Japanese Navy. She was built at Kure Naval Arsenal and launched in 1910. The name Settsu comes from Settsu Province, now a part of Osaka prefecture.

Her sister ship, the Kawachi, had a straight bow as opposed to the clipper bow on the Settsu.

Contents

[edit] Background

Settsu was ordered under the 1907 Fleet Expansion Program as one of the first steps in full implementation of the Eight-Eight Fleet Program. The Japanese Navy projected that a fleet of eight front-line battleships was the minimum necessary against potential threats from China, Russia or the United States. Construction was delayed by a severe world economic depression. The 12-inch (305 mm) guns were acquired from Great Britain, but the 25,000 shp (18640 kW) Brown-Curtis turbine engines were built under license by Kawasaki Heavy Industries in Japan.

[edit] Operational History

Commissioned on 1912-07-01, Settsu participated World War I, and was assigned to patrol the sea lanes south of Japan, in the South China Sea and the Yellow Sea, as part of Japan’s contribution to the war effort under the terms of the Anglo-Japanese Alliance. She was also at the Battle of Tsingtao.

After the war, Settsu was host to Emperor Taisho for the triumphal naval review held off of Yokohama on 1918-10-28.

Settsu was disarmed in Kure in 1922 under the terms of the Washington Naval Treaty, and its weaponry and armor was removed. It was officially stricken from the Navy list on 1924-10-01.

In 1924, the hulk of Settsu was converted into a 16 knots (30 km/h), 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 (203 mm) shells and 30 kilogram practice bombs. Between October 1935 and 1937, radio-control was added, allowing it to be maneuvered by operators on (the destroyer Yukaze as "mother ship"). Armor on the deck, funnels, and bridge were increased to enhance its ability to survive hits. During the Pacific War, the target ship was stationed in the Inland Sea, and used for bombing and torpedo training. It was sunk by US aircraft on 1945-07-24 at Etajima; its hulk was raised and scrapped in 1947.

[edit] Gallery

[edit] References

  • Brown, D. K. (1999). Warrior to Dreadnought, Warship Development 1860-1906. Naval Institute Press. ISBN 1-84067-529-2. 
  • Evans, David (1979). Kaigun: Strategy, Tactics, and Technology in the Imperial Japanese Navy, 1887-1941. US Naval Institute Press. ISBN 0870211927. 
  • Howarth, Stephen (1983). The Fighting Ships of the Rising Sun: The Drama of the Imperial Japanese Navy, 1895-1945. Atheneum. ISBN 0689114028. 
  • Jentsura, Hansgeorg (1976). Warships of the Imperial Japanese Navy, 1869-1945. Naval Institute Press. ISBN 087021893X. 

[edit] External links

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