Japanese cruiser Aso
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 The former Russian cruiser Bayan as the Japanese cruiser Aso in 1911 |
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| Career |  |
|---|---|
| Built: | Forges et Chantiers de la Mediterranee La Seyne, France |
| Ordered: | |
| Laid down | February 1899 |
| Launched: | December 6 1900 |
| Completed: | April 1903 |
| Fate: | Scrapped April 1931 |
| General characteristics | |
| Displacement: | 7726 tons |
| Length: | 135.6 meters at waterline |
| Beam: | 17.4 meters |
| Draught: | 6.7 meters |
| Propulsion: | 2-shaft reciprocating, 26 boilers; 16500 HP |
| Speed: | 21 knots |
| Fuel: | 1100 tons coal; Range: 7000 nm @ 10 knots |
| Complement: | 570 |
| Armament: |
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| Armor: | Harvey armor
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The IJN Aso (阿蘇 装甲巡洋艦 Aso Sōkōjunyōkan?) was an armoured cruiser of the Imperial Japanese Navy, acquired as a prize of war during the Russo-Japanese War from the Imperial Russian Navy, where it was originally known as the Bayan.
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[edit] Background
The Bayan was built by the Forges et Chantiers de la Mediterranee La Seyne in Toulon, France. It was the lead ship in the Bayan class of three vessels, and was one of the most advanced warships in the Russian Far East Fleet. The Bayan played an active role in the early stages of the Russo-Japanese War, but was trapped by the Siege of Port Arthur and subsequently sunk by Japanese artillery.
At the end of the Russo-Japanese War, Port Arthur was in Japanese hands, and Japanese engineers raised the wreck of the Bayan and towed it to Maizuru, where it was repaired and commissioned it into the Imperial Japanese Navy as the 2nd class cruiser Aso on 22 August 1905. Its new name came from Mount Aso, a noted volcano in Kyūshū. It is a tribute to its excellent design that it was able to absorb seven hits on its deck (of which five penetrated) and five hits on the side of its hull from the Japanese 280mm siege guns (more than any other battleship or cruiser in the Russian squadron), and still could be repaired and brought back into service.
[edit] Service record
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- For record of the RUS Bayan prior to being captured by Japan, see Russian cruiser Bayan.
After being placed into service on 30 November 1908, the Aso was assigned to patrol duty off of the China coast. The following year, together with the Soya, the Aso was assigned to a training cruise to North America by way of Hawaii, and in 1910, made a similar long distance navigational training voyage south, to Australia by way of the Philippines.
From 1911-1915, the Aso was based in Yokosuka, patrolling Japanese home waters. However, with the start of World War I, the Aso was assigned longer patrols further south, protecting commercial shipping against raids by the Imperial German Navy, as part of Japan's contribution to the Allied war effort under the Anglo-Japanese Alliance.
On 1 April 1920, the Aso was re-classified as a minelayer, with a total of 512 naval mines deployed on its upper and middle deck. From 28 August 1922 to 9 September 1922, the Aso was used for coastal patrol and to transport troops during the Siberian Intervention. At the time of the Great Kanto Earthquake of September 1923, the Aso was used for disaster relief, and for transport of supplies and refugees.
The Aso was removed from the active list on 1 April 1931 and subsequently sunk as a target by the guns of the Myōkō, torpedoes from the Japanese submarine I-89 and bombs from dive bombers sent from Yokosuka on 4 August 1932 offshore from Izu Ōshima island.
[edit] Gallery
 IJN Aso at Maizuru 1908 |
IJN Aso as minelayer.jpg
IJN Aso as a minelayer |
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[edit] References
- Evans, David. Kaigun: Strategy, Tactics, and Technology in the Imperial Japanese Navy, 1887-1941. US Naval Institute Press (1979). ISBN 0870211927
- Howarth, Stephen. The Fighting Ships of the Rising Sun: The Drama of the Imperial Japanese Navy, 1895-1945. Atheneum; (1983) ISBN 0689114028
- Jane, Fred T. The Imperial Japanese Navy. Thacker, Spink & Co (1904) ASIN: B00085LCZ4
- Jentsura, Hansgeorg. Warships of the Imperial Japanese Navy, 1869-1945. Naval Institute Press (1976). ISBN 087021893X
- Schencking, J. Charles. Making Waves: Politics, Propaganda, And The Emergence Of The Imperial Japanese Navy, 1868-1922. Stanford University Press (2005). ISBN 0804749779
