Japanese cruiser Chiyoda
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 The Japanese cruiser Chiyoda around 1900 |
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| Career |  |
|---|---|
| Built: | John Brown & Company, Great Britain |
| Ordered: | 1888 Fiscal Year |
| Laid down | November 1888 |
| Launched: | 3 June 1890 |
| Completed: | 1 January 1891 |
| Fate: | Expended as target 5 August 1927 |
| General characteristics | |
| Displacement: | 2,439 tons |
| Length: | 97.8 meters at waterline |
| Beam: | 12.95 meters |
| Draught: | 4.27 meters |
| Propulsion: | 2-shaft VTE, 6-boilers, 5600 BHP |
| Speed: | 19 knots |
| Range: | |
| Complement: | 350 |
| Armament: |
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| Armor: |
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IJN Chiyoda (千代田 巡洋艦 Chiyoda junyōkan?) was a protected cruiser of the early Imperial Japanese Navy.
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[edit] Background
The Chiyoda was ordered by the Meiji government as a replacement for the ill-fated IJN Unebi, and paid for with insurance monies received from the French government. However, unwilling to use a French shipyard after the Unebi disaster, the Japanese Navy placed its order in 1889 to John Brown & Company of Great Britain. Construction was supervised by Arai Yukan and by Ijuin Goro and on 11 April 1891, the Chiyoda arrived safely at Yokosuka. On 5 September 1892, command of the Chiyoda was assigned to Captain (later Fleet Admiral) Prince Arisugawa Takehito.
[edit] Service record
With the outbreak of the First Sino-Japanese War, the Chiyoda was assigned to patrol duties off of the coasts of Korea, China, Russia, and occasional patrols to Hokkaidō. It was also present at the crucial Battle of the Yellow Sea (1894).
After the war, the Chiyoda went into dry dock at Kure shipyards, where the boilers on its triple expansion steam engines were replaced with more modern Belleville boilers. On completion of the retrofit in 1898, the Chiyoda was re-designated a 3rd class armored cruiser.
During the Russo-Japanese War (1904-1905), the Chiyoda had a prominent role in the opening Battle of Chemulpo Bay, and subsequently fought at the Battle of the Yellow Sea and the Battle off Ulsan. On 12 January 1905, the Chiyoda was captained by Captain (later Fleet Admiral) Prince Higashifushimi Yorihito.
On 28 August 1912, the Chiyoda was re-designated as a “2nd-Class Coastal Defense Vessel”. During World War I, the Chiyoda was part of the Japanese fleet sent to capture the German port of Tsingtao in Shandong, China.
On 14 April 1921, the Chiyoda was downgraded to a torpedo depot ship, and was used for various odd tasks, including a diving tender and as a school ship for naval cadets.
The Chiyoda was officially decommissioned on 28 February 1927, and sunk as a target on 5 August 1927 at the Bungo Straits by the heavy cruiser IJN Furutaka under review of Emperor Hirohito.
After its dismantling, the bridge of the Chiyoda was preserved at the Imperial Japanese Naval Academy at Etajima, Hiroshima as the reviewing stand over the parade grounds.
[edit] Gallery
 IJN Chiyoda, circa 1880s |
 IJN Chiyoda in parade flags after Russo-Japanese War, 1905-1907 |
[edit] Other ships named Chiyoda
The cruiser Chiyoda should not be confused with the following vessels with the same or similar name:
- Japanese gunboat Chiyodagata (1863)
- Japanese seaplane tender Chiyoda (1937)
- Japanese aircraft carrier Chiyoda (1937)
[edit] References
- Dull, Paul S. (1978) A Battle History of the Imperial Japanese Navy ISBN 0-85059-295-X
- Evans, David. Kaigun: Strategy, Tactics, and Technology in the Imperial Japanese Navy, 1887-1941. US Naval Institute Press (1979). ISBN 0870211927
- Gardiner, Robert (editor) (2001) Steam, Steel and Shellfire, The Steam Warship 1815-1905, ISBN 0-7858-1413-2
- 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
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