Japanese cruiser Mogami (1908)
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| Career |  |
|---|---|
| Builder: | Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Nagasaki, Japan |
| Plan: | 1904 Fiscal Year |
| Laid down: | 3 March 1907 |
| Launched: | 25 March 1908 |
| Commissioned: | 16 September 1908 |
| Fate: | Scrapped 1 April 1928 |
| General characteristics | |
| Displacement: | 1,350 tons |
| Length: | 96.3 meters overall |
| Beam: | 9.5 meters |
| Draught: | 3.0 meters |
| Propulsion: | Three Shaft Parsons type Turbine Engines; 6 Miyabara boilers; 8,000 shp |
| Fuel: | 68 tons coal; 352 tons oil |
| Speed: | 23 knots |
| Complement: | 134 |
| Armament: |
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| Armor: |
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The IJN Mogami (最上 通報艦 Mogami tsūhōkan?) was the second ship in the Yodo class of high speed cruisers in the Imperial Japanese Navy. It was named after the Mogami River in northern Honshū, Japan.
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[edit] Background
Designed and built domestically in Japan, the lightly armed and lightly armored Yodo class vessels were intended for high speed reconnaissance, and to serve as dispatch vessels. However, they were already obsolete when designed, with the development of wireless communication used during the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-1905.
The Mogami has the distinction of being the first turbine engine powered vessel in the Imperial Japanese Navy. However, as the Japanese could not produce gear reducers, the Mogami had an unwieldy system of three direct coupled turbines, two for cruising and one for high speed. It was also the first warship to be produced by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries in Nagasaki.
[edit] Service life
Completed after the end of the Russo-Japanese War, the Mogami was used initially for training and coastal patrol duties. The Mogami was re-classified as a 1st class gunboat on 12 October 1912.
The Mogami was part of the Japanese fleet at the Battle of Tsingtao in World War I, and assisted in the sinking of the German torpedo boat S90. It was later (1917-1921) assigned to patrol duties in the Caroline Islands and Mariana Islands after Japan's capture of those island groups from Germany.
From 1921 to 1928, the Mogami was assigned to patrols off of the Siberian coast, and to fishery patrol duties.
The Mogami was scrapped on 1 April 1928. Ironically, although the Mogami was considered the more modern and advanced in design, with its higher speed and its turbine engine, it was retired much earlier than its sister ship, the IJN Yodo, largely due to performance and maintenance issues with its engines.
While being dismantled at Osaka, a spark from a welding torch ignited the remaining oil in Mogami's bunkers, causing an explosion and fire which destroyed the hulk of the vessel in two hours. The main mast of the Mogami is preserved at the Nakanoshima Park in downtown Osaka as a peace memorial.
[edit] See also
- See Japanese cruiser Mogami for other ships of the same name.
[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
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