Suma class cruiser
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| Suma-class cruiser |  |
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 The Japanese cruiser Suma |
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 The Japanese cruiser Akashi |
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| General characteristics | |
| Built by: | Yokosuka Arsenal, Japan |
| Displacement: | 2,657 tons |
| Length: | 93.5 meters |
| Beam: | 12.3 meters |
| Draught: | 4.6 meters |
| Propulsion: | 2-shaft VTE reciprocating engines; 8 boilers; 8,500 hp |
| Speed: | 20.0 knots |
| Range: | 11,000 nautical miles (20,000 km) @ 10 knots (19 km/h) |
| Complement: | 256 |
| Armament: |
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| Armor: |
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The two Suma class cruisers (須磨型防護巡洋艦 Suma-gata bōgōjunyōkan?) were protected cruisers operated by the Imperial Japanese Navy. They participated in numerous actions during the First Sino-Japanese War.
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[edit] Background
The Suma class cruisers were designed and in Japan at the Yokosuka Arsenal, based on experience gained in the construction of the Japanese cruiser Akitsushima. The Imperial Japanese Navy was anxious to end its dependence on foreign powers for modern warships. While more lightly armed and armored than many of its contemporaries, its small size and relatively simple design facilitated its construction and its relatively high speed made it useful for many military operations. However, perhaps more importantly, the construction of these ships gave Japanese designers and shipbuilders valuable experience that would be used to construct larger and more powerful vessels in the future.
[edit] Design
The Suma class cruisers were smaller than the Akitsushima, and consequently had lighter weaponry (two 152 mm main cannons instead of four); however, design lessons learned with the Akitsushima (such as the need to locate the six side-mounted 120 mm guns lower to the center of gravity to improve stability were implemented.
The second ship of the class, the Akashi differed from the Suma in that its torpedo launch tubes were moved from the bow to the rear of the ship, and the fighting top was eliminated, resulting in a sleeker, “more modern” design.
Propulsion was by two vertical triple steam reciprocating engines, 2-shafts, with 8 boilers, yielding a speed of 20 knots and a range of 11,000 nautical miles (20,000 km) at 10 knots (19 km/h) based on its capacity for 544 tons of coal.
[edit] Ships in class
Two Suma class cruisers were built. Both were lost before the start of World War II.
Ordered in 1891, launched 9 March 1895, and completed 12 December 1896, the Suma served in the Boxer Rebellion and in the Russo-Japanese War. It also served patrol duty during World War I primarily in the southeast Asia area. It was removed from the active list on 4 April 1923, and scrapped in 1928.
Ordered in 1893, launched in 1897 and completed 30 March 1899, the Akashi served in the Boxer Rebellion and in the Russo-Japanese War. In World War I, the Akashi served in the Battle of Tsingtao, and subsequently patrolled the sea lanes in southeast Asia and the Mediterranean Sea. It was expended as a target for dive bombers south of Izu Ōshima on 3 August 1930.
[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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