Chiyoda around 1900 |
|
| Career (Empire of Japan) | |
|---|---|
| Name: | Chiyoda |
| Ordered: | 1888 Fiscal Year |
| Builder: | John Brown & Company, Great Britain |
| Laid down: | 4 December 1888 |
| Launched: | 3 June 1890 |
| Completed: | 1 January 1891 |
| Decommissioned: | 28 February 1927 |
| Fate: | Expended as target 5 August 1927 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type: | Armoured cruiser |
| Displacement: | 2,439 long tons (2,478 t) |
| Length: | 94.49 m (310 ft 0 in) w/l |
| Beam: | 12.81 m (42 ft 0 in) |
| Draught: | 4.27 m (14 ft 0 in) |
| Propulsion: | 2-shaft vertical triple expansion, 6 locomotive boilers, 5,678 hp (4,234 kW) |
| Speed: | 19 knots (22 mph; 35 km/h) |
| Complement: | 350 |
| Armament: | 10 × 1 - 120 mm (4.7 in) rapid-fire guns 14 × 1 - 47 mm (1.9 in) Hotchkiss guns 3 × 1 - Gatling guns 3 × 1 - 360 mm (14 in) torpedo tubes |
| Armour: | Belt: 82–92 mm (3.2–3.6 in) Deck: 30–35 mm (1.2–1.4 in) Conning tower: 30 mm (1.2 in) |
Chiyoda (千代田) was an armoured cruiser of the early Imperial Japanese Navy.
Contents |
The Chiyoda was ordered by the Meiji government as a replacement for the ill-fated Unebi, and paid for with insurance money 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.
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).
The Chiyoda was among the Japanese fleet units that took part in the invasion of Taiwan in 1895, and saw action on 3 June 1895 at the bombardment of the Chinese coastal forts at Keelung.
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 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.