Japanese cruiser Ikoma

IJN Ikoma (生駒 巡洋戦艦, Ikoma jun'yōsenkan^?) was the second (and final) vessel of the two-ship Tsukuba-class of heavy cruisers in the Imperial Japanese Navy. Ikoma was named after Mount Ikoma located on the border of Osaka and Nara prefecture. On 1912-08-28, Ikoma and its sister ship Tsukuba were re-classified as battlecruisers by the Japanese navy.

Background

The Tsukuba class was one of the precursors that led to British Royal Navy’s HMS Invincible, which was laid down two years later. As construction began before the end of the Russo-Japanese War, construction progressed at a rapid pace, and contemporary American military observers were surprised (and concerned) that Japan had learned to build such large and powerful warships so quickly, and in such a short time. However, with rapid advances in naval technology and with increasing budget constraints on the Imperial Japanese Navy in the period immediately after the end of the Russo-Japanese War, the project was scaled back, and in the end, only Tsukuba and Ikoma were built. Ikoma was one of the first ships in the Japanese navy with boilers capable of burning either coal or heavy oil.

Service life

Shortly after commissioning at the Kure Naval Arsenal, Ikoma was assigned to the escort fleet during the visit of the United States Navy’s Great White Fleet through Japanese waters on its around-the-world voyage in October 1908.

In 1910, Ikoma was sent on a voyage to Argentina to attend that nation’s centennial of independence celebrations. From Buenos Aires, it continued on across the Atlantic Ocean to London, England and to other ports in Europe before returning to Japan via the Indian Ocean, thus circumnavigating the globe.

Ikoma participated in numerous missions in World War I in the South Pacific as part of Japan’s contribution to the Allied war effort, in support of the Anglo-Japanese Alliance. From 1914-11-01 to 1915-01-17, ‘‘Ikoma’’ was based out of Hong Kong, Singapore and Townsville, Australia, protecting British colonies and shipping from German raiders.

Ikoma was a victim of the Washington Naval Agreement of 1923, and despite its short service life, was scrapped at Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Nagasaki shipyards as part of Japan's compliance with that accord.

References

• Evans, David (1979). Kaigun : Strategy, Tactics, and Technology in the Imperial Japanese Navy, 1887-1941. Naval Institute Press. ISBN 0-87021-192-7. 
• Howarth, Stephen (1983). The Fighting Ships of the Rising Sun: The drama of the Imperial Japanese Navy, 1895-1945. Atheneum. ISBN 0-68911-402-8. 
• Jentsura, Hansgeorg (1976). Warships of the Imperial Japanese Navy, 1869-1945. Naval Institute Press. ISBN 0-87021-893-X. 

External links

• Materials of the Imperial Japanese Navy