Japanese Battleships, 1897?1945. R. A. Burt

were worked in. As completed, Fuji and Yashima were very like the Royal Sovereigns except that the funnels were set longitudinally instead of athwartships and the main guns were given protective turrets. Yashima was sunk in 1904, but Fuji had a long and varied career. Re-rated as a coastal defence ship in 1910, she was then used as a gunnery training ship from that date on. Finally she was disarmed and partially stripped for use as a transport and stores ship in 1922; a role in which she continued until as late as 1945.

       Yashima May 1897

      Fuji and Yashima had been designed and constructed to completely outclass any warship in the Chinese Navy, a navy that had always been a constant threat to the Japanese fleet since the battle of the Yalu in 1894. Constructed with a close eye on British designs, they were completed during 1897 and turned out to be a complete success for the period in which they were built. Not only very superior to anything in the Chinese Navy, they equalled major ships in the Russian Navy and were admired within the Royal Navy as being well-balanced designs on the given displacement. Both ships were frequently in action during the Russo-Japanese War, with Yashima being finally mined and sunk during that campaign. She is shown here in the River Tyne in her final stages of fitting-out having been just moved out of Armstrong’s Yard and about to undergo a lengthy series of sea trials.

       Yashima leaving the Tyne as completed September 1897

      These were Japan’s first real contemporary battleships and as such brought the country into the pre-dreadnought era. In service they were handy with good sea-keeping qualities. The main armament could be loaded in all positions, but other than the usual end-on method, loading was very slow in practice. Yashima could easily be identified from her sister by different ventilation cowls and steam pipes on the funnels. During the Russo-Japanese War, Yashima struck a mine on 15 May 1904 and foundered on her way home, just off Sasebo.

       ASAMA CLASS

      Displacement: 9,750 tons normal load

      Dimensions: Length: 442ft oa; Beam: 67ft; Draught: 24ft 6in mean

      Armament: 4 × 8in 40cal; 14 × 6in 40cal; 12 × 12pdr; 7 × 3pdr; TT: 5 × 18in

      Armour: Main belt: 7in–3½in (Harvey); Barbettes: 6in; Turrets: 6in; Casemates: 6in; Decks: 2½in–1in; Conning tower: 14in

      Machinery: Two sets four-cylinder, triple-expansion engines driving two screws, twelve cylindrical boilers

      Designed SHP: 18,000 (forced) for 21 knots

      Complement: 670

ASAMA

      Laid down: 1897, Armstrong’s, Newcastle

      Completed: March 1899

      Launched: 22 March 1898

      Fate: Sold for scrapping, 1947

TOKIWA

      Laid down: 1897, Armstrong’s, Newcastle

      Completed: March 1899

      Launched: April 1899

      Fate: Sunk by US aircraft, 8 August 1945

       Asama 1902

      Asama at the Coronation Fleet Review at Spithead in 1902. Post-war (Sino-Japanese) replenishment formulated the Asama and Tokiwa which were basically large armoured cruisers, although during the Russo-Japanese War they took their place in the line of battle alongside contemporary battleships. Designed and constructed in England, they had a distinctively foreign appearance, and yet were similar to the British Edgar-class. Both ships received modernisation throughout their long and active careers – both being nearly forty-seven years old before finally facing the scrapper’s torch.

       Tokiwa 1921

      Tokiwa c1921. She was converted into a minelayer in 1922 and was equipped with up to 700 mines. Later, during a refit in 1938, her 8in guns and turrets were removed and replaced by a small anti-aircraft (AA) battery.

       Asama in 1935 as seen from the starboard quarter

      In March 1935 Asama left Yokosuka on a 20,000-mile training cruise visiting Hong Kong, Singapore, many major ports in Australia, Suva, Honolulu, Truk and Saipan. Completing her very successful voyage she returned to Japan in July. The photo shows her as a training ship during that cruise.

       SHIKISHIMA CLASS

      Displacement: 14,850 tons normal load

      Dimensions: Length: 438ft oa; Beam: 75ft 6in (Shikishima), 76ft 9in (Hatsuse); Draught: 27ft 6in mean

      Armament: 4 × 12in; 14 × 6in; 20 × 12pdr; 8 × 3pdr; TT: 4 × 18in (Shikishima); 5 × 1 8in (Hatsuse)

      Armour: Main belt: 9in (Harvey); Barbettes: 14in; Turrets: 6in; Casemates: 6in; Decks: 4in–1in; Conning tower: 14in

      Machinery: Two sets three-cylinder, triple-expansion engines driving two screws, twenty-five Belleville boilers with economisers

      Designed SHP: 14,500 (forced draught) for 18 knots

      Fuel: 700 tons coal normal, 1,400 tons max

      Complement: 741

SHIKISHIMA

      Laid down: January 1897, Thames Ironworks, Blackwall

      Launched: 1 November 1898

      Completed: January 1900

      Fate: Scrapped, 1948

HATSUSE

      Laid down: 1897, Armstrong’s, Newcastle

      Launched: 27 June 1899

      Completed: