Naniwa-class cruiser
 Japanese cruiser Naniwa
| |
| Class overview | |
|---|---|
| Name | Naniwa class |
| Builders | Armstrong Whitworth, United Kingdom |
| Operators |  Imperial Japanese Navy |
| Preceded by | Izumi |
| Succeeded by | Unebi |
| Built | 1884–1885 |
| In commission | 1886–1914 |
| Completed | 2 |
| Lost | 2 |
| General characteristics (as built) | |
| Type | Protected cruiser |
| Displacement | 3,727 long tons (3,787 t) |
| Length | 320 ft (97.5 m) (o/a) |
| Beam | 46 ft (14 m) |
| Draught | 20 ft 3 in (6.2 m) (full load) |
| Installed power |
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| Propulsion | 2 shafts; 2 compound-expansion steam engines |
| Speed | 18 knots (33 km/h; 21 mph) |
| Range | 9,000 nmi (17,000 km; 10,000 mi) at 13 knots (24 km/h; 15 mph) |
| Complement | 325 |
| Armament |
|
| Armour |
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The two Naniwa-class cruisers (浪速型防護巡洋艦, Naniwa-gata bōgojun'yōkan) were protected cruisers operated by the Imperial Japanese Navy. Both participated in numerous actions during the First Sino-Japanese War and in the Russo-Japanese War.
Background[]
The 1876 Treaty of Gangwha forcibly opened up Joseon Korea to the Japanese, much like the Americans forced the Japanese Tokugawa Shogunate to sign the Convention of Kanagawa in 1854, and Joseon formally withdrew from its status as a tributary of Qing China.[1] The Chinese made no significant response at that time and King Gojong began a modest effort to modernize the country to allow it to better withstand foreign pressure. This upset conservative elements in the army and the population which led to the Imo Incident of 1882 where the rioters attacked the Japanese Legation, forcing the diplomats to take refuge aboard a British ship and the royal palace. The Chinese sent troops that crushed the rebellion and they reasserted control over Joseon, reducing it to a vassal state, rather than resuming its previous pro-forma tributary status.[2]
Concerned about the rising power of Imperial Russia and Japan, Li Hongzhang, Viceroy of Zhili Province, and generally responsible for relations with Russia, Korea and Japan[3] had begun a program of gradually expanding the Beiyang Fleet after the 1874 Japanese reprisal expedition to Taiwan. An 1880 order for two Dingyuan-class ironclads from the German Empire capped the program as neither the Imperial Russian Navy nor the IJN could match them once they were delivered.[4]
In response the Japanese Navy Ministry submitted a budget for the Fourth Naval Expansion Program in 1881, but it was rejected as too expensive. The Ministry then attempted to purchase existing warships from European shipyards after the Imo Incident, but was only able to buy the unprotected cruiser Tsukushi from Chile because its delivery had been embargoed by the builder because of the ongoing War of the Pacific between Chile, Bolivia and Peru. It then proposed the Fifth Naval Expansion Program that was approved in early 1883 after negotiations to reduce its expense. This included funds for one ironclad and a protected cruiser, but the designs for the former proved to be too expensive and the IJN decided to follow the recommendation of Armstrong Mitchell's chief naval architect, William White, to build two improved versions of the pioneering Chilean protected cruiser Esmeralda (later purchased by the IJN and renamed Izumi) and the Royal Navy's equivalent Mersey-class ships.[5]
The "Elswick"-type protected cruisers, of which Esmeralda was the first example, had been designed by White's predecessor, George Rendel, for Armstrong Mitchell as a private venture.
It was of great interest to Japan because of her high speed, powerful armament, armor protection and relatively low cost, especially since the IJN lacked the resources at the time to purchase ironclads.[6]
Pioneering Japanese naval architect Sasō Sachū requested that Armstrong Whitworth make modifications to the Esmeralda design to customize it for Japanese requirements, and two vessels, Naniwa and Takachiho were ordered under the 1883 fiscal year budget, by Naval Minister Kawamura Sumiyoshi. When completed, Naniwa was considered the most advanced and most powerful cruiser in the world. However, the extremely fast development of technology, weaponry and armor in this field of ship design meant that the supremacy of this design was very short.
Naniwa and Takachiho together cost £546,980. Prince Yamashina Kikumaro attended the launch, and afterwards had dinner with Baron William Armstrong, who made a toast that "the ship was destined to the service of a country which was likely never to come into collision with our own peace-loving country".
Design[]
The hull of the Naniwa-class cruiser was a typical flush deck with high freeboard to improve seaworthiness. The design came with a ram attached to the reinforced bow, which was standard practice for the time.[7]
As built, her main armament initially consisted of two 260 mm (10 in) L/35 Krupp cannons mounted individually on rotating platforms in the bow and stern, with a supply of 200 rounds per gun. Secondary armament was initially six 150 mm (5.9 in) L/35 Krupp cannons mounted in semi-circular sponsons on the main deck, with 450 rounds per gun. Light armament included six QF 6 pounder Hotchkiss guns, ten 1-inch Nordenfelt guns and four 11-mm, 10-barrel Nordenfelt guns. In addition, there were four 356 mm (14.0 in) Whitehead torpedo tubes mounted on the main deck. After the First Sino-Japanese War, both Naniwa and Takachiho were re-armed with eight Elswick QF 6 inch /40 naval guns in order to increase stability and standardize on ammunition for the fleet.
Propulsion was by two horizontal two-stage steam reciprocating engines, two-shafts, with six boilers, yielding a speed of 18 knots (33 km/h) and a range of 9,000 nautical miles (17,000 km) at 13 knots (24 km/h) based on its capacity for 800 tons of coal.[7]
Ships in class[]
Two Naniwa-class cruisers were purchased from Armstrong Whitworth in England. Naniwa was lost before the start of World War I, Takachiho was lost soon after hostilities commenced.[8]
Ordered in 1883, launched 18 March 1885, and completed 1 December 1885, Naniwa played a major role in the First Sino-Japanese War, notably at the Battle of Pungdo and the Battle of the Yellow Sea. During the Russo-Japanese War she was present at the opening Battle of Chemulpo Bay, but was subsequently assigned a reserve role. After the war, she was lost after running aground on 26 July 1910 on the coast of Urup, in the Kurile Islands .[8]
Ordered in 1883, launched 16 May 1885, and completed 1 December 1885, Takachiho participated in the Battle of the Yellow Sea in the First Sino-Japanese War. In the Russo-Japanese War she was present at the opening Battle of Chemulpo Bay, but was subsequently assigned a reserve role. In World War I, while covering the invasion of German-held Tsingtao, she was torpedoed by the German torpedo boat S90 on 14 October 1914 and sank with the loss of 271 officers and men.[8]
Notes[]
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References[]
- Brook, Peter (2000). "Armoured Cruiser vs. Armoured Cruiser: Ulsan 14 August 1904". In Preston, Antony (ed.). Warship 2000–2001. London: Conway Maritime Press. pp. 34–47. ISBN 0-85177-791-0.
- Brook, Peter (1999). Warships for Export: Armstrong Warships 1867-1927. Gravesend: World Ship Society. ISBN 0-905617-89-4.
- Campbell, N.J.M. (1978). "The Battle of Tsu-Shima, Part 2". In Preston, Antony (ed.). Warship. II. London: Conway Maritime Press. pp. 127–135. ISBN 0-87021-976-6.
- Corbett, Julian S. (2015a) [1914]. Maritime Operations in the Russo-Japanese War, 1904–1905. 1. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 978-1-59114-197-6.
- Corbett, Julian S. (2015b) [1915]. Maritime Operations in the Russo-Japanese War, 1904–1905. 2. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 978-1-59114-198-3.
- Duus, Peter (1998). The Abacus and the Sword: The Japanese Penetration of Korea. Berkeley, California: University of California Press. ISBN 0-52092-090-2.
- Evans, David C. & Peattie, Mark R. (1997). Kaigun: Strategy, Tactics, and Technology in the Imperial Japanese Navy, 1887-1941. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 0-87021-192-7.
- Jentschura, Hansgeorg; Jung, Dieter & Mickel, Peter (1977). Warships of the Imperial Japanese Navy, 1869–1945. Annapolis, Maryland: United States Naval Institute. ISBN 0-87021-893-X.
- Kim, Jinwung (2012). A History of Korea: From "Land of the Morning Calm" to States in Conflict. New York: Indiana University Press. ISBN 978-0-253-00024-8.
- Lengerer, Hans (March 2017). Ahlberg, Lars (ed.). "Naval Operations in the Sino-Japanese War – Part III: Weihaiwei and the End of the War". Contributions to the History of Imperial Japanese Warships (Paper XIV): 28–44.(subscription required)(contact the editor at lars.ahlberg@halmstad.mail.postnet.se for subscription information)
- Milanovich, Kathrin (2004). "Naniwa and Takachiho: Elswick-built Protected Cruisers of the Imperial Japanese Navy". In Preston, Antony (ed.). Warship 2004. London: Conway Maritime Press. pp. 29–56. ISBN 0-85177-948-4.
- Olender, Piotr (2014). Sino-Japanese War 1894–1895. Maritime Series. No. 3105. Sandomierz, Poland: Stratus. ISBN 978-83-63678-30-2.
- Roksund, Arne (2007). The Jeune École: The Strategy of the Weak. Leiden: Brill. ISBN 978-90-04-15723-1.
- Schencking, J. Charles (2005). Making Waves: Politics, Propaganda, And The Emergence Of The Imperial Japanese Navy, 1868-1922. Stanford University Press. ISBN 0-8047-4977-9.
- Seth, Michael J. (2010). A Concise History of Modern Korea: From the Late Nineteenth Century to the Present. Rowman & Littlefield. ISBN 978-0-742-56713-9.
- Todaka, Kazushige, ed. (2020). Cruisers: Selected Photos from the Archives of the Kure Maritime Museum; the Best from the Collection of Shizuo Fukui's Photos of Japanese Warships. Japanese Naval Warship Photo Album. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 978-1-59114-635-3.
- Wright, Richard N. J. (2000). The Chinese Steam Navy 1862–1945. London: Chatham Publishing. ISBN 1-86176-144-9.
- Cruiser classes
- Naniwa-class cruisers