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Japanese battleship Shikishima

January 01, 1970

Shikishima (敷島, Another name for Japan:Shikishima) was the lead ship of her class of two pre-dreadnought battleships built for the Imperial Japanese Navy by British shipyards in the late 1890s. During the Russo-Japanese War of 1904–1905, the ship fought in the Battles of Port Arthur, the Yellow Sea and Tsushima and was lightly damaged in the latter action, although shells prematurely exploded in her main guns in the latter two engagements. Shikishima remained in home waters during World War I. She was reclassified as a coastal defence ship in 1921 and served as a training ship for the rest of her career. The ship was disarmed and hulked in 1923 and finally broken up for scrap in 1948.

Shikishima in a 1905 postcard
History
Japan
NameShikishima
NamesakeAn old poetic name of Japan
Ordered1897
BuilderThames Iron Works, Blackwall, London
Laid down29 March 1897
Launched1 November 1898
Completed26 January 1900
Reclassified1 April 1923 as transport and training ship
Stricken1923
FateScrapped, January 1948
General characteristics
Class and typeShikishima-class pre-dreadnought battleship
Displacement14,850 long tons (15,090 t) (normal)
Length438 ft (133.5 m)
Beam76 ft 6 in (23.3 m)
Draught27 ft 3 in (8.3 m)
Installed power
Propulsion2 shafts, 2 triple-expansion steam engines
Speed18 knots (33 km/h; 21 mph)
Range5,000 nmi (9,300 km; 5,800 mi) at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph)
Complement741
Armament
Armour

Description edit

Shikishima and her sister ship Hatsuse were designed in England as improved versions of the Royal Navy's Majestic-class battleships.[1] At this time, Japan lacked the technology and capability to construct its own battleships and they had to be built abroad.[2] Shikishima was 438 feet (133.5 m) long overall and had a beam of 75 feet 6 inches (23.0 m). She had a full-load draught of 27 feet 3 inches (8.3 m) and normally displaced 14,850 long tons (15,090 t) and had a crew of 741 officers and enlisted men. The ship was powered by two Humphrys Tennant vertical triple-expansion steam engines using steam generated by 25 Belleville boilers. The engines were rated at 14,500 indicated horsepower (10,800 kW), using forced draught, and were designed to reach a top speed of 18 knots (33 km/h; 21 mph). Shikishima, however, reached a top speed of 19 knots (35.2 km/h; 21.9 mph) from 14,667 ihp (10,937 kW) on her sea trials. She carried enough coals to give her a range of 5,000 nautical miles (9,300 km; 5,800 mi) at a speed of 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph).[3]

The ship's main battery consisted of four 12-inch (305 mm) guns mounted in two twin gun turrets, one forward and one aft. The secondary battery consisted of fourteen 6-inch (152 mm) quick-firing guns, mounted in casemates on the sides of the hull and in the superstructure. A number of smaller guns were carried for defence against torpedo boats. These included 20 QF 12-pounder 12 cwt[Note 1] guns, six 47-millimetre (1.9 in) 3-pounder guns and six 47-millimetre 2.5-pounder Hotchkiss guns. She was also armed with four submerged 18-inch (450 mm) torpedo tubes. Shikishima's waterline armour belt consisted of Harvey armour and was 4–9 inches (102–229 mm) thick. The armour of her gun turrets had a maximum thickness of 10 inches (254 mm) and her deck ranged from 2.5 to 4 inches (64 to 102 mm) in thickness.[1]

Operational career edit

Shikishima, a poetical name for Japan,[4] was one of four battleships ordered from overseas shipyards as part of the 10-year Naval Expansion Programme paid for from the £30,000,000 indemnity paid by China after losing the Sino-Japanese War of 1894–1895.[5] The ship was laid down by Thames Iron Works at their Blackwall, London shipyard on 29 March 1897.[6] She was launched on 1 November 1898 and completed on 26 January 1900.[7] After her arrival in Japan, she was slightly damaged when she went ashore outside of Yokohama during a typhoon in September 1902.[8]

Russo-Japanese War edit

 
Colorized photo of Shikishima firing during the Battle of the Yellow Sea

At the start of the Russo-Japanese War, Shikishima, commanded by Captain Izō Teragaki, was assigned to the 1st Division of the 1st Fleet. She participated in the Battle of Port Arthur on 9 February 1904 when Vice-Admiral Tōgō Heihachirō led the 1st Fleet in an attack on the Russian ships of the Pacific Squadron anchored just outside Port Arthur. Tōgō had expected his surprise night attack on the Russians by his destroyers to be much more successful than it actually was and expected to find them badly disorganised and weakened, but the Russians had recovered from their surprise and were ready for his attack. The Japanese ships were spotted by the cruiser Boyarin which was patrolling offshore and alerted the Russian defences. Tōgō chose to attack the Russian coastal defences with his main armament and engage the Russian ships with his secondary guns. Splitting his fire proved to be ineffective as the Japanese eight-inch (203 mm) and six-inch guns inflicted very little significant damage on the Russian ships who concentrated all their fire on the Japanese ships with some effect. Although a large number of ships on both sides were hit, Russian casualties numbered only 17 while the Japanese suffered 60 killed and wounded before Tōgō disengaged. During the battle, Shikishima was hit by a single six-inch shell which wounded 17 crewmen.[9]

Shikishima participated in the action of 13 April when Tōgō successfully lured out a portion of the Pacific Squadron, including Vice-Admiral Stepan Makarov's flagship, the battleship Petropavlovsk. When Makarov spotted the five battleships of the 1st Division, he turned back for Port Arthur and Petropavlovsk struck a naval mine laid by the Japanese the previous night. The Russian battleship sank in less than two minutes after one of her magazines exploded; Makarov was one of the 677 killed. Emboldened by his success, Tōgō resumed long-range bombardment missions, which prompted the Russians to lay more minefields.[10]

On 14 May, Rear Admiral Nashiba Tokioki put to sea with the battleships Hatsuse (flag), Shikishima, and Yashima, the protected cruiser Kasagi, and the dispatch boat Tatsuta to relieve the Japanese blockading force off Port Arthur.[11] On the following morning, the squadron encountered a minefield laid by the Russian minelayer Amur. Hatsuse struck one mine that disabled her steering at 10:50 and Yashima struck another when moving to assist Hatsuse. At 12:33, the latter drifted onto another mine that detonated one of her magazines,[12] killing 496 of her crew and sinking the ship. Yashima's flooding could not be controlled and she foundered about eight hours later, after her crew had abandoned ship.[13]

 
Shikishima as a disarmed training ship in the 1920s

Shikishima was not hit during the Battle of the Yellow Sea in August, although a shell exploded prematurely in one of her 12-inch guns, disabling it.[14] During the Battle of Tsushima in May 1905, she was second in the line of battle of the First Division, following Tōgō's flagship Mikasa and was one of the main targets of the Russian battleships. Shikishima was hit nine times during the battle; the most serious of which penetrated beneath a six-inch gun, killing or wounding the entire gun crew. She also had another 12-inch shell prematurely detonate in one of her forward guns, wrecking it completely. In turn, Mikasa and Shikishima concentrated their fire on the battleship Oslyabya which eventually sank after two large-calibre shells blew large holes in her bow at the waterline.[15] These caused massive flooding that sank her, the first modern battleship sunk entirely by gunfire.[16] Shikishima fired a total of 74 twelve-inch, 1,395 six-inch and 1,272 twelve-pounder shells during the battle. She also fired a torpedo at the badly damaged armed merchant cruiser Ural that sank the Russian ship.[17]

Later career edit

During World War I, Shikishima was based at Sasebo during 1914–1915 and was then assigned to the Second and Fifth Squadrons, in that order, for the rest of the war.[18] After the Washington Naval Treaty was signed, she was reclassified as a first-class coast defence ship on 1 September 1921,[7] and was used to train submarine crews[18] until the ship was reclassified as a transport on 1 April 1923.[6] Shikishima continued to be used as a training hulk for the Sasebo Naval Barracks[19] until she was scrapped in January 1948 at the Sasebo Naval Arsenal.[6]

Notes edit

  1. ^ "Cwt" is the abbreviation for hundredweight, 20 cwt referring to the weight of the gun.

Footnotes edit

  1. ^ a b Chesneau & Kolesnik, p. 221
  2. ^ Evans & Peattie, p. 60
  3. ^ Jentschura, Jung & Mickel, pp. 17–18
  4. ^ Jane, p. 400
  5. ^ Evans & Peattie, pp. 57–58, 60
  6. ^ a b c Silverstone, p. 336
  7. ^ a b Jentschura, Jung & Mickel, p. 18
  8. ^ "Latest intelligence - The Typhoon in Japan". The Times. No. 36887. London. 1 October 1902. p. 3.
  9. ^ Forczyk, pp. 24, 41–44
  10. ^ Forczyk, pp. 45–46
  11. ^ Warner & Warner, p. 279
  12. ^ Brook, p. 124
  13. ^ Forczyk, pp. 46–47
  14. ^ Forczyk, pp. 51–52
  15. ^ Campbell, pp. 128–131, 263
  16. ^ Forcyzk, p. 62
  17. ^ Campbell, pp. 134, 260
  18. ^ a b Preston, p. 189
  19. ^ Fukui, p. 54

References edit

  • Brook, Peter (1999). Warships for Export: Armstrong Warships 1867 – 1927. Gravesend, Kent, UK: World Ship Society. ISBN 0-905617-89-4.
  • Campbell, N.J.M. (1978). "The Battle of Tsu-Shima". In Preston, Antony (ed.). Warship II. London: Conway Maritime Press. pp. 46–49, 127–135, 186–192, 258–265. ISBN 0-87021-976-6.
  • Chesneau, Roger & Kolesnik, Eugene M., eds. (1979). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1860–1905. Greenwich, UK: Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 0-8317-0302-4.
  • Evans, David & 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.
  • Forczyk, Robert (2009). Russian Battleship vs Japanese Battleship, Yellow Sea 1904–05. Oxford, UK: Osprey. ISBN 978 1-84603-330-8.
  • Fukui, Shizuo (1991). Japanese Naval Vessels at the End of World War II. London: Greenhill Books. ISBN 1-85367-125-8.
  • Jane, Fred T. (1904). The Imperial Japanese Navy. London, Calcutta: Thacker, Spink & Co. OCLC 1261639.
  • 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.
  • Lengerer, Hans & Ahlberg, Lars (2019). Capital Ships of the Imperial Japanese Navy 1868–1945: Ironclads, Battleships and Battle Cruisers: An Outline History of Their Design, Construction and Operations. Vol. I: Armourclad Fusō to Kongō Class Battle Cruisers. Zagreb, Croatia: Despot Infinitus. ISBN 978-953-8218-26-2.
  • Preston, Antony (1972). Battleships of World War I: An Illustrated Encyclopedia of the Battleships of All Nations 1914–1918. New York: Galahad Books. ISBN 0-88365-300-1.
  • Silverstone, Paul H. (1984). Directory of the World's Capital Ships. New York: Hippocrene Books. ISBN 0-88254-979-0.
  • Warner, Denis & Warner, Peggy (2002). The Tide at Sunrise: A History of the Russo-Japanese War, 1904–1905 (2nd ed.). London: Frank Cass. ISBN 0-7146-5256-3.

External links edit

  • Global Security site

January 01, 1970
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Shikishima 敷島 Another name for Japan Shikishima was the lead ship of her class of two pre dreadnought battleships built for the Imperial Japanese Navy by British shipyards in the late 1890s During the Russo Japanese War of 1904 1905 the ship fought in the Battles of Port Arthur the Yellow Sea and Tsushima and was lightly damaged in the latter action although shells prematurely exploded in her main guns in the latter two engagements Shikishima remained in home waters during World War I She was reclassified as a coastal defence ship in 1921 and served as a training ship for the rest of her career The ship was disarmed and hulked in 1923 and finally broken up for scrap in 1948 Shikishima in a 1905 postcardHistory Japan NameShikishima NamesakeAn old poetic name of Japan Ordered1897 BuilderThames Iron Works Blackwall London Laid down29 March 1897 Launched1 November 1898 Completed26 January 1900 Reclassified1 April 1923 as transport and training ship Stricken1923 FateScrapped January 1948 General characteristics Class and typeShikishima class pre dreadnought battleship Displacement14 850 long tons 15 090 t normal Length438 ft 133 5 m Beam76 ft 6 in 23 3 m Draught27 ft 3 in 8 3 m Installed power25 Belleville boilers 14 500 ihp 10 800 kW Propulsion2 shafts 2 triple expansion steam engines Speed18 knots 33 km h 21 mph Range5 000 nmi 9 300 km 5 800 mi at 10 knots 19 km h 12 mph Complement741 Armament2 twin 12 in 305 mm guns 14 single 6 in 152 mm guns 20 single 12 pdr 3 in 76 mm guns 8 single 3 pdr 1 9 in 47 mm guns 4 single 2 5 pdr 1 9 in 47 mm Hotchkiss guns 4 18 in 450 mm torpedo tubes ArmourHarvey armour Belt 4 9 in 102 229 mm Deck 2 5 4 in 64 102 mm Gun turrets 10 in 254 mm Contents 1 Description 2 Operational career 2 1 Russo Japanese War 2 2 Later career 3 Notes 4 Footnotes 5 References 6 External linksDescription editShikishima and her sister ship Hatsuse were designed in England as improved versions of the Royal Navy s Majestic class battleships 1 At this time Japan lacked the technology and capability to construct its own battleships and they had to be built abroad 2 Shikishima was 438 feet 133 5 m long overall and had a beam of 75 feet 6 inches 23 0 m She had a full load draught of 27 feet 3 inches 8 3 m and normally displaced 14 850 long tons 15 090 t and had a crew of 741 officers and enlisted men The ship was powered by two Humphrys Tennant vertical triple expansion steam engines using steam generated by 25 Belleville boilers The engines were rated at 14 500 indicated horsepower 10 800 kW using forced draught and were designed to reach a top speed of 18 knots 33 km h 21 mph Shikishima however reached a top speed of 19 knots 35 2 km h 21 9 mph from 14 667 ihp 10 937 kW on her sea trials She carried enough coals to give her a range of 5 000 nautical miles 9 300 km 5 800 mi at a speed of 10 knots 19 km h 12 mph 3 The ship s main battery consisted of four 12 inch 305 mm guns mounted in two twin gun turrets one forward and one aft The secondary battery consisted of fourteen 6 inch 152 mm quick firing guns mounted in casemates on the sides of the hull and in the superstructure A number of smaller guns were carried for defence against torpedo boats These included 20 QF 12 pounder 12 cwt Note 1 guns six 47 millimetre 1 9 in 3 pounder guns and six 47 millimetre 2 5 pounder Hotchkiss guns She was also armed with four submerged 18 inch 450 mm torpedo tubes Shikishima s waterline armour belt consisted of Harvey armour and was 4 9 inches 102 229 mm thick The armour of her gun turrets had a maximum thickness of 10 inches 254 mm and her deck ranged from 2 5 to 4 inches 64 to 102 mm in thickness 1 Operational career editShikishima a poetical name for Japan 4 was one of four battleships ordered from overseas shipyards as part of the 10 year Naval Expansion Programme paid for from the 30 000 000 indemnity paid by China after losing the Sino Japanese War of 1894 1895 5 The ship was laid down by Thames Iron Works at their Blackwall London shipyard on 29 March 1897 6 She was launched on 1 November 1898 and completed on 26 January 1900 7 After her arrival in Japan she was slightly damaged when she went ashore outside of Yokohama during a typhoon in September 1902 8 Russo Japanese War edit nbsp Colorized photo of Shikishima firing during the Battle of the Yellow Sea At the start of the Russo Japanese War Shikishima commanded by Captain Izō Teragaki was assigned to the 1st Division of the 1st Fleet She participated in the Battle of Port Arthur on 9 February 1904 when Vice Admiral Tōgō Heihachirō led the 1st Fleet in an attack on the Russian ships of the Pacific Squadron anchored just outside Port Arthur Tōgō had expected his surprise night attack on the Russians by his destroyers to be much more successful than it actually was and expected to find them badly disorganised and weakened but the Russians had recovered from their surprise and were ready for his attack The Japanese ships were spotted by the cruiser Boyarin which was patrolling offshore and alerted the Russian defences Tōgō chose to attack the Russian coastal defences with his main armament and engage the Russian ships with his secondary guns Splitting his fire proved to be ineffective as the Japanese eight inch 203 mm and six inch guns inflicted very little significant damage on the Russian ships who concentrated all their fire on the Japanese ships with some effect Although a large number of ships on both sides were hit Russian casualties numbered only 17 while the Japanese suffered 60 killed and wounded before Tōgō disengaged During the battle Shikishima was hit by a single six inch shell which wounded 17 crewmen 9 Shikishima participated in the action of 13 April when Tōgō successfully lured out a portion of the Pacific Squadron including Vice Admiral Stepan Makarov s flagship the battleship Petropavlovsk When Makarov spotted the five battleships of the 1st Division he turned back for Port Arthur and Petropavlovsk struck a naval mine laid by the Japanese the previous night The Russian battleship sank in less than two minutes after one of her magazines exploded Makarov was one of the 677 killed Emboldened by his success Tōgō resumed long range bombardment missions which prompted the Russians to lay more minefields 10 On 14 May Rear Admiral Nashiba Tokioki put to sea with the battleships Hatsuse flag Shikishima and Yashima the protected cruiser Kasagi and the dispatch boat Tatsuta to relieve the Japanese blockading force off Port Arthur 11 On the following morning the squadron encountered a minefield laid by the Russian minelayer Amur Hatsuse struck one mine that disabled her steering at 10 50 and Yashima struck another when moving to assist Hatsuse At 12 33 the latter drifted onto another mine that detonated one of her magazines 12 killing 496 of her crew and sinking the ship Yashima s flooding could not be controlled and she foundered about eight hours later after her crew had abandoned ship 13 nbsp Shikishima as a disarmed training ship in the 1920s Shikishima was not hit during the Battle of the Yellow Sea in August although a shell exploded prematurely in one of her 12 inch guns disabling it 14 During the Battle of Tsushima in May 1905 she was second in the line of battle of the First Division following Tōgō s flagship Mikasa and was one of the main targets of the Russian battleships Shikishima was hit nine times during the battle the most serious of which penetrated beneath a six inch gun killing or wounding the entire gun crew She also had another 12 inch shell prematurely detonate in one of her forward guns wrecking it completely In turn Mikasa and Shikishima concentrated their fire on the battleship Oslyabya which eventually sank after two large calibre shells blew large holes in her bow at the waterline 15 These caused massive flooding that sank her the first modern battleship sunk entirely by gunfire 16 Shikishima fired a total of 74 twelve inch 1 395 six inch and 1 272 twelve pounder shells during the battle She also fired a torpedo at the badly damaged armed merchant cruiser Ural that sank the Russian ship 17 Later career edit During World War I Shikishima was based at Sasebo during 1914 1915 and was then assigned to the Second and Fifth Squadrons in that order for the rest of the war 18 After the Washington Naval Treaty was signed she was reclassified as a first class coast defence ship on 1 September 1921 7 and was used to train submarine crews 18 until the ship was reclassified as a transport on 1 April 1923 6 Shikishima continued to be used as a training hulk for the Sasebo Naval Barracks 19 until she was scrapped in January 1948 at the Sasebo Naval Arsenal 6 Notes edit Cwt is the abbreviation for hundredweight 20 cwt referring to the weight of the gun Footnotes edit a b Chesneau amp Kolesnik p 221 Evans amp Peattie p 60 Jentschura Jung amp Mickel pp 17 18 Jane p 400 Evans amp Peattie pp 57 58 60 a b c Silverstone p 336 a b Jentschura Jung amp Mickel p 18 Latest intelligence The Typhoon in Japan The Times No 36887 London 1 October 1902 p 3 Forczyk pp 24 41 44 Forczyk pp 45 46 Warner amp Warner p 279 Brook p 124 Forczyk pp 46 47 Forczyk pp 51 52 Campbell pp 128 131 263 Forcyzk p 62 Campbell pp 134 260 a b Preston p 189 Fukui p 54References editBrook Peter 1999 Warships for Export Armstrong Warships 1867 1927 Gravesend Kent UK World Ship Society ISBN 0 905617 89 4 Campbell N J M 1978 The Battle of Tsu Shima In Preston Antony ed Warship II London Conway Maritime Press pp 46 49 127 135 186 192 258 265 ISBN 0 87021 976 6 Chesneau Roger amp Kolesnik Eugene M eds 1979 Conway s All the World s Fighting Ships 1860 1905 Greenwich UK Conway Maritime Press ISBN 0 8317 0302 4 Evans David amp 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 Forczyk Robert 2009 Russian Battleship vs Japanese Battleship Yellow Sea 1904 05 Oxford UK Osprey ISBN 978 1 84603 330 8 Fukui Shizuo 1991 Japanese Naval Vessels at the End of World War II London Greenhill Books ISBN 1 85367 125 8 Jane Fred T 1904 The Imperial Japanese Navy London Calcutta Thacker Spink amp Co OCLC 1261639 Jentschura Hansgeorg Jung Dieter amp Mickel Peter 1977 Warships of the Imperial Japanese Navy 1869 1945 Annapolis Maryland United States Naval Institute ISBN 0 87021 893 X Lengerer Hans amp Ahlberg Lars 2019 Capital Ships of the Imperial Japanese Navy 1868 1945 Ironclads Battleships and Battle Cruisers An Outline History of Their Design Construction and Operations Vol I Armourclad Fusō to Kongō Class Battle Cruisers Zagreb Croatia Despot Infinitus ISBN 978 953 8218 26 2 Preston Antony 1972 Battleships of World War I An Illustrated Encyclopedia of the Battleships of All Nations 1914 1918 New York Galahad Books ISBN 0 88365 300 1 Silverstone Paul H 1984 Directory of the World s Capital Ships New York Hippocrene Books ISBN 0 88254 979 0 Warner Denis amp Warner Peggy 2002 The Tide at Sunrise A History of the Russo Japanese War 1904 1905 2nd ed London Frank Cass ISBN 0 7146 5256 3 External links editGlobal Security site Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Japanese battleship Shikishima amp oldid 1216787928, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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