Asama (ship)
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|---|---|
 The Asama in 1899 |
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| Overview | |
| Type | Armored cruiser |
| units | 2 |
| Shipyard |
Armstrong, Whitworth & Co. , |
| Keel laying | October 20, 1896 |
| Launch | March 22, 1898 |
| delivery | March 18, 1899 |
| Namesake | the Asama volcano |
| Decommissioning | November 30, 1945 |
| Whereabouts | Demolished in 1947 |
| Technical specifications | |
| displacement |
9700 ts |
| length |
124.36 m pp, |
| width |
20.45 m |
| Draft |
7.43 m |
| crew |
726 men |
| drive |
12 steam boilers |
| speed |
21.5 kn |
| Range |
7,000 nm at 10 kn |
| Armament |
• 4 × 203 mm L / 45 Armstrong cannon in twin turrets |
| Armor |
• Belt: 88–180 mm |
| Sister ship | |
| similar | |
The Asama ( Japanese 浅 間 ) was the first armored cruiser of the Japanese Navy , which was built in the new "six and six" construction program. The ship was named after the Asama volcano . The ship was owned by Sir WG Armstrong-Whitworth & Co., Ltd. from 1896 to 1899 . built in Elswick near Newcastle upon Tyne to a design by the engineer Sir Philip Watts . The sister ship of the Asama was the Tokiwa .
history
The Asama was the first of six armored cruisers that were ordered from foreign shipyards as the core of the Japanese navy after the First Sino-Japanese War as part of the "Six-Six Program" (six ships of the line - six cruisers ). The construction of the Asama was offered by Armstrong as a further development of the protected Elswick cruiser and then adapted to the Japanese requirements. Elements of the construction of the armored cruiser O'Higgins , launched at Armstrong for Chile in 1897, are said to have partly flowed into the construction of the Asama . It became the basic design for all six cruisers in the program, all of which were to have 8-inch Armstrong guns as their main armament and a speed of 20 to 21 knots. The shipyards were relatively free to design the details. Almost all of the orders for the construction program went to Great Britain, Armstrong built two pairs of these cruisers in Elswick: first the Asama and the Tokiwa , then the Izumo and the Iwate .
For political and diplomatic reasons, the Yakumo was ordered in Germany and her near-sister ship Azuma in France .
The hull of the armored cruiser Asama was a smooth-deck construction with a high freeboard for good seaworthiness. The bow was still designed as a ram. The 203 mm L / 45 Armstrong cannons of the main armament were installed in a front and rear twin turret. They fired 113 kg grenades at a rate of fire of up to two rounds per minute over up to 18,000 m. The turrets could rotate up to 150 degrees on either side and the guns could fire up to an elevation of 30 °.
The 152 mm L / 40 Armstrong rapid fire guns of the medium artillery had a range of 9,000 m and a rate of fire of five to seven rounds, depending on the level of training of the operator.
It was propelled by two standing triple expansion steam engines on two shafts, with twelve boilers, enabled a speed of 21.5 knots and a range of 7000 nautical miles at 10 kn and a coal supply of 1400 tons.
The keel of the Asama took place on November 1, 1896, on March 22, 1898 she was launched and on March 18, 1899 she was handed over to the Japanese Navy and arrived on May 17, 1899 in Yokosuka . When it was completed, the Asama was considered the fastest, best-armed and best-protected cruiser in the world. The following four armored cruisers differed from the Asama and her sister Tokiwa only in a few details. Outwardly, there was a considerable difference due to the two funnels, while the four following ships had three funnels.
They were first used during the Boxer Rebellion off the Chinese coast.
In 1902, she represented the cruiser Takasago Japanese Navy from 24 to 27 June at the naval parade in Spithead on the occasion of the coronation of the British King Edward VII. On leaving she visited Singapore , Colombo , Suez and Malta , and on the way back Cardiff , Lisbon , Gibraltar and Naples , Aden , Colombo, Singapore, Bangkok and Hong Kong . On their voyage from April 7 to November 28, 1902, the two cruisers covered 24,718 nautical miles.
Russo-Japanese War
During the Russo-Japanese War , the Asama was assigned to the Japanese forces under Rear Admiral Uryū Sotokichi (five small cruisers and eight torpedo boats ) in front of Chemulpo as the strongest ship, which blocked the Russian cruiser Varyag and the gunboat Korejez and the cruiser lying between neutral ships called for battle. When attempting to break out on February 9, 1904, the Varyag was badly damaged and the Russian commanders sank their ships themselves.
Subsequently, the Asama participated in the association of the 2nd squadron with Izumo , Azuma , Yakumo and Iwate in the first unsuccessful bombardment of Vladivostok . The 2nd Squadron then relocated to the Yellow Sea and was involved in repelling the advance of the Russian Port Arthur squadron on April 13, in which the Russian commander Makarov was killed. The Asama and the Tokiwa fought an artillery battle with the Russian armored cruiser Bajan without result until the Russian unit got into a minefield. The Asama then did security tasks in front of Hokkaidō and the Kuril Islands and was part of the naval forces that should block Vladivostok. On August 10, 1904, she appeared late in the combat area during the sea battle in the Yellow Sea because of a search trip and was slightly damaged by the Askold , but had no personnel losses. They themselves fired 27 203-mm projectiles from the bow tower and 24 from the stern, plus 113 rounds from the 152-mm cannons, mainly on the Nowik , Askold and Poltava . The Asama also took part in the guard duty of the armored cruisers against Vladivostok from December 23 to April 1, 1905 with changing partners, while some of the others were overtaken. She was able to provide an Austrian and an English steamer that wanted to bring supplies to Vladivostok.
In the decisive naval battle at Tsushima on May 26, 1905, the Asama was involved as the rearmost ship in the battle line. She suffered a total of 4 deaths and 12 hits, mainly from the ship of the line Imperator Nikolai I , which temporarily put her rudder out of action. Despite swift repairs, she was partially unable to unlock and was successfully shot at by the Russians as a single ship. Finally she took the Orel liner , which had surrendered on May 28 with the association of Admiral Nebogatov , in tow and brought it to Sasebo . Until the end of the war she was mostly on duty in securing the Koreastrasse . In the great victory parade of the Japanese fleet on October 14, 1905, she served as the yacht of the Japanese emperor.
Even before the World War, Asama carried out two training trips for the naval academy. From October 16, 1910 to March 6, 1911, the 38th class went via Hawaii to the USA. The trip was carried out together with the US-built protected cruiser Kasagi . The second trip together with half-sister Azuma began on April 20, 1914 again via Hawaii to North America. Shortly after the outbreak of war in Europe, the cruisers with the 41st class returned on August 11th.
First World War
During the First World War , the armored cruiser Asama with three armored and battle cruisers ( Tsukuba , Kurama , Ikoma ) and two destroyers was part of the Japanese fleet, which with the occupation of part of the German colony of German New Guinea , such as the Mariana Islands , Palau and the Carolines , started.
In October she ran to Hawaii, where the Japanese ship of the line Hizen (the former Russian Retwisan ) had blocked the German gunboat Geier in Honolulu on the 17th . On November 8, the American authorities finally interned the vultures and their supply ship Locksun .
Asama and Hizen then moved to the island of San Clemente off the California coast to meet the British allies, who had already moved further south. The armored cruiser Izumo , which had been stationed on the west coast of Mexico with a large number of warships from other nations since December 1913 to safeguard Japanese interests during the Mexican Revolution, joined the association. Under the British Vice Admiral Patey , the three Japanese ships formed a new squadron with the battle cruiser Australia and the cruiser Newcastle on November 22nd in Magdalena Bay , Baja California Sur , Mexico , in order to block the German cruiser squadron 's way north into Canadian waters and protect the Panama Canal . Rear Admiral Moriyama Keizaburo became the commander of the Japanese American Union . From December 4th to 6th, the association searched the Galápagos Islands . This was to be followed by a review of the South American coastal area from the Pearl Islands off Panama to the Gulf of Guayaquil . The German squadron, however, was on its way to the Atlantic around Cape Horn and was destroyed on December 8 at the Falkland Islands . Patey's squadron learned this on December 10th in the Gulf of Panama . On the 11th the British and Japanese ships separated off the coast of Ecuador. Since the Australia was not allowed to pass the new Panama Canal, Patey went through the Strait of Magellan to his new station in the West Indies. He was to continue to look for the remaining German trade troublemakers (the cruisers Dresden and Karlsruhe , whose sinking was unknown to the Allies, and the auxiliary cruisers Crown Prince Wilhelm and Prince Eitel Friedrich ) in cooperation with the Japanese .
On January 9, 1915, the Japanese admiral decided to relocate his unit to the US west coast, as he had evidence that the Dresden could arrive there. On the 23rd, the association returned to Magdalena Bay, Mexico. The flagship Izumo ran via Ensenada on the sea route between Hawaii and San Francisco to secure the expected visit of Admiral Dewa Shigeto , who should represent Japan at the opening ceremonies of the Panama Canal. The Asama also ran north, looking for German ships, for example in Mazatlán on the 28th and from there with the British coal steamer Lena to Puerto San Bartolome , Baja California Sur , where it was supposed to set up a supply base. Other British supply ships have also been ordered there.
When the Asama entered there on January 31, 1915, she ran into an unmapped underwater rock. Their boiler rooms and parts of the engine rooms were quickly under water. The armored cruiser could no longer use its radio system. The accompanying coal steamer was used to take over goods for survival, as the port called did not have fresh water. The first incoming supply ship, like the Lena without a radio system, was sent to San Diego to inform the Japanese authorities about the accident. The American Pacific Fleet learned of the accident, dispatched the cruiser Raleigh and the flagship San Diego , which arrived at the distressed vessel on February 5 and whose offer of help was rejected by the Japanese. The Americans were happy with this because they were not interested in interning the Japanese.
On the 12th, the Izumo and Admiral Moriyama arrived at the scene of the accident and the Asama began to be relieved. To support the rescue, the cruiser Chitose , the supply ship Konan Maru , the sister ship Tokiwa and the workshop ship Kamakura Maru arrived on March 19 . On the Tokiwa came Vice Admiral Tochinai Sojirō , who routinely replaced Admiral Moriyama, and finally on March 24th the workshop ship Kanto . After 98 days, the Asama , which had meanwhile been further damaged by the tidal range, floated up and it was not until August 21 that it left the bay for a first test drive, and on the 23rd, accompanied by the Kanto and the Chitose, the transfer from Puerto San Bartolome to the British base in Esquimalt , British Columbia , 1200 nautical miles to the north. The pumps had to pump 700 to 800 tons of water out of the hull every hour. From September 4th to October 23rd, the floor there was sealed with metal plates to enable a return to Japan, which was then accompanied by the Kanto to Yokosuka until December 18, 1915 , with 100 tons of water from the water every hour Hull had to be pumped.
The accident of the Asama and its treatment by the Americans was the subject of German protests, which claimed support for the repair by the USA and the tolerance of a Japanese base on the Mexican coast. The Asama was repaired by March 1917 . The old boilers were replaced by 16 Miyabara boilers.
From March 2 to July 6, 1918, the training trip of the 45th class of the Naval Academy followed to the American west coast, which was carried out together with the Iwate . From August 1918 to February 1919, she performed security duties in the waters around Hawaii on the basis of an agreement with the American Navy.
Training ship
After the World War, the repaired Asama , like the other armored cruisers, was mainly used for long-distance journeys by midshipmen. During these trips she also made total orbits of the earth. Like the other cruisers, she was reclassified as a "Coastal Defense Ship 1st Class" on September 1, 1921, and downgraded to a "Coastal Defense Ship" on March 30, 1931.
On August 21, 1920, she started with the Iwate on a school trip with the 48th grade of the Japanese Naval Academy around the world from east to west until April 2, 1921 via Hong Kong, Singapore, Colombo, Durban , Cape Town , Rio de Janeiro , Montevideo , Valparaíso , Tahiti , Truk and Saipan . . The Asama carried out the training trip for the 50th officer course with Izumo and Iwate from June 26, 1922 to February 8, 1923. The ships ran from Yokosuka via Honolulu, Los Angeles , the Panama Canal to Rio de Janeiro, where the 100th anniversary of Brazil's independence was celebrated. The earth has now been circled from west to east via Buenos Aires , Cape Town, Durban, Colombo, Singapore and Hong Kong. Asama was also involved
in the 51st and 52nd class trips . The first led to Southeast Asia and Australia from November 7, 1923 to April 5, 1924 , together with Yakumo and Iwate . The second led from November 10, 1924 to April 4, 1925 to Acapulco , Balboa , San Francisco and Vancouver and back across the South Seas. She was accompanied by the Yakumo and Izumo .
On December 1, 1926, Asama left Yokosuka for a school trip through Los Angeles, Honolulu, Victoria , Seattle , Tacoma , Vancouver, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Balboa, the Panama Canal, Colon , Havana , Baltimore , New York , Colon, Jaluit , Truk and Saipan before returning to Yokosuka after a journey of 24,608 nautical miles (45,574 km). The boiler, which was in bad shape, only allowed a speed of 19 knots. The boilers were therefore replaced by six new Kampon types. This sank the engine power to 7,000 PSi and the speed to 16 knots, which was sufficient for use as a training ship.
In 1930 the Asama , like all Japanese armored cruisers, was subject to the London Naval Agreement, which aimed to remove all old ironclad ships from the fleets. According to Art. 12.4. According to the agreement, the armored cruisers Asama , Yakumo , Izumo , Iwate , and Kasuga should be allowed to remain in service until the first three replacements for the Kuma-class light cruisers have been completed. Three Kuma-class ships were to be converted into training ships. To this end, the main artillery should be limited to four guns, the torpedo tubes should be removed and all facilities for the use of aircraft and half of the boilers expanded. The treaty provisions were not implemented by Japan.
During a stay at the shipyard in Kure in 1933, 40 mm anti-aircraft guns were installed on the bridge. On February 15, 1934, the Asama and the Iwate began the school voyage of the 61st course to Manila, Singapore, Aden, Istanbul , Athens , Naples , Marseille , Barcelona , Malta , Alexandria , Djibouti , Colombo, Batavia , Palau and Saipan over 21,853 nautical miles (40,472 km). The following journey on the 62nd course started on March 20, 1935 together with the Yakumo via Hong Kong, Manila, Bangkok, Singapore, Batavia, Fremantle , Adelaide , Melbourne , Sydney , Wellington , Auckland , Suva , Apia , Honolulu, Truk and Saipan . By the time she returned to Yokosuka on July 22, 1935, 20,930 nautical miles (38,760 km) had been covered.
On October 14, 1935, she took part in an air defense exercise in Osaka and Kobe. She ran aground on the island of Kurahashi in the Japanese inland sea near the Shiraishi beacon and damaged her keel considerably. The damage was so severe that extensive repairs no longer made sense.
Whereabouts
When the war in the Pacific broke out , the Asama was in bad shape for repair or modernization and was disarmed. The hull lying in Kure was classified as an auxiliary training ship (like the Azuma ) on July 1, 1942 . In 1944 she was towed to Shimonoseki to serve as barracks. On November 30, 1945 the barracks ship Asama was decommissioned and demolished in 1947.
Sister ship Tokiwa
The keel of the Tokiwa took place on January 6, 1897, which was then launched on July 6, 1898 and put into service on May 18, 1899. The Tokiwa took part in the Russo-Japanese War, the First and Second World Wars. During the World War, from 1916 to 1920, she served as a training ship for long-distance navigation and officer training. In 1922 it was converted into a mine layer. In 1927 there was a mine accident that damaged the stern of the ship and left 35 dead and many injured. At the beginning of the war in the Pacific, it was mainly used as a troop transport. During an attack by American carrier aircraft on August 9, 1945, she was badly hit and beached by the crew at Ōminato on Mutsu Bay . The ship was salvaged and demolished in 1947.
literature
- Hansgeorg Jentsura: Warships of the Imperial Japanese Navy 1869-1945. Naval Institute Press, Annapolis 1976, ISBN 0-87021-893-X .
- Arthur W. Jose: The Royal Australian Navy 1914-1918 The Official History of Australia in the War of 1914-1918. 9th edition. Sydney 1941.
- John Roberts, HC Timewell, Roger Chesneau (Ed.), Eugene M. Kolesnik (Ed.): Warships of the World 1860 to 1905. Volume 2: USA, Japan and Russia. Bernard & Graefe Verlag, Koblenz 1983, ISBN 3-7637-5403-2 .
Web links
- Hiroshi Nishida: Technical details of the Asama class
- Some of the Japanese Cruisers at Chemulpo
- AS Aleksandrow, SA Bałakin: “Asama” i drugije. Japonskie bronienosnyje kriejsera programmy 1895–1896
(А.С. Александров, С.А. Балакин: "Асама" и другие. Японские. Японские Японские броненосные. 1895–1895. seria Morskaja Kampania, 1/2006 (Russian)
Footnotes
- ^ O'Higgins (1896), 8,500 t, 21.5 knots, 4 × 203 mm, 10 × 152 mm, 4 × 120 mm guns
- ↑ Takasago (1897), 4,227 t, 23.5 kn, 2 × 203 mm, 10 × 120 mm guns
- ↑ King Edward Reviews Fleet Off Spithead. ( Memento of the original from September 28, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. In: The New York Times. 17th August 1902.
- ↑ Flagship Naniwa , Niitaka , Akashi , Chiyoda , Takachiho
- ↑ u. a. Talbot (United Kingdom), Pascal (France), Elba (Italy), Vicksburg (United States)
- ↑ Emperor Nikolai I (1889), 9,748 t, 14 kn, 2 × 305 mm, 4 × 229 mm, 8 × 152 mm guns
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↑ Tsukuba (1905), Ikoma (1906), 13,750 t, 20.5 kn, 4 × 305 mm, 12 × 152 mm guns
and Kurama (1907), 14,637 t, 21.25 kn, 4 × 305 -mm, 8 × 203-mm, 14 × 120-mm guns - ↑ Image of the Japanese association ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ^ Jose, p. 125.
- ↑ Commander of the Australian fleet ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. in london gazette
- ^ Jose, p. 126.
- ↑ Asama Gunkan The Reappraisal of a War Scare
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↑ San Diego (ACR-6, 1904), 13,000 t, 22 kn, 4 × 203 mm, 14 × 152 mm guns
and Raleigh (C-8, 1892), 3,200 t, 19 kn, 1 × 152 -mm-, 10 × 127-mm guns - ↑ Barbara W. Tuchman has parts of the conflict in The Zimmermann Telegram - Die Zimmermann-Depesche. From the American by Hans Jürgen Baron von Koskull. Lübbe, Bergisch Gladbach 1982, ISBN 3-404-65039-5 .
- ^ Timothy D. Saxon: Anglo-Japanese Naval Cooperation, 1914-1918.
- ↑ International treaty for the limitation and reduction of naval armament
