Japanese cruiser Kasagi
 The Japanese cruiser Kasagi | |
| Career | 
|
|---|---|
| Builder: | William Cramp and Sons, United States |
| Ordered: | 1896 Fiscal Year |
| Laid down | 13 February 1897 |
| Launched: | 20 January 1898 |
| Completed: | 24 October 1898 |
| Fate: | Wrecked 10 August 1916, Tsugaru Strait |
| General characteristics | |
| Displacement: | 4,900 tons |
| Length: | 114.1 meters at waterline |
| Beam: | 14.90 meters |
| Draught: | 5.41 meters |
| Propulsion: | 2-shaft VTE; 12 boilers; 15,500 HP |
| Speed: | 22.5 knot |
| Range: | 4,000 nautical miles @ 10 knots |
| Complement: | 405 |
| Armament: |
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| Armor: |
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The IJN Kasagi (笠置 防護巡洋艦, Kasagi bōgojunyōkan) was the lead ship in the Kasagi class protected cruiser in the Imperial Japanese Navy. It was the sister ship to the Chitose. It should note be confused with the later uncompleted Unryū class aircraft carrier of the same name, or the Pacific War-era transport Kasuga-maru. It is named after Mount Kasagi, a holy mountain outside Kyoto.
Background
The Kasagi was designed and built in Philadelphia, in the United States by William Cramp and Sons(which had also built the Russian cruiser Varyag. Its specifications were very similar to that of the Takasago. It was the first major capital warship to be ordered by the Imperial Japanese Navy to an American shipbuilder.
Service record
For its shakedown cruise, the Kasagi was sailed from Philadelphia directly to Great Britain, where its Armstrong cannons were installed. It arrived at Yokosuka on 16 May 1898.
The Kasagi was commissioned too late to see service during the First Sino-Japanese War; however, it was used during the Boxer Rebellion to escort Japanese troops and supplies to mainland China. Future admiral Yamashita Gentarō served as executive officer on the Kasagi between 1899 and 1900.
During the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-1905 the Kasagi was active from its base in Korea in the blockade of Port Arthur. It was in the same squadron as the ill-fated battleship Hatsuse, and assisted in efforts to save the crew of that ship when it was mined on 14 May 1904. Later, it fought at the Battle of the Yellow Sea. At the crucial final Battle of Tsushima, the Kasagi was commanded by Yamaya Tanin.
After the war, the Kasagi was assigned training duties, and made a long distance navigational training voyage from 16 October 1910 to 6 March 1911 to Hawaii.
During World War I, the Kasagi was assigned to the Japanese 1st Fleet, and participated in the Battle of Tsingtao against the Imperial Germany Navy.
The Kasagi ran aground in heavy weather in the Tsugaru Strait between Honshū and Hokkaidō on 20 July 1916, suffering a major hull breach in the vicinity of its second smoke stack. It was formally written off on November 5 of the same year.
Gallery
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IJN Kasagi at Kobe in 1898
References
- Evans, David. Kaigun: Strategy, Tactics, and Technology in the Imperial Japanese Navy, 1887-1941. US Naval Institute Press (1979). ISBN 0870211927
- Howarth, Stephen. The Fighting Ships of the Rising Sun: The Drama of the Imperial Japanese Navy, 1895-1945. Atheneum; (1983) ISBN 0689114028
- Jane, Fred T. The Imperial Japanese Navy. Thacker, Spink & Co (1904) ASIN: B00085LCZ4
- Jentsura, Hansgeorg. Warships of the Imperial Japanese Navy, 1869-1945. Naval Institute Press (1976). ISBN 087021893X
- Schencking, J. Charles. Making Waves: Politics, Propaganda, And The Emergence Of The Imperial Japanese Navy, 1868-1922. Stanford University Press (2005). ISBN 0804749779