Fuji-class battleship
The Fuji class (富士型戦艦, Fuji-gata senkan) was a two-ship class of pre-dreadnought battleships of the Imperial Japanese Navy. The Fuji class was the first class of battleships in the Japanese Navy.
Background
In the late 19th century, the strategy of the Imperial Japanese Navy was based on the radical Jeune Ecole naval philosophy, as promoted by French military advisor and naval architect Emile Bertin. However, not all leaders of the Japanese Navy were convinced in the validity of this theory, and concerns were raised over the acquisition of European-built battleships by the Qing dynasty Chinese Beiyang Fleet.[1] As Japan lacked the technology and capability to construct its own battleships, the navy turned to the United Kingdom and placed an order for two of the most modern vessels available in 1893.
Obtaining the budget for construction had been a struggle for the Japanese government. The initial request had been submitted in the budget of Prime Minister Matsukata Masayoshi in 1891, but had been deleted by the Diet of Japan due to political infighting. Matsukata submitted the request again, and when again denied, was forced to dissolve his cabinet. His successor, Prime Minister Itō Hirobumi, attempted to pass the funding measure in 1892, but again failed. This led to an extraordinary personal intervention by Emperor Meiji in a statement dated 1893-02-10, wherein the emperor offered to fund the construction of the two battleships himself, through an annual reduction in the expenses of the Imperial Household, and asked that all government officials likewise agree to a reduction in their salaries by ten percent. The funding measure for the Fuji-class battleships was passed by the Japanese Diet soon thereafter.[2]
Design
The design of the Fuji class was a modified version of the Royal Sovereign class battleship of the British Royal Navy. The Royal Sovereign class were considered the most advanced, largest and fastest capital ships of their time, and had been designed by the noted warship designer Sir William White.[3]
The Fuji class improved on the original Royal Sovereign specifications in a number of ways, and their speed of 18.25 knots ([convert: unknown unit]) was even faster than the Royal Sovereign at 17 knots ([convert: unknown unit]).
Armament
For its main battery, the Fuji class was completed with the new Elswick Ordnance Company Type 41 12-inch (305 mm) 40 caliber naval guns originally intended for the Royal Sovereign. These guns were mounted in twin gun turrets fore and aft.
Secondary armament on the Fuji class consisted of fourteen Type 41 6-inch (152 mm)/40-caliber quick firing guns to counter torpedo boat attacks and were widely spaced on two decks so that a single hit would not disable more than one of them. The guns on the upper deck were enclosed within casemates. Tertiary armament consisted of 20 Type 41 3-inch (7.62 cm)/40-caliber naval guns, commonly known as "twelve pounders" and 12 three-pounders.
The Fuji class was also equipped with the latest version Whitehead torpedoes, with four tubes below the waterline, and one more on deck.
Armor
The Fuji class vessels were heavily armored using Harvey armor with an 8.5 feet (3 m) high belt 18-inch (457 mm) thick, reducing to 14-inch (356 mm) thick at the ends past the two barbettes, and with a 4-inch (102 mm) thick steel armor belt above.
The armor was backed by 10 feet (3 m) deep coal bunkers, the coal providing additional protection and the bunkers subdivided to continue to provide buoyancy after being hit. The deck armor was 3-inch (76 mm) thick, thinning to 2.5-inch (64 mm) at the ends and curving down. The intention was that if this were penetrated, then the ends could be flooded with little loss of stability.
Ships in class
Commissioned on 1897-08-17, Fuji served with distinction during the Russo-Japanese War in the naval Battle of Port Arthur, Battle of the Yellow Sea and Battle of Tsushima. After the war, she was de-rated to a coastal patrol vessel, and was used for training duties in various capacities until disarmed in 1922. Her hulk continued to be used as a floating barracks and training center until 1948.
Commissioned on 1898-09-09, Yashima was sunk by a naval mine on 1904-05-15 off Port Arthur in one of the greatest naval disasters of the Japanese navy in the Russo-Japanese War.
References
- Andidora, Ronald (2000). Iron Admirals: Naval Leadership in the Twentieth Century. Greenwood Press. ISBN 0-313-31266-4.
- Brown, D. K. (1999). Warrior to Dreadnought, Warship Development 1860-1906. Naval Institute Press. ISBN 1-84067-529-2.
- Evans, David (1979). Kaigun: Strategy, Tactics, and Technology in the Imperial Japanese Navy, 1887-1941. US Naval Institute Press. ISBN 0870211927.
- Hoare, J.E. (1999). Britain and Japan, Biographical Portraits, Volume III. RoutledgeCurzon. ISBN 1873410891.
- Howarth, Stephen (1983). The Fighting Ships of the Rising Sun: The Drama of the Imperial Japanese Navy, 1895-1945. Atheneum. ISBN 0689114028.
- Jane, Fred T. The Imperial Japanese Navy. Thacker, Spink & Co (1904) ASIN: B00085LCZ4
- Jentsura, Hansgeorg (1976). Warships of the Imperial Japanese Navy, 1869-1945. Naval Institute Press. ISBN 087021893X.
- Schencking, J. Charles (2005). Making Waves: Politics, Propaganda, And The Emergence Of The Imperial Japanese Navy, 1868-1922. Stanford University Press. ISBN 0804749779.