Japanese battleship Aki
Encyclopedia
The was a semi-dreadnought
type battleship
of the Imperial Japanese Navy
, designed and built in Japan
by the Kure Naval Arsenal
. The name Aki comes from Aki Province
, now a part of Hiroshima prefecture
.
, and was the second battleship (after Satsuma
) to be designed and built domestically in Japan. Due to priority given to the completion of the cruiser Tsukuba
, construction of Aki took ten months longer than planned, but this allowed for various design defects discovered in the construction of Satsuma to be rectified in Aki.
in Scotland
.
Aki was initially designed as an all-big gun battleship (i.e. as a Dreadnought
), but shortages of 12 inches (305 mm) guns only allowed her to have a combination armament.
, from August 1914, Aki was assigned to patrol the sea lanes south of Japan in the South China Sea
and the Yellow Sea
, but without a notable battle record. Indeed the only notable event in her wartime career was running aground on 1914-11-16 on a sandbank in Tokyo Bay
.
As a result of the Washington Naval Agreement, Aki was decommissioned on 1923-09-20. It was expended as a naval artillery
target, and sunk by Nagato
and Mutsu
off of Nojimasaki, southern Bōsō Peninsula
, Chiba
on 1924-09-27, in a ceremony witnessed by Crown Prince
Hirohito
and the heads of all the departments in the Japanese military. However, some of its larger guns were salvaged, and re-used in coastal artillery
batteries around Tokyo Bay, including those at Misaki, Kanagawa, Miura Peninsula
, and at Jogashima
.
Dreadnought
The dreadnought was the predominant type of 20th-century battleship. The first of the kind, the Royal Navy's had such an impact when launched in 1906 that similar battleships built after her were referred to as "dreadnoughts", and earlier battleships became known as pre-dreadnoughts...
type battleship
Battleship
A battleship is a large armored warship with a main battery consisting of heavy caliber guns. Battleships were larger, better armed and armored than cruisers and destroyers. As the largest armed ships in a fleet, battleships were used to attain command of the sea and represented the apex of a...
of the Imperial Japanese Navy
Imperial Japanese Navy
The Imperial Japanese Navy was the navy of the Empire of Japan from 1869 until 1947, when it was dissolved following Japan's constitutional renunciation of the use of force as a means of settling international disputes...
, designed and built in Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
by the Kure Naval Arsenal
Kure Naval Arsenal
was one of four principal naval shipyards owned and operated by the Imperial Japanese Navy. -History:The Kure Naval District was established at Kure, Hiroshima in 1889, as the second of the naval districts responsible for the defense of the Japanese home islands along with the establishment of the...
. The name Aki comes from Aki Province
Aki Province
or Geishū was a province in the Chūgoku Region of western Honshū, comprising the western part of what is today Hiroshima Prefecture.When Emperor Shōmu ordered two official temples for each province , two temples were founded in Aki Province...
, now a part of Hiroshima prefecture
Hiroshima Prefecture
is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūgoku region on Honshu island. The capital is the city of Hiroshima.- History :The area around Hiroshima was formerly divided into Bingo Province and Aki Province. This location has been a center of trade and culture since the beginning of Japan's recorded...
.
Background
Funding for Aki was approved as part of the 1904 Emergency Budget for the Russo-Japanese WarRusso-Japanese War
The Russo-Japanese War was "the first great war of the 20th century." It grew out of rival imperial ambitions of the Russian Empire and Japanese Empire over Manchuria and Korea...
, and was the second battleship (after Satsuma
Japanese battleship Satsuma
|-External links:**...
) to be designed and built domestically in Japan. Due to priority given to the completion of the cruiser Tsukuba
Japanese cruiser Tsukuba
|-External links:**...
, construction of Aki took ten months longer than planned, but this allowed for various design defects discovered in the construction of Satsuma to be rectified in Aki.
Design
Aki was the first Japanese battleship with turbine engine propulsion, which allowed her to reach a speed of 20.7 knots (41 km/h) during trials in December 1910. The incorporation of the turbine engines necessitated a third funnel on what was originally the same hull design as Satsuma, increased the displacement by 450 tons, and the length of the hull by three meters. The turbine engines were imported from John BrownJohn Brown & Company
John Brown and Company of Clydebank was a pre-eminent Scottish marine engineering and shipbuilding firm, responsible for building many notable and world-famous ships, such as the , the , the , the , the , and the...
in Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
.
Aki was initially designed as an all-big gun battleship (i.e. as a Dreadnought
Dreadnought
The dreadnought was the predominant type of 20th-century battleship. The first of the kind, the Royal Navy's had such an impact when launched in 1906 that similar battleships built after her were referred to as "dreadnoughts", and earlier battleships became known as pre-dreadnoughts...
), but shortages of 12 inches (305 mm) guns only allowed her to have a combination armament.
Operational history
Aki was commissioned on 1911-03-11. During World War IWorld War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, from August 1914, Aki was assigned to patrol the sea lanes south of Japan in the South China Sea
South China Sea
The South China Sea is a marginal sea that is part of the Pacific Ocean, encompassing an area from the Singapore and Malacca Straits to the Strait of Taiwan of around...
and the Yellow Sea
Yellow Sea
The Yellow Sea is the name given to the northern part of the East China Sea, which is a marginal sea of the Pacific Ocean. It is located between mainland China and the Korean Peninsula. Its name comes from the sand particles from Gobi Desert sand storms that turn the surface of the water golden...
, but without a notable battle record. Indeed the only notable event in her wartime career was running aground on 1914-11-16 on a sandbank in Tokyo Bay
Tokyo Bay
is a bay in the southern Kantō region of Japan. Its old name was .-Geography:Tokyo Bay is surrounded by the Bōsō Peninsula to the east and the Miura Peninsula to the west. In a narrow sense, Tokyo Bay is the area north of the straight line formed by the on the Miura Peninsula on one end and on...
.
As a result of the Washington Naval Agreement, Aki was decommissioned on 1923-09-20. It was expended as a naval artillery
Naval artillery
Naval artillery, or naval riflery, is artillery mounted on a warship for use in naval warfare. Naval artillery has historically been used to engage either other ships, or targets on land; in the latter role it is currently termed naval gunfire fire support...
target, and sunk by Nagato
Japanese battleship Nagato
Nagato was a battleship of the Imperial Japanese Navy; the lead ship of her class. She was the first battleship in the world to mount 16 inch guns, her armour protection and speed made her one of the most powerful capital ships at the time of her commissioning.She was the flagship of Admiral...
and Mutsu
Japanese battleship Mutsu
thumb|right|300px|Mutsu shortly after commissioning in c. 1922Mutsu , named after Mutsu Province, as per Japanese ship naming conventions, was the Imperial Japanese Navy's second Nagato class battleship...
off of Nojimasaki, southern Bōsō Peninsula
Boso Peninsula
thumb|Locationthumb|Landsat image with high-resolution data from Space Shuttle is a peninsula in Chiba prefecture on Honshū, the largest island of Japan. It forms the eastern edge of Tokyo Bay, separating it from the Pacific Ocean....
, Chiba
Chiba Prefecture
is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region and the Greater Tokyo Area. Its capital is Chiba City.- History :Chiba Prefecture was established on June 15, 1873 with the merger of Kisarazu Prefecture and Inba Prefecture...
on 1924-09-27, in a ceremony witnessed by Crown Prince
Crown Prince
A crown prince or crown princess is the heir or heiress apparent to the throne in a royal or imperial monarchy. The wife of a crown prince is also titled crown princess....
Hirohito
Hirohito
, posthumously in Japan officially called Emperor Shōwa or , was the 124th Emperor of Japan according to the traditional order, reigning from December 25, 1926, until his death in 1989. Although better known outside of Japan by his personal name Hirohito, in Japan he is now referred to...
and the heads of all the departments in the Japanese military. However, some of its larger guns were salvaged, and re-used in coastal artillery
Coastal artillery
Coastal artillery is the branch of armed forces concerned with operating anti-ship artillery or fixed gun batteries in coastal fortifications....
batteries around Tokyo Bay, including those at Misaki, Kanagawa, Miura Peninsula
Miura Peninsula
is a peninsula located in Kanagawa, Japan. It lies south of Yokohama and Tokyo and divides Tokyo Bay, to the east, from Sagami Bay, to the west. Cities and towns on the Miura Peninsula include Yokosuka, Miura, Hayama, Zushi, and Kamakura....
, and at Jogashima
Jōgashima
is a Japanese island of the municipality of Miura, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan, off the southernmost and western tip of Miura Peninsula, facing Sagami Bay.It is home to the Jōgashima Lighthouse, the fourth oldest western style lighthouse to be built in Japan....
.