Japanese battleship Mikasa
Encyclopedia
is a pre-Dreadnought
battleship
of the Imperial Japanese Navy
, launched in Britain in 1900. She served as the flagship of Admiral Tōgō Heihachirō
during the Battle of the Yellow Sea
on 10 August 1904, and the Battle of Tsushima
on 27 May 1905 during the Russo-Japanese War
. The ship is preserved as a museum ship at Yokosuka
. Mikasa is the last remaining example of a pre-dreadnought battleship anywhere in the world. She was named after Mount Mikasa in Nara
, Japan.
Following the 1894–1895 First Sino-Japanese War
, and the forced return of the Liaodong Peninsula to China under Russian pressure, Japan began to build up its military strength in preparation for further confrontations. In particular, Japan promulgated a ten-year naval build-up program, with the construction of six battleships and six armored cruiser
s at its core.
The last of these battleships, Mikasa, was ordered from the Vickers
shipyard in Barrow-in-Furness
, United Kingdom at the end of 1898, for delivery to Japan in 1902. She took three years to complete, at the great cost of £880,000 (8.8 million yen).
That same year Japan also secured diplomatic and strategic support, by concluding the 1902 Anglo-Japanese Alliance
with the world's strongest naval power. The United Kingdom shared Japan's wish to contain Russian expansionism in the Far East, especially to protect its interests in China and India.
At the time of her delivery, Mikasa was a state-of-the-art vessel of the pre-dreadnought
era, but did not represent a zenith of firepower and protective strength, despite common claims.
She was adapted from the Royal Navy
's latest Majestic class
design, with increased displacement (15,140 tonnes against 14,900), improved speed (18 knots against 17), slightly stronger armament (two more 6 inch guns), and stronger armour: she kept the same armour thicknesses but used more effective Krupp armour
, around 15% stronger compared to the Harvey armour used by the Majestic class.
But the last of the Majestics was commissioned in April 1898. The six ships of the Canopus class
, first commissioned December 1899, introduced Krupp armour in the Navy and could reach 18 knots. The Formidable class
, first ship commissioned September 1901, had equivalent firepower and defensive qualities. Upon her delivery, Mikasa was equal to contemporary British designs.
Her main guns, grouped in armoured turret
s in a central position, allowed for the rest of the ship to be evenly protected with the heavy Krupp protective steel plates. Thanks to this design, Mikasa was able to withstand a large number of direct hits: she received around twenty hits during the Battle of the Yellow Sea
on 10 August 1904, and around thirty hits during the Battle of Tsushima
, with only limited damage. The firepower and the longer range of the guns of Mikasa were also fully exploited by highly trained and effective Japanese gunners, who were equipped with state-of-the-art rangefinders provided by Barr and Stroud
of Glasgow.
At Tsushima, Mikasa led the combined Japanese fleet into one of the most decisive naval battles in history. The Russian fleet was almost completely annihilated: out of thirty eight Russian ships, twenty one were sunk, seven captured, six disarmed, 4,545 Russian servicemen died and 6,106 were taken prisoner. The Japanese only lost 116 men and three torpedo boats. But note that the Japanese navy was a highly professional organisation based upon the British Royal Navy; by contrast the Russian navy was ill prepared to fight and crewed largely by landsmen, not seamen. Admiral Togo, the 'Japanese Nelson', himself spent several years with the Royal Navy in Britain.
The performance of the Japanese fleet was observed and analysed by Western powers, and played an important role in the definition of the next generation of battleships (the Dreadnought
s), since the conflict "confirmed the greater efficiency of heavy guns and the importance of long-range gunfire." ("The Battleship Dreadnought" Conway Marine).
Shortly after the peace treaty with Russia was signed, Mikasa sank after a fire and magazine
explosion took out a section of hull while in harbor at Sasebo
on 11 September 1905. The accident killed 339 crewmen, or approximately three times the number killed in combat during the war and injured some 300 more. The ship settled in 11 metres (36.1 ft) of water. Extensive efforts were made to salvage the ship, and after repeated attempts, she was refloated on 8 August 1906 and towed to Maizuru Naval Arsenal
for repairs.
After two years of repairs which included the replacement of her badly corroded 12-inch x 40-calibres length main guns by newer longer and hence much more powerful 12-inch (305 mm) 45-calibre guns
, Mikasa was recommissioned and restored to active service in 1908.
, and was derated to a second class battleship, then to a third class battleship, and on 1 September 1921, to that of a first class Coastal defence ship
.
Mikasa ran aground while patrolling in dense fog in the Askold Channel off the coast of Russia during the Japanese Siberian Intervention
in the Russian Civil War
on 16 September 1921. She was recovered with the assistance of the Fuji
, Kasuga
, Yodo
, and repaired at Japanese occupied Vladivostok
. After her return to Maizuru
, her active deployment was terminated, and she was placed in the mothball fleet.
Mikasa was decommissioned following the Washington Naval Treaty
of 1921 and scheduled for destruction. However, at the request of the Japanese government, each of the signatory countries to the treaty agreed that the Mikasa be preserved as a memorial ship
. On 12 November 1925, Mikasa was put on display in Yokosuka, Japan.
During World War II
Mikasa was bombed during various air raids
by the USAAF. Following Japan's defeat
, the American occupation forces
confiscated Mikasa and dismantled her guns, leaving her in very poor state.
. Restoration work was completed on 27 May 1961, at a cost of 180 million yen. A substantial quantity of the missing parts and fittings were provided from the English-built Chilean Navy
super-dreadnought battleship Almirante Latorre, which was being scrapped in Japan at the time.
The tourist brochure given to visitors boarding the Mikasa describes the ship as one of the "Four Great Historical Warships of the World", together with Victory
in Portsmouth
, UK, Constitution
in Boston, USA, and the monitor Huascar in Talcahuano
, Chile.
In England, at Barrow-in-Furness
where Mikasa was built, there is a street of local shops on Walney Island
named Mikasa Street.
Pre-dreadnought
Pre-dreadnought battleship is the general term for all of the types of sea-going battleships built between the mid-1890s and 1905. Pre-dreadnoughts replaced the ironclad warships of the 1870s and 1880s...
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...
, launched in Britain in 1900. She served as the flagship of Admiral Tōgō Heihachirō
Togo Heihachiro
Fleet Admiral Marquis was a Fleet Admiral in the Imperial Japanese Navy and one of Japan's greatest naval heroes. He was termed by Western journalists as "the Nelson of the East".-Early life:...
during the Battle of the Yellow Sea
Battle of the Yellow Sea
The Battle of the Yellow Sea was a major naval engagement of the Russo-Japanese War, fought on 10 August 1904. In the Russian Navy, it was referred to as the Battle of 10 August. The battle foiled an attempt by the Russian fleet at Port Arthur to break out and form up with counterparts from...
on 10 August 1904, and the Battle of Tsushima
Battle of Tsushima
The Battle of Tsushima , commonly known as the “Sea of Japan Naval Battle” in Japan and the “Battle of Tsushima Strait”, was the major naval battle fought between Russia and Japan during the Russo-Japanese War...
on 27 May 1905 during the Russo-Japanese War
Russo-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...
. The ship is preserved as a museum ship at Yokosuka
Yokosuka, Kanagawa
is a city located in Kanagawa, Japan. As of 2010, the city had an estimated population of 419,067 and a population density of 4,160 people per km². It covered an area of 100.62 km²...
. Mikasa is the last remaining example of a pre-dreadnought battleship anywhere in the world. She was named after Mount Mikasa in Nara
Nara, Nara
is the capital city of Nara Prefecture in the Kansai region of Japan. The city occupies the northern part of Nara Prefecture, directly bordering Kyoto Prefecture...
, Japan.
Background
First Sino-Japanese War
The First Sino-Japanese War was fought between Qing Dynasty China and Meiji Japan, primarily over control of Korea...
, and the forced return of the Liaodong Peninsula to China under Russian pressure, Japan began to build up its military strength in preparation for further confrontations. In particular, Japan promulgated a ten-year naval build-up program, with the construction of six battleships and six armored cruiser
Armored cruiser
The armored cruiser was a type of warship of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Like other types of cruiser, the armored cruiser was a long-range, independent warship, capable of defeating any ship apart from a battleship, and fast enough to outrun any battleships it encountered.The first...
s at its core.
The last of these battleships, Mikasa, was ordered from the Vickers
Vickers
Vickers was a famous name in British engineering that existed through many companies from 1828 until 1999.-Early history:Vickers was formed in Sheffield as a steel foundry by the miller Edward Vickers and his father-in-law George Naylor in 1828. Naylor was a partner in the foundry Naylor &...
shipyard in Barrow-in-Furness
Barrow-in-Furness
Barrow-in-Furness is an industrial town and seaport which forms about half the territory of the wider Borough of Barrow-in-Furness in the county of Cumbria, England. It lies north of Liverpool, northwest of Manchester and southwest from the county town of Carlisle...
, United Kingdom at the end of 1898, for delivery to Japan in 1902. She took three years to complete, at the great cost of £880,000 (8.8 million yen).
That same year Japan also secured diplomatic and strategic support, by concluding the 1902 Anglo-Japanese Alliance
Anglo-Japanese Alliance
The first was signed in London at what is now the Lansdowne Club, on January 30, 1902, by Lord Lansdowne and Hayashi Tadasu . A diplomatic milestone for its ending of Britain's splendid isolation, the alliance was renewed and extended in scope twice, in 1905 and 1911, before its demise in 1921...
with the world's strongest naval power. The United Kingdom shared Japan's wish to contain Russian expansionism in the Far East, especially to protect its interests in China and India.
Construction
Pre-dreadnought
Pre-dreadnought battleship is the general term for all of the types of sea-going battleships built between the mid-1890s and 1905. Pre-dreadnoughts replaced the ironclad warships of the 1870s and 1880s...
era, but did not represent a zenith of firepower and protective strength, despite common claims.
She was adapted from the Royal Navy
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
's latest Majestic class
Majestic class battleship
The Majestic class was a class of pre-dreadnought battleships, built under the Spencer Programme of 8 December 1893, that sought to counter the growing naval strength of France and the Russian Empire...
design, with increased displacement (15,140 tonnes against 14,900), improved speed (18 knots against 17), slightly stronger armament (two more 6 inch guns), and stronger armour: she kept the same armour thicknesses but used more effective Krupp armour
Krupp armour
Krupp armour was a type of steel armour used in the construction of capital ships starting shortly before the end of the 19th century. It was developed by Germany's Krupp Arms Works in 1893 and quickly replaced Harvey armour as the primary method of protecting naval ships.The initial manufacturing...
, around 15% stronger compared to the Harvey armour used by the Majestic class.
But the last of the Majestics was commissioned in April 1898. The six ships of the Canopus class
Canopus class battleship
The Canopus class was a group of six pre-dreadnought battleships of the Royal Navy which were designed by Sir William White for use in the Far East and entered service between 1899 and 1902. The lead ship was which was followed by , , , and...
, first commissioned December 1899, introduced Krupp armour in the Navy and could reach 18 knots. The Formidable class
Formidable class battleship
The Royal Navy's Formidable class battleships was an eight-ship class of pre-dreadnoughts designed by Sir William White and built in the late 1890s...
, first ship commissioned September 1901, had equivalent firepower and defensive qualities. Upon her delivery, Mikasa was equal to contemporary British designs.
Russo-Japanese War of 1904-1905
Gun turret
A gun turret is a weapon mount that protects the crew or mechanism of a projectile-firing weapon and at the same time lets the weapon be aimed and fired in many directions.The turret is also a rotating weapon platform...
s in a central position, allowed for the rest of the ship to be evenly protected with the heavy Krupp protective steel plates. Thanks to this design, Mikasa was able to withstand a large number of direct hits: she received around twenty hits during the Battle of the Yellow Sea
Battle of the Yellow Sea
The Battle of the Yellow Sea was a major naval engagement of the Russo-Japanese War, fought on 10 August 1904. In the Russian Navy, it was referred to as the Battle of 10 August. The battle foiled an attempt by the Russian fleet at Port Arthur to break out and form up with counterparts from...
on 10 August 1904, and around thirty hits during the Battle of Tsushima
Battle of Tsushima
The Battle of Tsushima , commonly known as the “Sea of Japan Naval Battle” in Japan and the “Battle of Tsushima Strait”, was the major naval battle fought between Russia and Japan during the Russo-Japanese War...
, with only limited damage. The firepower and the longer range of the guns of Mikasa were also fully exploited by highly trained and effective Japanese gunners, who were equipped with state-of-the-art rangefinders provided by Barr and Stroud
Barr and Stroud
Barr & Stroud Limited was a pioneering Scottish optical engineering firm, based in Glasgow, that played a leading role in the development of modern optics, including rangefinders, for the Royal Navy and for other branches of British Armed Forces during the 20th century...
of Glasgow.
At Tsushima, Mikasa led the combined Japanese fleet into one of the most decisive naval battles in history. The Russian fleet was almost completely annihilated: out of thirty eight Russian ships, twenty one were sunk, seven captured, six disarmed, 4,545 Russian servicemen died and 6,106 were taken prisoner. The Japanese only lost 116 men and three torpedo boats. But note that the Japanese navy was a highly professional organisation based upon the British Royal Navy; by contrast the Russian navy was ill prepared to fight and crewed largely by landsmen, not seamen. Admiral Togo, the 'Japanese Nelson', himself spent several years with the Royal Navy in Britain.
The performance of the Japanese fleet was observed and analysed by Western powers, and played an important role in the definition of the next generation of battleships (the 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...
s), since the conflict "confirmed the greater efficiency of heavy guns and the importance of long-range gunfire." ("The Battleship Dreadnought" Conway Marine).
Sinking and reconstruction
Magazine (artillery)
Magazine is the name for an item or place within which ammunition is stored. It is taken from the Arabic word "makahazin" meaning "warehouse".-Ammunition storage areas:...
explosion took out a section of hull while in harbor at Sasebo
Sasebo, Nagasaki
is a city located in Nagasaki Prefecture, Japan. As of 2011, the city has an estimated population of 259,800 and the density of 609 persons per km². The total area is 426.47 km². The locality is famed for its scenic beauty. The city includes a part of Saikai National Park...
on 11 September 1905. The accident killed 339 crewmen, or approximately three times the number killed in combat during the war and injured some 300 more. The ship settled in 11 metres (36.1 ft) of water. Extensive efforts were made to salvage the ship, and after repeated attempts, she was refloated on 8 August 1906 and towed to Maizuru Naval Arsenal
Maizuru Naval Arsenal
was one of four principal naval shipyards owned and operated by the Imperial Japanese Navy. -History:The Maizuru Naval District was established at Maizuru, Kyoto in 1889, as the fourth of the naval districts responsible for the defense of the Japanese home islands. After the establishment of the...
for repairs.
After two years of repairs which included the replacement of her badly corroded 12-inch x 40-calibres length main guns by newer longer and hence much more powerful 12-inch (305 mm) 45-calibre guns
EOC 12 inch /45 naval gun
The EOC 12 inch 45 calibre gun were various similar 12-inch wire-wound naval guns designed and manufactured by Elswick Ordnance Company to equip ships that the parent company Armstrong Whitworth built and/or armed for several countries before World War I....
, Mikasa was recommissioned and restored to active service in 1908.
Late career
However, she soon became obsolete following the development of the dreadnought battleshipsHMS Dreadnought (1906)
HMS Dreadnought was a battleship of the British Royal Navy that revolutionised naval power. Her entry into service in 1906 represented such a marked advance in naval technology that her name came to be associated with an entire generation of battleships, the "dreadnoughts", as well as the class of...
, and was derated to a second class battleship, then to a third class battleship, and on 1 September 1921, to that of a first class Coastal defence ship
Coastal defence ship
Coastal defence ships were warships built for the purpose of coastal defence, mostly during the period from 1860 to 1920. They were small, often cruiser-sized warships that sacrificed speed and range for armour and armament...
.
Siberian Intervention
The ', or the Siberian Expedition, of 1918–1922 was the dispatch of troops of the Entente powers to the Russian Maritime Provinces as part of a larger effort by the western powers and Japan to support White Russian forces against the Bolshevik Red Army during the Russian Civil War...
in the Russian Civil War
Russian Civil War
The Russian Civil War was a multi-party war that occurred within the former Russian Empire after the Russian provisional government collapsed to the Soviets, under the domination of the Bolshevik party. Soviet forces first assumed power in Petrograd The Russian Civil War (1917–1923) was a...
on 16 September 1921. She was recovered with the assistance of the Fuji
Japanese battleship Fuji
-External links:*...
, Kasuga
Japanese cruiser Kasuga
was the lead ship of the armored cruisers of the Imperial Japanese Navy, designed and built by Ansaldo Yards, Genoa, Italy, where the type was known as the...
, Yodo
Japanese cruiser Yodo
was the lead ship in the of high speed cruisers in the Imperial Japanese Navy. Officially rated as a tsūhōkan, meaning dispatch boat or aviso, it was named after the Yodo River outside of Osaka, Japan.-Background:...
, and repaired at Japanese occupied Vladivostok
Vladivostok
The city is located in the southern extremity of Muravyov-Amursky Peninsula, which is about 30 km long and approximately 12 km wide.The highest point is Mount Kholodilnik, the height of which is 257 m...
. After her return to Maizuru
Maizuru, Kyoto
is a city located in Kyōto, Japan, on an inlet of the Sea of Japan.As of 2008, the city has an estimated population of 89,626 and the density of 264 persons per km². The total area is .The city was founded on May 27, 1943....
, her active deployment was terminated, and she was placed in the mothball fleet.
Mikasa was decommissioned following the Washington Naval Treaty
Washington Naval Treaty
The Washington Naval Treaty, also known as the Five-Power Treaty, was an attempt to cap and limit, and "prevent 'further' costly escalation" of the naval arms race that had begun after World War I between various International powers, each of which had significant naval fleets. The treaty was...
of 1921 and scheduled for destruction. However, at the request of the Japanese government, each of the signatory countries to the treaty agreed that the Mikasa be preserved as a memorial ship
Museum ship
A museum ship, or sometimes memorial ship, is a ship that has been preserved and converted into a museum open to the public, for educational or memorial purposes...
. On 12 November 1925, Mikasa was put on display in Yokosuka, Japan.
During World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
Mikasa was bombed during various air raids
Airstrike
An air strike is an attack on a specific objective by military aircraft during an offensive mission. Air strikes are commonly delivered from aircraft such as fighters, bombers, ground attack aircraft, attack helicopters, and others...
by the USAAF. Following Japan's defeat
Surrender of Japan
The surrender of Japan in 1945 brought hostilities of World War II to a close. By the end of July 1945, the Imperial Japanese Navy was incapable of conducting operations and an Allied invasion of Japan was imminent...
, the American occupation forces
Supreme Commander of the Allied Powers
Supreme Commander of the Allied Powers was the title held by General Douglas MacArthur during the Occupation of Japan following World War II...
confiscated Mikasa and dismantled her guns, leaving her in very poor state.
Preservation
A preservation movement resumed in 1958, with United States participation through financial support and the direct involvement of Admiral Chester NimitzChester Nimitz
Fleet Admiral Chester William Nimitz, GCB, USN was a five-star admiral in the United States Navy. He held the dual command of Commander in Chief, United States Pacific Fleet , for U.S. naval forces and Commander in Chief, Pacific Ocean Areas , for U.S...
. Restoration work was completed on 27 May 1961, at a cost of 180 million yen. A substantial quantity of the missing parts and fittings were provided from the English-built Chilean Navy
Chilean Navy
-Independence Wars of Chile and Peru :The Chilean Navy dates back to 1817. A year before, following the Battle of Chacabuco, General Bernardo O'Higgins prophetically declared "this victory and another hundred shall be of no significance if we do not gain control of the sea".This led to the...
super-dreadnought battleship Almirante Latorre, which was being scrapped in Japan at the time.
The tourist brochure given to visitors boarding the Mikasa describes the ship as one of the "Four Great Historical Warships of the World", together with Victory
HMS Victory
HMS Victory is a 104-gun first-rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, laid down in 1759 and launched in 1765. She is most famous as Lord Nelson's flagship at the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805....
in Portsmouth
Portsmouth
Portsmouth is the second largest city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire on the south coast of England. Portsmouth is notable for being the United Kingdom's only island city; it is located mainly on Portsea Island...
, UK, Constitution
USS Constitution
USS Constitution is a wooden-hulled, three-masted heavy frigate of the United States Navy. Named by President George Washington after the Constitution of the United States of America, she is the world's oldest floating commissioned naval vessel...
in Boston, USA, and the monitor Huascar in Talcahuano
Talcahuano
Talcahuano is a port city and commune in the Biobío Region of Chile. It is part of the Greater Concepción conurbation. Talcahuano is located in the south of the Central Zone of Chile.-Geography:...
, Chile.
In England, at Barrow-in-Furness
Barrow-in-Furness
Barrow-in-Furness is an industrial town and seaport which forms about half the territory of the wider Borough of Barrow-in-Furness in the county of Cumbria, England. It lies north of Liverpool, northwest of Manchester and southwest from the county town of Carlisle...
where Mikasa was built, there is a street of local shops on Walney Island
Walney Island
The Isle of Walney, also known as Walney Island, is an island in the United Kingdom which lies off the west coast of England, at the northern tip of Morecambe Bay. It forms part of the Borough of Barrow-in-Furness, and it is separated from the mainland at Barrow by Walney Channel, a narrow channel...
named Mikasa Street.
See also
Battles of the Russo-Japanese War- List of battleships of Japan
- Russian cruiser Aurora
- Japanese battleship AsahiJapanese battleship Asahi|-External links:***...
, another Majestic-derived Japanese battleship - Shikishima class battleshipShikishima class battleship-External links:**...
, a Japanese class derived from the Majestic-class