was the lead ship

Lead ship

The lead ship or class leader is the first of a series or class of ships all constructed according to the same general design. The term is applicable military ships and larger civilian craft.-Overview:...

 of the 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 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 by Ansaldo Yards

Gio. Ansaldo & C.

Ansaldo was one of Italy's oldest and most important engineering companies, existing for 140 years from 1853 to 1993.-From foundation to World War I:...

, Genoa

Genoa

Genoa |Ligurian]] Zena ; Latin and, archaically, English Genua) is a city and an important seaport in northern Italy, the capital of the Province of Genoa and of the region of Liguria....

, Italy

Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

, where the type was known as the . It was named after a holy mountain in Nara prefecture

Nara Prefecture

is a prefecture in the Kansai region on Honshū Island, Japan. The capital is the city of Nara.-History:The present-day Nara Prefecture was created in 1887, making it independent of Osaka Prefecture....

.

Designed as a cross between a 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...

 and a cruiser

Cruiser

A cruiser is a type of warship. The term has been in use for several hundreds of years, and has had different meanings throughout this period...

, but with a very small displacement, the Kasuga-class ships had the ability to stand in the line of battle

Line of battle

In naval warfare, the line of battle is a tactic in which the ships of the fleet form a line end to end. A primitive form had been used by the Portuguese under Vasco Da Gama in 1502 near Malabar against a Muslim fleet.,Maarten Tromp used it in the Action of 18 September 1639 while its first use in...

 and the speed to avoid action with battleships. Its armor was only 6 inches (152.4 mm) thick but covered a far greater percentage of the hull than previous armored cruiser designs.

Kasuga had a sister ship, the .

Background

The Kasuga was the second to last of the Garibaldi-class armored cruisers to be built. Ordered by the Argentine Navy

Argentine Navy

The Navy of the Argentine Republic or Armada of the Argentine Republic is the navy of Argentina. It is one of the three branches of the Armed Forces of the Argentine Republic, together with the Army and the Air Force....

 as the Mitre in the spring of 1902, it was renamed in the Bernardino Rivadavia immediately after launch. However, the prospects for war between Argentina

Argentina

Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...

 and Chile

Chile

Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...

 diminished before the ship was completed, making it surplus. The Japanese quickly purchased it due to increasing tension with Russia

Russia

Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...

.

Completed on 7 January 1904, the Kasuga was sailed to Japan along with its sister ship Nisshan by a crew of British, Italian and Arab sailors. During the voyage, the Imperial Russian Navy shadowed the two vessels with the intention of sinking them as soon as the conflict started, however they reached their destination just as Japan opened up hostilities with its naval attack on Port Arthur

Battle of Port Arthur

The Battle of Port Arthur was the starting battle of the Russo-Japanese War...

. The Kasuga was commanded by Captain H.H. Paynter and the Nisshin by Captain J.H. Lea, both captains having their Royal Navy commissions temporarily withdrawn by the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs in order to avoid diplomatic complications in the event that the ships came into conflict with Russian forces.

On their arrival, the officers and men from both ships were welcomed as heroes in Japan, and their British captains had the honor of an interview with Emperor Meiji

Emperor Meiji

The or was the 122nd emperor of Japan according to the traditional order of succession, reigning from 3 February 1867 until his death...

.

Service record

At the start of 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...

 in 1904, the Imperial Japanese Navy had six modern battleships. This was slightly fewer than the number of Imperial Russian Navy

Imperial Russian Navy

The Imperial Russian Navy refers to the Tsarist fleets prior to the February Revolution.-First Romanovs:Under Tsar Mikhail Feodorovich, construction of the first three-masted ship, actually built within Russia, was completed in 1636. It was built in Balakhna by Danish shipbuilders from Holstein...

 battleships at Port Arthur

Lüshunkou

Lüshunkou is a district in the municipality of Dalian, Liaoning province, China. Also called Lüshun City or Lüshun Port, it was formerly known as both Port Arthur and Ryojun....

, but Japan had an edge in armored cruisers. The 10-inch (254 mm) gun of Kasuga had sufficient elevation to make it one of the longest-ranged guns in the fleet. On 15 May 1904, in a major disaster for the Imperial Japanese Navy, two Japanese battleships ( and ) were lost to Russian mines

Naval mine

A naval mine is a self-contained explosive device placed in water to destroy surface ships or submarines. Unlike depth charges, mines are deposited and left to wait until they are triggered by the approach of, or contact with, an enemy vessel...

. On the same day, after shelling Port Arthur, the Kasuga collided with the protected cruiser

Protected cruiser

The protected cruiser is a type of naval cruiser of the late 19th century, so known because its armoured deck offered protection for vital machine spaces from shrapnel caused by exploding shells above...

 , which turned turtle and sank with the loss of 319 lives. The Kasuga herself was so badly damaged that she required a month's refit in a dockyard.

With a third of Japan's battleships thus depleted, the unprecedented decision was taken to use the new cruisers Nisshin and Kasuga in the line of battle together with the remaining four first line battleships , , and during 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...

 (10 August 1904). Kasuga fired 33 ten-inch (254 mm) shells during the battle.

At the subsequent 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 26 May 1905, Kasuga was 5th in the Japanese line of battle. At 14:15, Kasuga opened fire on the , the lead ship in the second column of the Russian fleet at a range of 7000 yards (6,400.8 m), followed by the Russian battleship , then the . During the course of the battle, Kasuga fired 50 ten-inch (254 mm) shells and 103 eight-inch (203 mm) shells, and was hit by one 12 inches (304.8 mm), one 6-inch (152 mm) and one unidentified shell, none of which affected her efficiency. During the battle, the Mikasa and the Nisshin

Japanese cruiser Nisshin

, also transliterated as Nissin, was a armored cruiser of the Imperial Japanese Navy designed and built by Ansaldo in Genoa Italy, where the type was known as the . Designed as a cross between a battleship and a cruiser, but with a very small displacement, it had the ability to stand in the line...

, as the lead ships in the column, were more heavily damaged.

Shortly after the Battle of Tsushima, the Kasuga was assigned to the 3rd Fleet for the invasion and occupation of Sakhalin

Sakhalin

Sakhalin or Saghalien, is a large island in the North Pacific, lying between 45°50' and 54°24' N.It is part of Russia, and is Russia's largest island, and is administered as part of Sakhalin Oblast...

.

On 7 April 1906, while under the command of Prince Higashifushimi Yorihito

Prince Higashifushimi Yorihito

was the second head of the Higashifushimi-no-miya, an ōke cadet branch of the Japanese imperial family.-Early life:Born on September 19, 1867, as seventeenth son of Prince Fushimi Kuniye, head of the Fushimi-no-miya, one of the shinnōke branches of the Imperial Family of Japan, which were...

 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...

, the Kasuga’s main gun was accidentally discharged, sending a shell into the grounds of the Imperial Palace

Kokyo

is the main residence of the Emperor of Japan. It is a large park-like area located in the Chiyoda area of Tokyo close to Tokyo Station and contains several buildings including the main palace , the emperor left Kyoto Imperial Palace for Tokyo...

, creating considerable alarm.

From 1914, the Kasuga participated in World War I

World 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...

, as part of Japan's contribution to the Allied war effort under the 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...

. Initially it was assigned to patrol the sea lanes in southeast Asia

Southeast Asia

Southeast Asia, South-East Asia, South East Asia or Southeastern Asia is a subregion of Asia, consisting of the countries that are geographically south of China, east of India, west of New Guinea and north of Australia. The region lies on the intersection of geological plates, with heavy seismic...

, between Amoy

Amoy

Xiamen, or Amoy, is a city on the southeast coast of China.Amoy may also refer to:*Amoy dialect, a dialect of the Hokkien lects, which are part of the Southern Min group of Chinese languages...

 and the Philippines

Philippines

The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...

, and 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 Indian Ocean

Indian Ocean

The Indian Ocean is the third largest of the world's oceanic divisions, covering approximately 20% of the water on the Earth's surface. It is bounded on the north by the Indian Subcontinent and Arabian Peninsula ; on the west by eastern Africa; on the east by Indochina, the Sunda Islands, and...

 to protect Allied shipping against German navy

Kaiserliche Marine

The Imperial German Navy was the German Navy created at the time of the formation of the German Empire. It existed between 1871 and 1919, growing out of the small Prussian Navy and Norddeutsche Bundesmarine, which primarily had the mission of coastal defense. Kaiser Wilhelm II greatly expanded...

 raids.

In 1917, its patrol area was shifted to between Saigon and the west coast of Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

, where it ran aground on 26 April 1917. On 11 January 1918, the Kasuga accidentally grounded again, this time on a sandbank in the Bangka

Bangka Island

Bangka is an island lying east of Sumatra, Indonesia. Population 626,955. Area: c.4,600 sq mi .There is an additional small island named Pulau Bangka in northern Sulawesi, Indonesia.-Geography:...

 strait, and had to be towed to Singapore

Singapore

Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...

 for repairs.

In May 1920, the Kasuga voyaged to the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 for the centennial celebrations of Maine

Maine

Maine is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the east and south, New Hampshire to the west, and the Canadian provinces of Quebec to the northwest and New Brunswick to the northeast. Maine is both the northernmost and easternmost...

 state, making numerous port calls along the way.

In August of 1920 the Kasuga visited the city of Cristobal in the Republic of Panama from August 22, 1920 to August 25, 1920, with an official reception for the crew and a sightseeing visit.

During the 1920s, Kasuga was partially disarmed in compliance with 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...

, reclassified as a 1st class Coast Defense Ship on 1 September 1921. It was used to transport Japanese soldiers and supplies to Siberia

Siberia

Siberia is an extensive region constituting almost all of Northern Asia. Comprising the central and eastern portion of the Russian Federation, it was part of the Soviet Union from its beginning, as its predecessor states, the Tsardom of Russia and the Russian Empire, conquered it during the 16th...

 in 1922 as part of Japan's Siberian Intervention

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...

, and then designated as a training ship. From 1929 to 1934 it was used to transport troops and supplies to Japan's possessions in the south Pacific.

Kasuga almost managed to survive the Pacific War

Pacific War

The Pacific War, also sometimes called the Asia-Pacific War refers broadly to the parts of World War II that took place in the Pacific Ocean, its islands, and in East Asia, then called the Far East...

, but was sunk at her mooring at Yokosuka on 18 July 1945 during an air raid

Attack on Yokosuka

The attack on Yokosuka was an air raid conducted by the United States Navy on 18 July 1945 during the Pacific War. The Japanese battleship Nagato was the raid's main target, though anti-aircraft positions and other warships at Yokosuka Naval Arsenal were also attacked. Other U.S. Navy and...

 by United States Navy

United States Navy

The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...

aircraft. Its hulk was refloated after the war and broken up for scrap.