Matsushima-class cruiser

Itsukushima , the lead ship of the Matsushima-class
Class overview
Operators	Imperial Japanese Navy
Built	1888–1894
Completed	3
Cancelled	1
Lost	1 (Matsushima)
Retired	3
Preserved	0
General characteristics
Type	protected cruiser
Displacement	4,217 long tons (4,285 t) (Matsushima); 4,278 long tons (4,347 t) (Itsukushima and Hashidate)
Length	91.81 m (301 ft 3 in) w/l
Beam	15.6 m (51 ft 2 in)
Draft	6.05 m (19 ft 10 in)
Propulsion	2-shaft reciprocating; 6 boilers; 5,400 hp (4,000 kW), 680 tons coal
Speed	16.5 knots (19.0 mph; 30.6 km/h)
Complement	360
Armament	• 1 × 320 mm (12.6 in) Canet gun • 11-12 × 120 mm (4.7 in) guns • 5-6 × 6-pounder guns • 2-5 × 3-pounder guns • 4 × 360 mm (14 in) torpedo tubes
Armor	Deck: 50 mm (2 in) Turret: 300 mm (12 in) Gun shield: 100 mm (4 in)

The Matsushima-class (松島型) was a class of protected cruisers of the Imperial Japanese Navy, with three ships named after the three most famous scenic spots in Japan. The Matsushima-class was a highly unorthodox design among cruisers of the 1890s, in that each ship had a primary armament of a single massive 320 mm (12.6") gun, resulting in a monitor-like appearance.

Background

Forming the backbone of the Imperial Japanese Navy during the First Sino-Japanese War, the Matsushima-class cruisers were based on the principles of Jeune Ecole, as promoted by French military advisor and naval architect Emile Bertin.

The Japanese government did not have the resources or budget to build a large battleship navy to counter the heavier vessels of the Chinese navy; instead, Japan adopted the radical theory of using smaller, faster warships, with light armor and small caliber long-range guns, coupled with a massive single 320 mm (12.6") Canet gun. The design eventually proved impractical, as the recoil from the huge cannon was too much for vessels of such small displacement, and the reloading time on the cannon was impractically long; however, the Matsushima-class cruisers served their purpose well against the poorly-equipped and poorly-led Chinese fleet.

There were originally plans to build a fourth vessel in this class, and its cancellation due to concerns over the design was one of the factors that led to Bertin's resignation and return to France.

Ships in class

Itsukushima (厳島)

Built by the Société Nouvelle des Forges et Chantiers de la Méditerranée naval shipyards in France; launched on 18 July 1889; completed on 3 September 1891. Struck on 12 March 1926 and scrapped.

Matsushima (松島)

Built by the Société Nouvelle des Forges et Chantiers de la Méditerranée naval shipyards in France; launched on 22 January 1890; completed on 5 April 1892. Matsushima differed from her two sister ships in that the 320 mm gun was mounted abaft the superstructure, rather than forward. Sunk on 30 April 1908 after an accidental explosion while en route in the Pescadores islands off Taiwan, with the loss of 207 of her 350 member crew.

Hashidate (橋立)

The only ship of the class built in Japan, by the Yokosuka Naval Arsenal; launched on 24 March 1891; completed on 26 June 1894. Struck on 1 April 1922 and scrapped in 1927.

Service life

All three ships of the Matsushima-class were completed just prior to the start of the First Sino-Japanese War, and saw combat in the Battle of the Yalu River and the subsequent attack on Weihaiwei.

During the Russo-Japanese War, the three ships of the Matsushima-class, by then hopelessly obsolete, were assigned to the 5th squadron of the reserve 3rd Fleet, together with the equally outdated ironclad battleship Chin'en under the command of Admiral Shichiro Kataoka. It was present at the blockade of Port Arthur, the Battle of the Yellow Sea and the final Battle of Tsushima. Later assigned to the Japanese 4th Fleet, it was part of the flotilla that provided protection for the Japanese invasion of Sakhalin.

See also

• Japanese cruiser Akitsushima - originally planned as the fourth Matsushima-class cruiser, but eventually built to a different design

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