Japanese cruiser Chikuma (1911)
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 Japanese light cruiser Chikuma in 1912 |
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| Career |  |
|---|---|
| Builder: | Sasebo Navy Yard |
| Ordered: | 1907 Fiscal Year |
| Laid down: | 1 April 1909 |
| Launched: | 1 April 1911 |
| Commissioned: | 17 May 1912 |
| Fate: | Stricken - 1 April 1931 Sunk as target - 1935 |
| General characteristics (initial – final) | |
| Displacement: | 5,040 tons |
| Length: | 144.8 meters overall |
| Beam: | 14.2 meters |
| Draft: | 5.1 meters |
| Propulsion: | Two Shaft Curtiss Turbine Engines; 16 boilers; 22,500 shp |
| Speed: | 26 knots |
| Fuel & Range: | 1128 tons coal, 300 tons oil 10,000 nautical miles @ 10 knots (19 km/h) |
| Complement: | 414 |
| Armament: |
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| Armor: |
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The IJN Chikuma (筑摩 防護巡洋艦 Chikuma bōgojunyōkan?) was the lead ship in the Chikuma-class of second class protected cruisers of the Imperial Japanese Navy. Chikuma had two sister ships, Hirado and the Yahagi. Chikuma was named for the Chikuma River in Nagano prefecture.
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[edit] Background
Designed shortly after the Russo-Japanese War, Chikuma combined fairly heavy armament and displacement with newly-developed Curtis turbine engines, which gave it an incredible (for the time) 26 knot speed. However, problems with material strength in the gears of the new engines created a maintenance nightmare, and Chikuma could seldom live up to its potential.
[edit] Service record
Chikuma participated in World War I, as part of Japan's contribution to the Allied war effort under the Anglo-Japanese Alliance. It was in the Japanese squadron which gave chase to the German Asiatic Squadron led by Admiral-Graf Maximilian von Spee in 1914.
The Imperial Japanese Navy also dispatched the cruisers Ibuki, Chikuma and Nisshin to the Indian Ocean to deal with the SMS Emden. On 26 March 1917, the British Admiralty further requested the deployment of Chikuma and Hirado to Australia and New Zealand to protect shipping against German raiding operations.
After World War I, Chikuma was assigned to patrols of the China coast from 1921-1924. After 1924, it was deemed too obsolete to be of any combat use, and was primarily used as a moored training ship after having been officially transferred to the reserves.
Chikuma was officially stricken from the Navy list on 1 April 1931, its hulk was designed Hai Kan No.3 and expended as a target in 1935.
[edit] See also
- See Japanese cruiser Chikuma for other ships of the same name.
[edit] References
- Evans, David (1979). Kaigun : Strategy, Tactics, and Technology in the Imperial Japanese Navy, 1887-1941. Naval Institute Press. ISBN 0-87021-192-7.
- Howarth, Stephen (1983). The Fighting Ships of the Rising Sun: The Drama of the Imperial Japanese Navy, 1895-1945. Atheneum. ISBN 0-68911-402-8.
- Jentsura, Hansgeorg (1976). Warships of the Imperial Japanese Navy, 1869-1945. Naval Institute Press. ISBN 0-87021-893-X.
- Schencking, J. Charles (2005). Making Waves: Politics, Propaganda, And The Emergence Of The Imperial Japanese Navy, 1868-1922. Stanford University Press. ISBN 0-80474-977-9.
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