Satsuma class battleship
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 The Japanese battleship Satsuma |
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| Class overview | |
|---|---|
| Name: | Satsuma |
| Builders: | Yokosuka Naval Arsenal, Japan (Satsuma) Kure Naval Arsenal, Japan (Aki) |
| Operators: |  Imperial Japanese Navy |
| Completed: | Two |
| General characteristics | |
| Type: | battleship |
| Displacement: | 19,372 tons (Satsuma), 19,800 tons (Aki) |
| Length: | 137.16 metres (450.0 ft) (Satsuma), 140.21 metres (460.0 ft) (Aki) |
| Beam: | 25.48 metres (83.6 ft) |
| Draught: | 8.38 metres (27.5 ft) |
| Propulsion: | 2-shaft VTE steam engine; 20 boilers, 17,300 shp (12900 kW) (Satsuma), 2-shaft Steam turbines; 16 boilers, 21,600 shp (16110 kW) (Aki) |
| Speed: | 18.5 knots (34 km/h) (Satsuma), 20.0 knots (37 km/h) (Aki) |
| Range: | 2860 tons coal; 377 tons oil (Satsuma), 3000 tons coal; 172 tons oil (Aki) |
| Complement: | 887 (Satsuma), 931 (Aki) |
| Armament: |
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| Armour: |
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The Satsuma class (薩摩型戦艦 Satsuma-gata senkan?) was a two-ship class of semi-dreadnought battleships of the Imperial Japanese Navy. The Satsuma class vessels were the first battleships to be built for Japan exceeding 20,000 tons displacement, and marked a transitional stage between the pre-dreadnought and truedreadnought design.
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[edit] Background
Satsuma and Aki were ordered under in 1905 Emergency Fleet Expansion Program during the height of the Russo-Japanese War. Unlike the previous Katori class battleships, the Satsuma class vessels were ordered from Japanese naval shipyards, and consequently their production took time as the Japanese naval engineers and builders had a steep learning curve to follow. Both ships were completed too late to participate in the Russo-Japanese War.
[edit] Design
The basic design of the Satsuma-class followed that of the Royal Navy's new Lord Nelson class battleships. Naval strategists felt that future battles would be fought at longer ranges with bigger guns than ever before. As a result, less attention was paid to secondary and tertiary armaments, which might never be put into use. Armor protection on the other hand was seriously considered since larger projectiles were anticipated.
Satsuma was differentiated from her sister ship Aki by the location of its smokestacks. Aki's third stack was further apart from her second. Due to a delay in construction, Aki was completed with turbine engines, one of the world's first capital ships to be so equipped.
[edit] Armament
When the Satsuma was laid down in 1905, it was intended to be the first "all big-gun" battleship in the world, predating the famous HMS Dreadnought. However, the cost of the Russo-Japanese War nearly ruined Japan, so it was completed with only four Type 41 12 inch 45 caliber naval guns as its main battery and the amidships guns were reduced in size to the Type 41 10 inch 45 caliber naval guns as a cost saving measure. These guns were mounted two per turret; one centerline forward, one centerline aft and six in amidship turrets, three to port and starboard.
Secondary armament was light, as per the previous Aki class design, with 12 Type 41 3-inch /40-caliber naval guns, commonly known as "twelve pounders" to counter torpedo boat attacks, plus an additional four Type 41 3-inch /25-caliber naval guns.
[edit] Propulsion
The engines on Satsuma were four cylinder VTE steam engines with water tube boilers and two screws. The engines produced 17,300 shp (12900 kW) horsepower, yielding a design speed of 18.5 knots (34 km/h); The engines on Aki were coal-fired Brown Curtiss turbine engines with 16 Miyabara water tube boilers. The engines produced 20,000 shp (14910 kW), yielding a design speed of 20.5 knots (38 km/h).
[edit] Ships in class
Commissioned on 1910-03-15, Satsuma played a minor role in World War I, patrolling sea lanes in the South China Sea and Yellow Sea, assisting in the occupation of the Caroline Islands, and in the Battle of Tsingtao. She was expended as a target in 1924 to comply with the provisions of the 1922 Washington Naval Treaty.
Commissioned on 1912-07-01, Aki played a minor role in World War I. She was disarmed as part of Japan's compliance with the Washington Naval Agreement and was expended as a target in 1924.
[edit] References
- Brown, D. K. (1999). Warrior to Dreadnought, Warship Development 1860-1906. Naval Institute Press. ISBN 1-84067-529-2.
- Evans, David (1979). Kaigun: Strategy, Tactics, and Technology in the Imperial Japanese Navy, 1887-1941. US Naval Institute Press. ISBN 0870211927.
- Howarth, Stephen (1983). The Fighting Ships of the Rising Sun: The Drama of the Imperial Japanese Navy, 1895-1945. Atheneum. ISBN 0689114028.
- Jentsura, Hansgeorg (1976). Warships of the Imperial Japanese Navy, 1869-1945. Naval Institute Press. ISBN 087021893X.
[edit] External links
- http://homepage2.nifty.com/nishidah/e/stc0117.htm Materials of the Imperial Japanese Navy]
- Global Security site
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