Japanese cruiser Asama

nihongo|"Asama"|浅間| was the lead ship of an early class of armored cruisers of the Imperial Japanese Navy. The ship was named after Mount Asama, located north of Tokyo. Its sister ship was the "Tokiwa".

Background

The "Asama" was one of six armored cruisers ordered to overseas shipyards after the First Sino-Japanese War as part of the "Six-Six Program" (six battleships-six cruisers) intended to form the backbone of the Imperial Japanese Navy. Construction of the "Asama" began as a private venture by the British shipbuilder Armstrong Whitworth of Elswick, and the design had to be modified slightly to meet Japanese requirements. At the time of its completion, the "Asama" was considered the fastest; most heavily armed and most heavily armored cruiser in the world. fact|date=October 2007 It arrived in Yokosuka on 17 May 1899.

ervice record

The "Asama" provided support for Japanese forces in China during the Boxer Rebellion in 1900. It 1902, it was part of the delegation dispatched to Great Britain for the Spithead Fleet Review in celebration of the coronation of King Edward VII. It made port calls at Singapore, Colombo, Suez and Malta on the way to Great Britain, and Cardiff, Lisbon, Gibraltar and Naples, Aden, Colombo, Singapore, Bangkok and Hong Kong on the return voyage.

Russo-Japanese War

The "Asama" participated in the Russo-Japanese War as part of the second squadron of the Second Fleet. It played a leading role in the opening Battle of Chemulpo Bay in the sinking of the Russian cruiser warship|Russian cruiser|Varyag|1899|2 and the gunboat "Korietz". Although Russian sources claimed that the Asama was damaged in ths battle, Japanese sources claim no damage, and there is no evidence to that the Asama needed any repairs before it was assigned to patrol duties off of Hokkaidō and the Kurile Islands, and in the blockade of the port of Vladivostok. It participated at the Battle of Tsushima, as the rearmost ship in the line of battle, suffering damage by gunfire (mostly from the battleship "Imperator Nikolai I"), which disabled her steering gear. Repaired after about two hours, the "Asama" retired from the battle, taking the captured Russian battleship "Orel" in tow back to Sasebo.

World War I

During World War I, the "Asama" was part of the Japanese fleet involved in the capture of German colonies in the South Pacific (Caroline Islands, Mariana Islands, and Palau), as part of the Japanese contribution to the Allied side under the Anglo-Japanese Alliance. On 15 January 1915, the "Asama" created a minor diplomatic incident when it ran aground on the west coast of Mexico during patrols against the German navy, and had to cross territorial waters of the neutral United States on its way to Canada for emergency repairs.

Post-War

After World War I, the "Asama" was used primarily for long range oceanic navigation training by officer candidates. On 21 August 1920, it made a training voyage to Hong Kong, Singapore, Columbo, Durban, Cape Town, Rio de Janeiro, Montevideo, Valparaíso, Tahiti, Truk and Saipan, thus circumnavigating the globe east to west.

The "Asama" was re-designated as a "1st-class Coastal Defense Vessel" on 1 September 1921.

On 26 June 1922, the "Asama" departed Yokosuka for Honolulu, Los Angeles, Panama Canal, Rio de Janeiro (where it participated in the Brazilian Centenary celebrations), Buenos Aires, Cape Town, Durban, Colombo, Singapore and Hong Kong, returning to Yokosuka after thus circumnavigating the globe west to east. The following year, the "Asama" made a shorter cruise to Acapulco, Balboa, San Francisco, and Vancouver.

On 1 December 1926, the "Asama" departed Yokosuka on a training cruise to Los Angeles, Honolulu, Victoria, Seattle, Tacoma, Vancouver, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Balboa, the Panama Canal, Colon, Havana, Baltimore, New York, Colon, Jaluit, Truk and Saipan, returning to Yokosuka after a voyage of convert|24608|nmi|km|0.

Due to poor maintenance, her speed deteriorated to 19 knots and she was fitted with new Kampon boilers and re-designated as a "Coastal Defense Vessel" on 30 March 1931.

In a 1933 retrofit at Kure shipyards, 40 mm anti-aircraft guns were added to the bridge. On 15 February 1934, the "Asama" departed on a training cruise to Manila, Singapore, Aden, Istanbul, Athens, Naples, Marseilles, Barcelona, Malta, Alexandria, Djibouti, Colombo, Batavia, Palau and Saipan, returning to Yokosuka after a voyage of convert|21853|nmi|km|0.

On 20 March 1935, the "Asama" departed Yokosuka on a training voyage to Hong Kong, Manila, Bangkok, Singapore, Batavia, Fremantle, Adelaide, Melbourne, Sydney, Wellington, Auckland, Suva, Apia, Honolulu, Truk, and Saipan, returning to Yokosuka on 22 July 1935 after a convert|20930|nmi|km|-1|sing=on cruise. On 14 October 1935, it participated in anti-air raid drills in Osaka and Kobe. However, at Kurahashi Island in the Inland Sea (near the Shiraishi lighthouse in Hiroshima prefecture), the "Asama" ran aground, severely damaging its keel.

World War II

After the outbreak of the Pacific War, the "Asama" was deemed to be in too poor condition for retrofitting and modernization, and consequently it was demilitarized with the removal of its main guns and auxiliary batteries and permanently moored at Kure. On 1 July 1942, the hulk was designated as an auxiliary training vessel. Towed to Shimonoseki in 1944, it was designated a self-propelled barracks vessel. The hulk of the "Asama" survived the Pacific War, and was decommissioned on 30 November 1945. It was scrapped under the American occupation of Japan in 1947.

Gallery

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