Japanese cruiser Yodo

nihongo|IJN Yodo|淀 通報艦|Yodo tsūhōkan was the lead ship in the sclass|Yodo|cruiser|0 of high speed cruisers in the Imperial Japanese Navy. It was named after the Yodo River outside of Osaka, Japan.

Background

Designed and built domestically in Japan, the lightly armed and lightly armored "Yodo" class vessels were intended for high speed reconnaissance, and to serve as dispatch vessels. However, they were already obsolete when designed, with the development of wireless communication used during the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-1905. It was the first warship to be built by Kawasaki Heavy Industries in Kobe. The "Yodo's" sister ship was the warship|Japanese cruiser|Mogami|1908|2.

ervice life

Completed after the end of the Russo-Japanese War, the "Yodo" was used initially for training and coastal patrol duties.

In November 1911, it was dispatched to Bangkok, Siam as part of the Japanese naval delegation attending the coronation ceremonies for King Rama VI of Thailand.

The "Yodo" was re-classified as a 1st class gunboat on 12 October 1912. In World War I, it was assigned to the Japanese 2nd fleet, and although present at the Battle of Tsingtao, did not see any combat.

After World War I it was used as the surveying ship and made various survey trips along the China coast, along with being assigned various miscellaneous auxiliary duties.

The "Yodo" was demilitarized on 1 April 1940 and renamed "Hulk #13". It remained moored to a pier at Iwakuni throughout World War II, and was finally broken up for scrap in 1945.

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