Katori class battleship

The nihongo|"Katori" class|香取型戦艦|Katori-gata senkan was a two-ship class of pre-dreadnought battleships of the Imperial Japanese Navy. The "Katori" class vessels were the last battleships to be built for Japan at overseas shipyards, and the last to be equipped with a ram.

Background

"Kashima" and "Katori" were ordered as emergency replacements for the loss of "Hatsuse" and "Yashima" in early stages of the Russo-Japanese War. Although the armored cruisers "Nisshin" and "Kasuga" successfully held their own in the line of battle during the crucial Battle of Tsushima, the armored cruisers lacked the size and firepower to be as effective as battleships. As the Japanese Navy projected that a fleet of six battleships was the minimum necessary against potential threats from China, Russia or the United States, a new order was placed to the United Kingdom. Although construction was rushed, and the design was based largely on the previous "Mikasa", the "Katori"-class ships were not delivered until after the end of the Russo-Japanese War.

Design

The design of the "Katori" class was a modified version of the "King Edward VII class of the British Royal Navy. The "King Edward" class introduced a number of innovations over previous classes in terms of armament and engines.

Armament

For its main battery,, the "Katori" class maintained the standard twin Elswick Ordnance Company 12|in|mm|sing=on naval gun|Type 41 12-inch (305 mm) 40 caliber naval guns mounted in gun turrets fore and aft, as per "Mikasa" and previous Japanese battleships.

Secondary armament was enhanced as per innovations developed for the "King Edward VII" class with an intermediate range of Type 41 10 inch 40 caliber naval guns in four secondary turrets in addition to the twelve now-standard Type 41 6-inch (152 mm)/40-caliber quick firing guns to counter torpedo boat attacks, mounted widely spaced on two decks so that a single hit would not disable more than one of them. The guns on the upper deck were enclosed within casemates. Tertiary armament consisted of Tertiary armament consisted of four Type 41 3-inch (7.62 cm)/40-caliber naval guns, commonly known as "twelve pounders" and two Type 41 convert|3|in|mm|sing=on guns with shortened barrels, and five torpedoes, with four tubes below the waterline, and one more on deck.

Armor

The "Katori" class vessels used Krupp armor with a convert|9|in|mm|0|sing=on belt amidships and main turrets, convert|12|in|mm|0|sing=on on the barbettes, convert|7 |in|mm|0|sing=on on the secondary turrets and convert|2|in|mm|0|sing=on on the deck.

Propulsion

The engines on the "Katori" class vessels were four cylinder triple expansion steam engines with water tube boilers and two screws. Another innovation from the "King Edward VII" class was the use of oil sprayers, which allowed steam pressure to be rapidly increased, improving the acceleration of the ships. The engines produced Auto shp|18000|-1 horsepower, yielding a design speed of convert|16.75|kn|km/h|0; however, the design had inherent instability problems and was difficult to keep on a straight course at higher speeds. In trials, "Katori" was able to sustain just over convert|20|kn|km/h|0; for eight hours.

Ships in class

* " Katori " Commissioned on 1906-05-20, "Katori" was completed too late for the Russo-Japanese War, and with rapid developments in naval technology, was already obsolete at the time of World War I. In 1922, "Katori" was home to Crown Prince Hirohito on his voyage to Europe. She was scrapped as part of Japan's compliance with the Washington Naval Agreement in 1924.

* " Kashima"Commissioned on 1906-05-23, "Kashima" was completed too late for the Russo-Japanese War, and with rapid developments in naval technology, was already obsolete at the time of World War I. She was scrapped as part of Japan’s compliance with the Washington Naval Agreement in 1924.

References

* D. K. Brown, "Warrior to Dreadnought, Warship Development 1860-1906", ISBN 1-84067-529-2
*cite book
last = Andidora
first = Ronald
year = 2000
title = Iron Admirals: Naval Leadership in the Twentieth Century
publisher = Greenwood Press
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id = ISBN 0-313-31266-4
*cite book
last = Brown
first = D. K.
year = 1999
title = Warrior to Dreadnought, Warship Development 1860-1906
publisher = Naval Institute Press
location =
id = ISBN 1-84067-529-2
*cite book
last = Evans
first = David
year = 1979
title = Kaigun: Strategy, Tactics, and Technology in the Imperial Japanese Navy, 1887-1941
publisher = US Naval Institute Press
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id = ISBN 0870211927
*cite book
last = Hoare
first = J.E.
year = 1999
title = Britain and Japan, Biographical Portraits, Volume III
publisher = RoutledgeCurzon
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id = ISBN 1873410891
*cite book
last = Howarth
first = Stephen
year = 1983
title = The Fighting Ships of the Rising Sun: The Drama of the Imperial Japanese Navy, 1895-1945
publisher = Atheneum
location =
id = ISBN 0689114028
*cite book
last = Jentsura
first = Hansgeorg
year = 1976
title = Warships of the Imperial Japanese Navy, 1869-1945
publisher = Naval Institute Press
location =
id = ISBN 087021893X
*cite book
last = Schencking
first = J. Charles
year = 2005
title = Making Waves: Politics, Propaganda, And The Emergence Of The Imperial Japanese Navy, 1868-1922
publisher = Stanford University Press
location =
id = ISBN 0804749779

External links

* [http://homepage2.nifty.com/nishidah/e/stc0116.htm Materials of the Imperial Japanese Navy]
* [http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/japan/kashima-bb.htm Global Security site]