Japanese gunboat Tsukushi
| Japanese gunboat Tsukushi | |
| Career (Japan) | IJN Ensign |
|---|---|
| Name: | Tsukushi |
| Ordered: | 1883 Fiscal Year |
| Builder: | Armstrong Whitworth |
| Laid down: | 2 October 1879 |
| Launched: | 8 November 1880 |
| Commissioned: | 18 June 1883 |
| Struck: | 26 May 1906 |
| Fate: | Scrapped 1910 |
| General characteristics | |
| Displacement: | 1,350 long tons (1,370 t) |
| Length: | 64 m (210 ft) |
| Beam: | 9.7 m (31 ft 10 in) |
| Draught: | 4.4 m (14 ft 5 in) |
| Propulsion: |
2 shaft, reciprocating engine 4 boilers 2,887 shp |
| Speed: | 16.5 knots (19.0 mph; 30.6 km/h) |
| Range: | 300 tons coal |
| Complement: | 186 |
| Armament: |
• 2 × 254 mm (10 in) guns (fore and aft) • 4 × 120 mm (4.7 in) guns (side) • 2 × 9-pounder guns • 1 × Hotchkiss gun • 2 × 450 mm (18 in) torpedo tubes |
Tsukushi (筑紫) was a gunboat in the early Imperial Japanese Navy. It was named for Tsukushi, the old name for Kyūshū island. Its sister ship the Chaoyong was acquired by the Chinese Beiyang Fleet, and was sunk at the Battle of the Yellow Sea.
History
Tsukushi was designed by Edward James Reed and at the Armstrong Whitworth shipyards at Newcastle upon Tyne in England as the Arturo Prat for Chilean Navy. However, in the middle of construction, Chile cancelled the order for economic reasons, and the Japanese Navy picked up the contract for the semi-completed vessel. It was the first vessel in the Japanese navy to have hydraulically-operated equipment and incandescent light fixtures.
Tsukushi arrived in Japan after its shakedown cruise from England on 16 June 1883.
Tsukushi saw combat service in the First Sino-Japanese War, patrolling between Korea, Dairen and Weihaiwei in a reserve capacity in the Western Fleet.
After the war, Tsukushi was designated a first-class gunboat patrol duties. During the Boxer Rebellion it was stationed at Amoy and Shanghai to protect Japanese civilians and interests at the Japanese concession.
During the Russo-Japanese War, Tsukushi served as a guard ship patrolling the Tsushima Straits between Korea and Kyūshū, and as an escort vessel covering the transport of Japanese troops to Korea. It was present as the Battle of Tsushima. Afterwards, it was assigned to the Kure Naval District and served as a guard ship at the Port of Kobe.
After the war, Tsukushi was used briefly as a torpedo training vessel, and was retired in 1911.
References
- Chesneau, Roger and Eugene M. Kolesnik (editors), All The World's Fighting Ships 1860-1905, Conway Maritime Press, 1979 reprinted 2002, ISBN 0-85177-133-5
- Jentsura, Hansgeorg. Warships of the Imperial Japanese Navy, 1869-1945. Naval Institute Press (1976). ISBN 087021893X
External links
- Nishida, Hiroshi. "Materials of IJN". Imperial Japanese Navy. http://homepage2.nifty.com/nishidah/e/stc0616.htm. Retrieved 2007-09-03.
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