Japanese cruiser Chiyoda

For the earlier Japanese gunboat, see Japanese gunboat Chiyodagata. For the WWII seaplane tender/aircraft carrier, see Japanese aircraft carrier Chiyoda.

Chiyoda around 1900 Chiyoda around 1900
Career (Empire of Japan)	Japanese Navy Ensign
Name:	Chiyoda
Ordered:	1888 Fiscal Year
Builder:	John Brown & Company, Great Britain
Laid down:	4 December 1888
Launched:	3 June 1890
Completed:	1 January 1891
Decommissioned:	28 February 1927
Fate:	Expended as target 5 August 1927
General characteristics
Type:	Protected cruiser
Displacement:	2,439 long tons (2,478 t)
Length:	94.49 m (310 ft 0 in) w/l
Beam:	12.81 m (42 ft 0 in)
Draught:	4.27 m (14 ft 0 in)
Propulsion:	2-shaft vertical triple expansion, 6 locomotive boilers, 5,678 hp (4,234 kW)
Speed:	19 knots (22 mph; 35 km/h)
Complement:	350
Armament:	10 × 1 - 120 mm (4.7 in) rapid-fire guns 14 × 1 - 47 mm (1.9 in) Hotchkiss guns 3 × 1 - Gatling guns 3 × 1 - 360 mm (14 in) torpedo tubes
Armour:	Belt: 82–92 mm (3.2–3.6 in) Deck: 30–35 mm (1.2–1.4 in) Conning tower: 30 mm (1.2 in)

Chiyoda (千代田) was a protected cruiser of the early Imperial Japanese Navy.

Background

The Chiyoda was ordered by the Meiji government as a replacement for the ill-fated Unebi, and paid for with insurance monies received from the French government. However, unwilling to use a French shipyard after the Unebi disaster, the Japanese Navy placed its order in 1889 to John Brown & Company of Great Britain. Construction was supervised by Arai Yukan and by Ijuin Goro and on 11 April 1891, the Chiyoda arrived safely at Yokosuka. On 5 September 1892, command of the Chiyoda was assigned to Captain (later Fleet Admiral) Prince Arisugawa Takehito.

Service record

With the outbreak of the First Sino-Japanese War, the Chiyoda was assigned to patrol duties off of the coasts of Korea, China, Russia, and occasional patrols to Hokkaidō. It was also present at the crucial Battle of the Yellow Sea (1894).

The Chiyoda was among the Japanese fleet units that took part in the invasion of Taiwan in 1895, and saw action on 3 June 1895 at the bombardment of the Chinese coastal forts at Keelung.

After the war, the Chiyoda went into dry dock at Kure shipyards, where the boilers on its triple expansion steam engines were replaced with more modern Belleville boilers. On completion of the retrofit in 1898, the Chiyoda was re-designated a 3rd class armored cruiser.

During the Russo-Japanese War (1904–1905), the Chiyoda had a prominent role in the opening Battle of Chemulpo Bay, and subsequently fought at the Battle of the Yellow Sea and the Battle off Ulsan. On 12 January 1905, the Chiyoda was captained by Captain (later Fleet Admiral) Prince Higashifushimi Yorihito.

On 28 August 1912, the Chiyoda was re-designated as a “2nd-Class Coastal Defense Vessel”. During World War I, the Chiyoda was part of the Japanese fleet sent to capture the German port of Tsingtao in Shandong, China.

On 14 April 1921, the Chiyoda was downgraded to a torpedo depot ship, and was used for various odd tasks, including a diving tender and as a school ship for naval cadets.

The Chiyoda was officially decommissioned on 28 February 1927, and sunk as a target on 5 August 1927 at the Bungo Straits by the heavy cruiser Furutaka under review of Emperor Hirohito.

After its dismantling, the bridge of the Chiyoda was preserved at the Imperial Japanese Naval Academy at Etajima, Hiroshima as the reviewing stand over the parade grounds.

Gallery

• Chiyoda.jpg

  c. 1880s

• IJN Chiyoda.jpg

  In parade flags after the Russo-Japanese War, 1905–1907

References

• Evans, David C.; Peattie, Mark R. (1997). Kaigun: Strategy, Tactics, and Technology in the Imperial Japanese Navy, 1887-1941. Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 0870211927. 
• Gardiner, Robert, ed (2001). Steam, Steel and Shellfire, The Steam Warship 1815-1905. ISBN 0-7858-1413-2. 
• Howarth, Stephen (1983). The Fighting Ships of the Rising Sun: The Drama of the Imperial Japanese Navy, 1895-1945. Atheneum. ISBN 0689114028. 
• Jane, Fred T. (1904). The Imperial Japanese Navy. Thacker, Spink & Co. 
• Jentsura, Hansgeorg (1976). Warships of the Imperial Japanese Navy, 1869-1945. Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 087021893X. 
• Milanovich, Kathrin (2006). Jordan, John. ed. Chiyoda (II): First "Armoured Cruiser" of the Imperial Japanese Navy. Warship. 2006. London: Conway's. pp. 126–36. ISBN 1-844-86-030-2. 
• Schencking, J. Charles (2005). Making Waves: Politics, Propaganda, And The Emergence Of The Imperial Japanese Navy, 1868-1922. Stanford University Press. ISBN 0804749779.