Japanese cruiser Suma
| Suma The Suma in 1894 | |
| Career | Japanese Navy Ensign |
|---|---|
| Name: | Suma |
| Ordered: | 1891 Fiscal Year |
| Builder: | Yokosuka Naval Arsenal, Japan |
| Laid down: | 6 August 1892 |
| Launched: | 9 March 1895 |
| Completed: | 12 December 1896 |
| Struck: | 4 April 1923 |
| Fate: | Scrapped 1928 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type: | Suma-class cruiser |
| Displacement: | 2,657 long tons (2,700 t) |
| Length: | 93.5 m (306 ft 9 in) w/l |
| Beam: | 12.3 m (40 ft 4 in) |
| Draught: | 4.6 m (15 ft 1 in) |
| Propulsion: | 2-shaft VTE reciprocating engines; 8 boilers; 6,250 hp (4,660 kW); 554 tons coal |
| Speed: | 20 knots (23 mph; 37 km/h) |
| Range: | 11,000 nmi (20,000 km) at 10 kn (19 km/h) |
| Complement: | 256 |
| Armament: |
• 2 × 152 mm (6 in) quick-firing guns • 6 × 120 mm (4.7 in) quick-firing guns • 12 × 47 mm (1.9 in) quick-firing guns • 4 × Maxim guns • 2 × 450 mm (18 in) torpedo tubes |
| Armour: |
Deck: 50 mm (2 in) (slope), 25 mm (1 in) (flat) Gun shield: 115 mm (4.5 in) (front) |
The IJN Suma (須磨 防護巡洋艦 Suma bōgojunyōkan) was a protected cruiser of the Imperial Japanese Navy, designed and built by the Yokosuka Naval Arsenal in Japan. It was the lead ship in the Suma class, and its sister ship was the Akashi. The name Suma comes from a geographic location near Kobe, in Hyōgo Prefecture.
Contents
Background
Suma was designed and built at Yokosuka Naval Arsenal, as part of the Imperial Japanese Navy program to end its dependence on foreign powers for modern warships. While more lightly armed and armored than many of its contemporaries, its small size and relatively simple design facilitated its construction and its relatively high speed made it useful for many military operations.
Service Life
Completed too late for service in the First Sino-Japanese War, the first overseas deployment of Suma was to Manila in the Philippines during the Philippine-American War, where it helped safeguard the interests and citizens of Japan during the uprising.
From June-July 1900, Admiral Shimamura Hayao commanded Suma and Japanese marines during the Japanese occupation of Tianjin during the Boxer Rebellion.
During the Russo-Japanese War Suma played an active role, primarily in the blockade of Port Arthur, and in patrol of the sea lanes between Taiwan and China from its base at Makung in the Pescadores Islands. It was in the Japanese 3rd Fleet during the Battle of Tsushima, and later participated in the operation to seize Sakhalin from Russia.
In World War I, Suma was initially relocated to Manila, and assigned to patrol the sea lanes from Borneo to the Malacca Straits. It was later based in Singapore, and re-assigned to provide coastal defense to Australia and New Zealand, as part of Japan’s contribution to the Allied war effort under the Anglo-Japanese Alliance.
After the war, Suma was re-designated as a 2nd-class Coastal defence ship from 1 September 1921. Suma was removed from the active list on 4 April 1923. Deemed obsolete, it was broken up for scrap in 1928.
Gallery
- IJN Suma in 1897.jpg
IJN Suma off Kobe, 1897
- IJN Suma off Osaka 1897.jpg
IJN Suma off Osaka 1897
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
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