Japanese cruiser Tsugaru
| Tsugaru in 1918 Tsugaru in 1918 | |
| Career | Japanese Navy Ensign |
|---|---|
| Name: | Tsugaru |
| Ordered: | 1895 Fiscal Year |
| Builder: | Admiralty Shipyard, Russia |
| Laid down: | 1 December 1895 |
| Launched: | 26 August 1899 |
| Completed: | 2 November 1901 |
| Acquired: | by Japan as prize of war, 1905 |
| Commissioned: | 22 August 1908 |
| Struck: | 1 April 1922 |
| Fate: | Scuttled, 27 May 1924 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type: | Protected cruiser |
| Displacement: |
6,731 long tons (6,839 t) standard 6,932 long tons (7,043 t) full load |
| Length: | 126 m (413 ft 5 in) w/l |
| Beam: | 16.8 m (55 ft 1 in) |
| Draught: | 6.4 m (21 ft 0 in) |
| Propulsion: | 2 shaft reciprocating VTE engines; 24 boilers; 11,610 hp (8,660 kW) |
| Speed: | 20 knots (23 mph; 37 km/h) |
| Range: | 3,700 nmi (6,900 km) at 10 kn (12 mph; 19 km/h) |
| Complement: | 514 |
| Armament: |
• 8 × 152 mm (6 in) guns • 12 × 80 mm (3.1 in) guns • 3 × 450 mm (18 in) torpedo tubes |
| Armour: |
Deck: 50–62 mm (2.0–2.4 in) Conning tower: 150 mm (5.9 in) |
Tsugaru (津軽) was an protected cruiser of the Imperial Japanese Navy, acquired as a prize of war during the Russo-Japanese War from the Imperial Russian Navy, where it was originally known as the Pallada. The cruisers Aurora and Diana were its sister ships.
Background
The Pallada was built by the Admiralty Shipyard in St Petersburg, Russia for the Imperial Russian Navy. As the lead ship of the Pallada-class, it was one of the most modern cruisers in the Russian navy when assigned to the Russian Far East squadron based at Port Arthur, Manchuria.
With the start of the Russo-Japanese War in 1904, the Pallada was trapped at Port Arthur, and subsequently sunk by Japanese artillery during the Siege of Port Arthur on 8 December 1904.
Service record
After the capture of Port Arthur by the Japanese, the wreck of the Pallada was raised, repaired, and commissioned into the Imperial Japanese Navy as the 2nd class cruiser Tsugaru on 22 August 1908. Its new name came from the Tsugaru Strait between Honshū and Hokkaidō.
After commissioning into the Japanese navy, the Tsugaru was used almost exclusively for training duties, especially for mechanical systems training, and it never left Japanese home waters.
On 1 April 1920, the Tsugaru was re-classified as a minelayer. It was removed from the active list on 1 April 1922, and scuttled with explosive charges offshore from Yokosuka on 27 May 1924.
The cruiser Tsugaru should not be confused with the Pacific War era minelayer of the same name.
Gallery
- Russian Cruiser Pallada sunk in Port Arthur.jpg
Russian cruiser Pallada sunk in Port Arthur
- IJN Tsugaru in 1912.jpg
Tsugaru in 1912
- IJN Tsugaru in 1914.jpg
Tsugaru in 1914
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
