was one of four principal naval
shipyard
A shipyard, also called a dockyard or boatyard, is a place where ships are built and repaired. These can be yachts, military vessels, cruise liners or other cargo or passenger ships. Dockyards are sometimes more associated with maintenance a ...
s owned and operated by the
Imperial Japanese Navy
The Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN; Kyūjitai: Shinjitai: ' 'Navy of the Greater Japanese Empire', or ''Nippon Kaigun'', 'Japanese Navy') was the navy of the Empire of Japan from 1868 to 1945, when it was dissolved following Japan's surrender ...
, and was located at
Yokosuka,
Kanagawa prefecture
is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Kanagawa Prefecture is the second-most populous prefecture of Japan at 9,221,129 (1 April 2022) and third-densest at . Its geographic area of makes it fifth-smallest. Kana ...
on
Tokyo Bay
is a bay located in the southern Kantō region of Japan, and spans the coasts of Tokyo, Kanagawa Prefecture, and Chiba Prefecture. Tokyo Bay is connected to the Pacific Ocean by the Uraga Channel. The Tokyo Bay region is both the most populous a ...
, south of
Yokohama
is the second-largest city in Japan by population and the most populous municipality of Japan. It is the capital city and the most populous city in Kanagawa Prefecture, with a 2020 population of 3.8 million. It lies on Tokyo Bay, south of To ...
.
History
In 1866, the
Tokugawa shogunate
The Tokugawa shogunate (, Japanese 徳川幕府 ''Tokugawa bakufu''), also known as the , was the military government of Japan during the Edo period from 1603 to 1868. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005)"''Tokugawa-jidai''"in ''Japan Encyclopedia ...
government established the ''Yokosuka Seisakusho'', a military
arsenal
An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...
and
naval base, with the help of
foreign engineers, including the
French
French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to France
** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents
** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...
naval architect This is the top category for all articles related to architecture and its practitioners.
{{Commons category, Architecture occupations
Design occupations
Architecture, Occupations ...
Léonce Verny. The new facility was intended to produce modern, western-style
warship
A warship or combatant ship is a naval ship that is built and primarily intended for naval warfare. Usually they belong to the armed forces of a state. As well as being armed, warships are designed to withstand damage and are usually faster a ...
s and equipment for the Tokugawa navy. The construction of the arsenal was an important first step for the modernization of Japan's industry. Modern buildings, an
aqueduct,
foundry
A foundry is a factory that produces metal castings. Metals are cast into shapes by melting them into a liquid, pouring the metal into a mold, and removing the mold material after the metal has solidified as it cools. The most common metals pr ...
,
brick
A brick is a type of block used to build walls, pavements and other elements in masonry construction. Properly, the term ''brick'' denotes a block composed of dried clay, but is now also used informally to denote other chemically cured cons ...
factories, technical schools to train Japanese technicians were established.
After the
Boshin War
The , sometimes known as the Japanese Revolution or Japanese Civil War, was a civil war in Japan fought from 1868 to 1869 between forces of the ruling Tokugawa shogunate and a clique seeking to seize political power in the name of the Imperi ...
and the
Meiji Restoration
The , referred to at the time as the , and also known as the Meiji Renovation, Revolution, Regeneration, Reform, or Renewal, was a political event that restored practical imperial rule to Japan in 1868 under Emperor Meiji. Although there were ...
, the new
Meiji government
The was the government that was formed by politicians of the Satsuma Domain and Chōshū Domain in the 1860s. The Meiji government was the early government of the Empire of Japan.
Politicians of the Meiji government were known as the Meiji o ...
took over control of the facility in 1871, renaming it the ''Yokosuka Zosenjo'' (Yokosuka Shipyards). The first
dry dock
A dry dock (sometimes drydock or dry-dock) is a narrow basin or vessel that can be flooded to allow a load to be floated in, then drained to allow that load to come to rest on a dry platform. Dry docks are used for the construction, maintenance, ...
was opened in 1871, and is still in operation today. Japan's first domestically produced warship, ''Saiki'', was completed the same year.
The
Yokosuka Naval District
was the first of four main administrative districts of the pre-war Imperial Japanese Navy. Its territory included Tokyo Bay and the Pacific coasts of central and northern Honshū from the Kii Peninsula to Shimokita Peninsula. Its headquarters, a ...
was established at
Yokosuka, Kanagawa, in 1884, as the first of the naval districts responsible for the defense of the
Japanese home islands, and the Yokosuka Shipyards was renamed the Yokosuka Naval Arsenal in 1903. Japan had purchased five submarines from the American
Electric Boat Company during the
Russo-Japanese War
The Russo-Japanese War ( ja, 日露戦争, Nichiro sensō, Japanese-Russian War; russian: Ру́сско-япóнская войнá, Rússko-yapónskaya voyná) was fought between the Empire of Japan and the Russian Empire during 1904 and 1 ...
of 1904–1905. These
Holland Type VII
Holland is a geographical regionG. Geerts & H. Heestermans, 1981, ''Groot Woordenboek der Nederlandse Taal. Deel I'', Van Dale Lexicografie, Utrecht, p 1105 and former province on the western coast of the Netherlands. From the 10th to the 16th c ...
submarines were built by
Arthur Leopold Busch
Arthur Leopold Busch or Du Busc (5 March 1866 – 9 March 1956) was a British-born American naval architect responsible for the development of the United States Navy's first submarines.
Biography
Early life
Busch was born in Middlesbrough, North ...
as he traveled to Japan during this time. Mr. Busch was a naval architect and shipbuilder who represented the newly organized company (Electric Boat Company) now located at the Quincy Massachusett's shipyard known as the
Fore River Ship and Engine Company
Fore River Shipyard was a shipyard owned by General Dynamics Corporation located on Weymouth Fore River in Braintree and Quincy, Massachusetts. It began operations in 1883 in Braintree, and moved to its final location on Quincy Point in 1901 ...
. These first five submarines became Japan's (IJN) initial entry into the theater of
underwater warfare
Underwater warfare is one of the three operational areas of naval warfare, the others being surface warfare and aerial warfare. It refers to combat conducted underwater such as:
*Actions by submarines actions, and anti-submarine warfare, i.e. ...
that began nearly the same time as the outbreak of the war. Another representative of Electric Boat,
Frank Cable
Frank Taylor Cable (19 June 1863 – 21 May 1945) was an early pioneer in submarine development and piloted the first United States Navy submarine, during its pre-commissioning trials.
Early life and education
Cable was born in New Milford, Co ...
, an electrician working for Isaac L. Rice's company trained two Japanese crews in the operation of such craft.
Arthur Busch was also the man responsible for building the
United States Navy
The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...
's first submarine some five or so years before this time for the
Holland Torpedo Boat Company
General Dynamics Electric Boat (GDEB) is a subsidiary of General Dynamics Corporation. It has been the primary builder of submarines for the United States Navy for more than 100 years. The company's main facilities are a shipyard in Groton, C ...
. This (particular craft) was named the and was America's first commissioned craft (of this) type. Two additional Holland-designed submarines were built for Japan by 1906 "under contract" and a licensing "agreement" with Holland's company back in 1905. These pioneering submarines progressively got larger and larger as time went on, climaxing (in size) by the end of the
Cold War
The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because the ...
. In 1909, Japan's first domestically designed and produced
battleship
A battleship is a large armored warship with a main battery consisting of large caliber guns. It dominated naval warfare in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
The term ''battleship'' came into use in the late 1880s to describe a type of ...
,
''Satsuma'' was launched.
Yokosuka became one of the main shipyards of the
Imperial Japanese Navy
The Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN; Kyūjitai: Shinjitai: ' 'Navy of the Greater Japanese Empire', or ''Nippon Kaigun'', 'Japanese Navy') was the navy of the Empire of Japan from 1868 to 1945, when it was dissolved following Japan's surrender ...
in the 20th century, building numerous battleships such as
''Yamashiro'', and
aircraft carrier
An aircraft carrier is a warship that serves as a seagoing airbase, equipped with a full-length flight deck and facilities for carrying, arming, deploying, and recovering aircraft. Typically, it is the capital ship of a fleet, as it allows a ...
s such as
''Hiryu'' and
''Shokaku''. Naval aircraft were designed at the nearby
Yokosuka Naval Air Technical Arsenal
had many names, each depending on the period of its existence, and the circumstances at that time. Many of the names were acronyms that were derived from its military name or designation, which changed from time to time. The arsenal was sometim ...
.
During the
Pacific War
The Pacific War, sometimes called the Asia–Pacific War, was the theater of World War II that was fought in Asia, the Pacific Ocean, the Indian Ocean, and Oceania. It was geographically the largest theater of the war, including the vast ...
, the Yokosuka Naval Arsenal was attacked by one bomber during the
Doolittle Raid on 18 April 1942 and by a large force of carrier aircraft during the
Attack on Yokosuka
The attack on Yokosuka was an air raid conducted by the United States Navy on 18 July 1945 during the last weeks of the Pacific War. The was the raid's main target, though anti-aircraft positions and other warships at Yokosuka Naval Arsenal ...
on 18 July 1945. The facilities were seized by the
Allied forces at the end of World War II, and on 15 October 1945 the Yokosuka Naval Arsenal was officially abolished.
However, the facilities continued to be used in the post-
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
period, by the
United States Navy
The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...
as the ''Yokosuka Ship Repair Facility'' and its former property is now under the control of the
United States Fleet Activities Yokosuka.
A steam hammer from the former Yokosuka Naval Arsenal is on display at the
Verny Commemorative Museum in Yokosuka.
Examples of ships built at Yokosuka Naval Arsenal
Capital ships
Battleship
,
Satsuma-class semi-dreadnought
,
Fusō-class battleship
The were a pair of dreadnought battleships built for the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) before World War I and completed during it. Both patrolled briefly off the coast of China before being placed in reserve at the war's end. In 1922 became th ...
''Owari (
Unfinished
Unfinished may refer to:
*Unfinished creative work, a work which a creator either chose not to finish or was prevented from finishing.
Music
* Symphony No. 8 (Schubert) "Unfinished"
* ''Unfinished'' (album), 2011 album by American singer Jor ...
),''
Kii-class battleship
,
Nagato-class battleship
Battlecruiser
,
Ibuki-class armoured cruiser
,
Kongō-class battlecruiser
The was a class of four battlecruisers built for the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) immediately before World War I. Designed by British naval architect George Thurston, the lead ship of the class, , was the last Japanese capital ship constructed ...
''(
Unfinished
Unfinished may refer to:
*Unfinished creative work, a work which a creator either chose not to finish or was prevented from finishing.
Music
* Symphony No. 8 (Schubert) "Unfinished"
* ''Unfinished'' (album), 2011 album by American singer Jor ...
)'',
Amagi-class battlecruiser
Fleet Aircraft Carriers
Fleet carrier
''Hiryū''
,
''Shōkaku''-class fleet carrier
,
''Unryū''-class fleet carrier
''Shinano,''
''Yamato''-class battleship, later converted to a support aircraft carrier (July 1942)
Support Aircraft Carriers
Shinano, converted from ''Yamato''-class battleship
Smaller ships
Cruisers
,
Myōkō-class Heavy cruiser
,
Takao-class Heavy cruiser
,
Mogami-class Heavy cruiser
''Hashidate'',
Matsushima-class Protected cruiser
,
Tenryū-class Light cruiser
,
Agano-class Light cruiser
Light Carriers
,
Zuihō-class Light carrier
Converted carrier
Destroyers Classes
Harusame-class: 4 ships
Kamikaze-class(1905): 8 ships
Matsu/Tachibana-class: 26 ships
Submarine Classes
Type B (Type B, B Kai-1,Kai-2): 9 ships
Type D Type D or D-Type may refer to:
* D-type asteroid
* Jaguar D-Type, a sports racing car
* Honda D-Type, a motorcycle
* Type D personality, a concept used in the field of medical psychology
* Type D plug, a type of electrical power plug
* ''Type-D ...
(Type D and D Kai): 6 ships
Kaidai (Kaidai IIIa, IIIb, VII): 6 ships
Kaichū (Kaichu III, IV): 5 ships
Notes
References
*
*
*
Further reading
*
{{Authority control
Imperial Japanese Navy
Shipbuilding companies of Japan
Defunct companies of Japan
Arsenals
Yokosuka