The three were

protected cruiser Protected cruisers, a type of naval cruiser of the late-19th century, gained their description because an armoured deck offered protection for vital machine-spaces from fragments caused by shells exploding above them. Protected cruisers re ...

s 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 ...

. They participated in numerous actions during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. The ''Chikuma'' class was the final class of protected cruiser in the Imperial Japanese Navy, and was followed by the of

light cruiser A light cruiser is a type of small or medium-sized warship. The term is a shortening of the phrase "light armored cruiser", describing a small ship that carried armor in the same way as an armored cruiser: a protective belt and deck. Prior to thi ...

Background

The ''Chikuma''-class protected cruisers were ordered as part of the 1907 Naval Expansion Program, based on lessons learned 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 ...

. Along with the s, the ''Chikuma'' class was the first phase of a project to build a high speed navy based on the latest naval technologies.

Design

The basic design of the ''Chikuma''-class cruisers was modeled after the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...

with some modifications and was also largely influenced by the design of the cruiser . The silhouette of the ''Chikuma'' class was readily distinguishable due to its four smokestacks. Contrary to many popular publications, the protection of the ''Chikuma'' class was similar to the ''Tone'' class, and they remained protected cruisers, without an armoured belt.Lacroix E., Wells L., pp. 7, 10, 788 The ''Chikuma''-class cruisers were the first high-speed

turbine A turbine ( or ) (from the Greek , ''tyrbē'', or Latin ''turbo'', meaning vortex) is a rotary mechanical device that extracts energy from a fluid flow and converts it into useful work. The work produced by a turbine can be used for generating e ...

-driven cruisers in the Imperial Japanese Navy, which gave them much greater speed than previous cruiser designs. ''Chikuma'' and ''Hirado'' used the newly developed Curtiss turbines, which gave them a rated top speed of . During speed trials, they achieved 26.83 and 26.87 knots respectively. ''Yahagi'' was built with a Parsons-type

engine, and achieved 27.14 knots during speed trials.Friedman Although the class achieved its target of high speed, the new technology of the engines, especially issues with material strength and fatigue, led to maintenance issues. In terms of armaments, the ''Chikuma'' class was unique in its use of a single caliber

main battery A main battery is the primary weapon or group of weapons around which a warship is designed. As such, a main battery was historically a gun or group of guns, as in the broadsides of cannon on a ship of the line. Later, this came to be turreted ...

. The class was armed with eight Type 41 6-inch 45 caliber naval gun, one each fore and aft, and three mounted in

sponson Sponsons are projections extending from the sides of land vehicles, aircraft or watercraft to provide protection, stability, storage locations, mounting points for weapons or other devices, or equipment housing. Watercraft On watercraft, a spon ...

s on each side of the hull. These guns were supplemented by four

QF 12-pounder 12 cwt naval gun The QF 12-pounder 12-cwt gun (abbreviated as Q.F. 12-pdr. (12-cwt.)Gun ...

s and two Lewis guns. In addition, each vessel was equipped with three

torpedo A modern torpedo is an underwater ranged weapon launched above or below the water surface, self-propelled towards a target, and with an explosive warhead designed to detonate either on contact with or in proximity to the target. Historically, su ...

launchers with torpedoes.IJN Chikuma Class Light Cruisers
/ref> After 1919, two

8 cm/40 3rd Year Type naval gun The Type 41 naval gun otherwise known as the 8 cm/40 3rd Year Type naval gun was a Japanese dual-purpose gun introduced before World War I. Although designated as , its shells were in diameter. Design The Japanese Type 41 naval gun oth ...

were added for anti-aircraft defense abeam of the fourth funnel, replacing two of the 12-pounders in ''Hirado'' and three of the 12-pounders in ''Yahagi'' and ''Chikuma''.

Ships in class

Three ships were budgeted for and completed under the 1907 Naval Expansion Program, one each from the

Sasebo Naval Arsenal was one of four principal naval shipyards owned and operated by the Imperial Japanese Navy. History The Sasebo Naval District was established at Sasebo, Nagasaki in 1886, as the third of the naval districts responsible for the defense of the ...

, Mitsubishi, Nagasaki and Kawasaki Shipbuilding, Kobe. All ships of the class served in

. ''Yahagi'' and ''Hirado'' served in the

Second Sino-Japanese War The Second Sino-Japanese War (1937–1945) or War of Resistance (Chinese term) was a military conflict that was primarily waged between the Republic of China and the Empire of Japan. The war made up the Chinese theater of the wider Pacific Th ...

and the first months of

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 ...

, and were scrapped before the outbreak of 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 ...

Launched on 1 April 1911 and completed on 17 May 1912 by the

, ''Chikuma'' participated in various operations in World War I in the central and southern

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...

. The ship was stricken on 1 April 1931, and expended as a target in 1935.

Launched on 3 October 1911 and completed on 27 July 1912 by the

Mitsubishi The is a group of autonomous Japanese multinational companies in a variety of industries. Founded by Yatarō Iwasaki in 1870, the Mitsubishi Group historically descended from the Mitsubishi zaibatsu, a unified company which existed from 1870 ...

Nagasaki is the capital and the largest city of Nagasaki Prefecture on the island of Kyushu in Japan. It became the sole port used for trade with the Portuguese and Dutch during the 16th through 19th centuries. The Hidden Christian Sites in the ...

shipyards, ''Yahagi'' participated in various operations in World War I in the

and Indian Ocean. The cruiser was later used during the

Siberian Intervention The Siberian intervention or Siberian expedition of 1918–1922 was the dispatch of troops of the Entente powers to the Russian Maritime Provinces as part of a larger effort by the western powers, Japan, and China to support White Russian fo ...

and the opening stages of the

. The ship was stricken on 1 April 1940, its hulk serving as a barracks until 1943.

Launched on 29 June 1911 and completed on 17 June 1912 by the

Kawasaki Shipbuilding Corporation is the shipbuilding subsidiary of Kawasaki Heavy Industries. It produces primarily specialized commercial vessels, including LNG carriers, LPG carriers, container ships, bulk carriers, oil tankers, as well as high speed passenger jetfoils. In a ...

Kobe Kobe ( , ; officially , ) is the capital city of Hyōgo Prefecture Japan. With a population around 1.5 million, Kobe is Japan's seventh-largest city and the third-largest port city after Tokyo and Yokohama. It is located in Kansai region, whic ...

Shipyards, ''Hirado'' participated in various operations in

in the central and southern

. The cruiser was later used during the

and the opening stages of the

. The ship was stricken on 1 April 1940, its hulk serving as a barracks until 1943.

Background

Design

Ships in class

References

Notes

Books

External links