Japanese cruiser Takachiho
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was the second and last
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 ...
built for 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 ...
(IJN) in the 1880s. As Japan lacked the industrial capacity to construct such vessels, the ship was designed and built in the
United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...
. She participated in the
First Sino-Japanese War The First Sino-Japanese War (25 July 1894 – 17 April 1895) was a conflict between China and Japan primarily over influence in Korea. After more than six months of unbroken successes by Japanese land and naval forces and the loss of the po ...
of 1894–1895, playing a major role in the Battle of the Yalu River and lesser roles in the Battles of Port Arthur,
Weihaiwei Weihai (), formerly called Weihaiwei (), is a prefecture-level city and major seaport in easternmost Shandong province. It borders Yantai to the west and the Yellow Sea to the east, and is the closest Chinese city to South Korea. Weihai's popula ...
, the Pescadores Campaign and the invasion of Taiwan. ''Takachiho'' played a minor role in 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 where she participated in the
Battle of Chemulpo Bay The Battle of Chemulpo Bay was a naval battle in the Russo-Japanese War (1904–1905), which took place on 9 February 1904, off the coast of present-day Incheon (then called Chemulpo), Korea. Background The opening stage of the Russo-Japanese ...
, briefly helped to blockade Port Arthur at the beginning of the war, helped to sink a Russian
armored cruiser The armored cruiser was a type of warship of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It was designed like other types of cruisers to operate as a long-range, independent warship, capable of defeating any ship apart from a battleship and fast eno ...
during
Battle off Ulsan The naval Battle off Ulsan (Japanese: 蔚山沖海戦 ''Urusan'oki kaisen''; Russian: Бой в Корейском проливе, ''Boi v Koreiskom prolive''), also known as the Battle of the Japanese Sea or Battle of the Korean Strait, took pl ...
and participated in the climatic defeat of the
Imperial Russian Navy The Imperial Russian Navy () operated as the navy of the Russian Tsardom and later the Russian Empire from 1696 to 1917. Formally established in 1696, it lasted until dissolved in the wake of the February Revolution of 1917. It developed from a ...
in the
Battle of Tsushima The Battle of Tsushima (Japanese:対馬沖海戦, Tsushimaoki''-Kaisen'', russian: Цусимское сражение, ''Tsusimskoye srazheniye''), also known as the Battle of Tsushima Strait and the Naval Battle of Sea of Japan (Japanese: 日 ...
. The ship was relegated to auxiliary roles as a
depot ship A depot ship is an auxiliary ship used as a mobile or fixed base for submarines, destroyers, minesweepers, fast attack craft, landing craft, or other small ships with similarly limited space for maintenance equipment and crew dining, berthing an ...
and a
training ship A training ship is a ship used to train students as sailors. The term is mostly used to describe ships employed by navies to train future officers. Essentially there are two types: those used for training at sea and old hulks used to house classr ...
after the war and was converted into a
minelayer A minelayer is any warship, submarine or military aircraft deploying explosive mines. Since World War I the term "minelayer" refers specifically to a naval ship used for deploying naval mines. "Mine planting" was the term for installing controll ...
in 1911. ''Takachiho'' was torpedoed and sunk by a German
torpedo boat A torpedo boat is a relatively small and fast naval ship designed to carry torpedoes into battle. The first designs were steam-powered craft dedicated to ramming enemy ships with explosive spar torpedoes. Later evolutions launched variants of se ...
in 1914 during the
Siege of Tsingtao The siege of Tsingtao (or Tsingtau) was the attack on the German port of Tsingtao (now Qingdao) in China during World War I by Japan and the United Kingdom. The siege was waged against Imperial Germany between 27 August and 7 November 1914. Th ...
in
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 ...
with the loss of most of her crew.


Design and description

The ''Naniwa''-class cruisers were designed by
Armstrong Mitchell Sir W G Armstrong Whitworth & Co Ltd was a major British manufacturing company of the early years of the 20th century. With headquarters in Elswick, Newcastle upon Tyne, Armstrong Whitworth built armaments, ships, locomotives, automobiles and a ...
's chief
naval architect This is the top category for all articles related to architecture and its practitioners. {{Commons category, Architecture occupations Design occupations Architecture, Occupations ...
, William White, as improved versions of the pioneering Chilean protected cruiser (later purchased by the IJN and renamed ''Izumi'') and 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 ...
's equivalent ships. When completed, ''Takachiho'' and her
sister ship A sister ship is a ship of the same class or of virtually identical design to another ship. Such vessels share a nearly identical hull and superstructure layout, similar size, and roughly comparable features and equipment. They often share a ...
, ''Naniwa'', were considered the most advanced and most powerful cruisers in the world. The cruisers displaced at normal load. The ships had a
length between perpendiculars Length between perpendiculars (often abbreviated as p/p, p.p., pp, LPP, LBP or Length BPP) is the length of a ship along the summer load line from the forward surface of the stem, or main bow perpendicular member, to the after surface of the ster ...
of and an
overall length The overall length (OAL) of an ammunition cartridge is a measurement from the base of the brass shell casing to the tip of the bullet, seated into the brass casing. Cartridge overall length, or "COL", is important to safe functioning of reloads i ...
of , a
beam Beam may refer to: Streams of particles or energy *Light beam, or beam of light, a directional projection of light energy **Laser beam *Particle beam, a stream of charged or neutral particles **Charged particle beam, a spatially localized grou ...
of and a
draft Draft, The Draft, or Draught may refer to: Watercraft dimensions * Draft (hull), the distance from waterline to keel of a vessel * Draft (sail), degree of curvature in a sail * Air draft, distance from waterline to the highest point on a vessel ...
of at
deep load The displacement or displacement tonnage of a ship is its weight. As the term indicates, it is measured indirectly, using Archimedes' principle, by first calculating the volume of water displaced by the ship, then converting that value into wei ...
. The cruisers were fitted with a plough-shaped
naval ram A ram was a weapon fitted to varied types of ships, dating back to antiquity. The weapon comprised an underwater prolongation of the bow of the ship to form an armoured beak, usually between 2 and 4 meters (6–12 ft) in length. This would be dri ...
of
mild steel Carbon steel is a steel with carbon content from about 0.05 up to 2.1 percent by weight. The definition of carbon steel from the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) states: * no minimum content is specified or required for chromium, cobalt ...
below the
waterline The waterline is the line where the hull of a ship meets the surface of the water. Specifically, it is also the name of a special marking, also known as an international load line, Plimsoll line and water line (positioned amidships), that indi ...
and had a partial
double bottom A double hull is a ship Hull (watercraft), hull design and construction method where the bottom and sides of the ship have two complete layers of watertight hull surface: one outer layer forming the normal hull of the ship, and a second inner hull ...
extending between the forward and aft
magazines A magazine is a periodical publication, generally published on a regular schedule (often weekly or monthly), containing a variety of content. They are generally financed by advertising, purchase price, prepaid subscriptions, or by a combination ...
. They were powered by a pair of horizontal, two-cylinder double-expansion steam engines, each driving one shaft using steam produced by six cylindrical boilers. The engines were designed to produce a total of with
forced draught The difference between atmospheric pressure and the pressure existing in the furnace or flue gas passage of a boiler is termed as draft. Draft can also be referred to as the difference in pressure in the combustion chamber area which results in the ...
to give the ships a maximum speed of . During her speed trials after arriving in Japan, ''Takachiho'' reached a speed of from . The ''Naniwa''-class cruisers carried enough coal to gave them a range of about at a speed of . ''Takachiho''s crew consisted of 342 officers and men. The main armament of the ''Naniwa''-class ships initially consisted of two single
Krupp The Krupp family (see pronunciation), a prominent 400-year-old German dynasty from Essen, is notable for its production of steel, artillery, ammunition and other armaments. The family business, known as Friedrich Krupp AG (Friedrich Krup ...
cannon on
pivot mount A pivot gun was a type of cannon mounted on a fixed central emplacement which permitted it to be moved through a wide horizontal arc. They were a common weapon aboard ships and in land fortifications for several centuries but became obsolete aft ...
s in
barbette Barbettes are several types of gun emplacement in terrestrial fortifications or on naval ships. In recent naval usage, a barbette is a protective circular armour support for a heavy gun turret. This evolved from earlier forms of gun protection ...
s fore and aft of the
superstructure A superstructure is an upward extension of an existing structure above a baseline. This term is applied to various kinds of physical structures such as buildings, bridges, or ships. Aboard ships and large boats On water craft, the superstruct ...
. Each barbette was fitted with a fixed loading station in its rear and the guns had to return to this position to reload. The
secondary armament Secondary armament is a term used to refer to smaller, faster-firing weapons that were typically effective at a shorter range than the main (heavy) weapons on military systems, including battleship- and cruiser-type warships, tanks/armored ...
was initially six Krupp cannon on pivot mounts in semi-circular
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 the
main deck The main deck of a ship is the uppermost complete deck extending from bow to stern. A steel ship's hull may be considered a structural beam with the main deck forming the upper flange of a box girder and the keel forming the lower strength memb ...
, three guns on each
broadside Broadside or broadsides may refer to: Naval * Broadside (naval), terminology for the side of a ship, the battery of cannon on one side of a warship, or their near simultaneous fire on naval warfare Printing and literature * Broadside (comic ...
. All of these guns were protected against the weather by
gun shield A U.S. Marine manning an M240 machine gun equipped with a gun shield A gun shield is a flat (or sometimes curved) piece of armor designed to be mounted on a crew-served weapon such as a machine gun, automatic grenade launcher, or artillery piece ...
s. Defense against torpedo boats was provided by two quick-firing (QF) 3-pounder () Hotchkiss guns on the forward
bridge A bridge is a structure built to span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or rail) without blocking the way underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, which is usually somethi ...
, ten quadruple Nordenfelt guns positioned the length of the superstructure and four 10-barrel, Nordenfelt organ guns mounted in the
fighting top The top on a traditional square rigged ship, is the platform at the upper end of each (lower) mast. This is not the masthead "crow's nest" of the popular imagination – above the mainmast (for example) is the main-topmast, main-topgallant-mast a ...
s of the
military mast __NOTOC__ M ...
s. In addition, there were four above-water tubes in the hull for
Schwartzkopff torpedo The Schwartzkopff torpedo was a torpedo manufactured in the late 19th century by the German firm ''Eisengießerei und Maschinen-Fabrik von L. Schwartzkopff'', later known as Berliner Maschinenbau, based on the Whitehead design. Unlike the Whiteh ...
es, two on each broadside. ''Takachiho''s armament frequently changed over her career and the first such was the replacement of her slow-firing 15-centimeter guns with Armstrong's QF guns in 1896 after the First Sino-Japanese War. At the same time four of the 1-inch Nordenfelt guns were replaced by two 3-pounders and two QF 6-pounder () Nordenfelt guns. The fighting tops and the 10-barrel organ guns were removed in 1898 and the main guns were replaced by a pair of Armstrong 6-inch guns in 1902. At the same time the 6-pounders and the remaining Nordenfelt guns were exchanged for more 3-pounders, giving the ship a total of ten 3-pounders and a pair of lighter Yamauchi QF 2.5-pounder (47-millimeter) guns. The protection of the ''Esmeralda'' had been much criticized by the
British Admiralty The Admiralty was a department of the Government of the United Kingdom responsible for the command of the Royal Navy until 1964, historically under its titular head, the Lord High Admiral – one of the Great Officers of State. For much of it ...
and White raised the height of the steel protective deck to a foot (30.5 centimeters) above the waterline. The sloped portion of the deck extended to a depth of below the waterline. Amidships, the highly-subdivided compartments formed by the sloped portion of the protective deck were filled with coal and the fore and aft areas were fitted with
cofferdam A cofferdam is an enclosure built within a body of water to allow the enclosed area to be pumped out. This pumping creates a dry working environment so that the work can be carried out safely. Cofferdams are commonly used for construction or re ...
s to limit any flooding. The walls of the
conning tower A conning tower is a raised platform on a ship or submarine, often armored, from which an officer in charge can conn the vessel, controlling movements of the ship by giving orders to those responsible for the ship's engine, rudder, lines, and gro ...
were three inches thick and the loading station was protected by two inches of steel armor.


Construction and career

Named for a mountain in the volcanic Kirishima range between
Kagoshima , abbreviated to , is the capital city of Kagoshima Prefecture, Japan. Located at the southwestern tip of the island of Kyushu, Kagoshima is the largest city in the prefecture by some margin. It has been nicknamed the "Naples of the Eastern wor ...
and
Miyazaki Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located on the island of Kyūshū. Miyazaki Prefecture has a population of 1,073,054 (1 June 2019) and has a geographic area of 7,735 km2 (2,986 sq mi). Miyazaki Prefecture borders Ōita Prefecture to the north, Kuma ...
s in Japan, which was a prominent location in
Japanese mythology Japanese mythology is a collection of traditional stories, folktales, and beliefs that emerged in the islands of the Japanese archipelago. Shinto and Buddhist traditions are the cornerstones of Japanese mythology. The history of thousands of year ...
, ''Takachiho'' was ordered from Armstrong Mitchell on 22 March 1884 as Japan lacked the ability to build the ''Naniwa''s itself. The ship was
laid down Laying the keel or laying down is the formal recognition of the start of a ship's construction. It is often marked with a ceremony attended by dignitaries from the shipbuilding company and the ultimate owners of the ship. Keel laying is one o ...
at the company's Low Walker
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 ...
in
Newcastle upon Tyne Newcastle upon Tyne ( RP: , ), or simply Newcastle, is a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. The city is located on the River Tyne's northern bank and forms the largest part of the Tyneside built-up area. Newcastle is ...
on 10 April as
yard number __NOTOC__ M ...
476 and launched on 16 May 1885. She was completed on 26 March 1886 and departed for Japan on 10 May with a British crew and captain. ''Takachiho'' arrived at
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 ...
on 3 July 1886 and was assigned to the
Standing Fleet The was a fleet of the Imperial Japanese Navy. It was the main combat fleet of the Japanese Navy and formed the core of a wartime Combined Fleet organization. It was created from the Standing Small-Fleet in 1889. It was split into the 1st Fle ...
on 7 August as a second-class warship. The sisters hosted
Emperor Meiji , also called or , was the 122nd emperor of Japan according to the traditional order of succession. Reigning from 13 February 1867 to his death, he was the first monarch of the Empire of Japan and presided over the Meiji era. He was the figur ...
and his wife,
Empress Shōken , born , was the wife and adviser of Emperor Meiji of Japan. She is also known under the technically more correct name . She was one of the founders of the Japanese Red Cross Society, whose charity work was known throughout the First Sino-Japanese ...
, on 26 November as the ships conducted torpedo-firing exercises. In early 1887 they transported the Emperor and Empress from Yokohama to
Kyoto Kyoto (; Japanese: , ''Kyōto'' ), officially , is the capital city of Kyoto Prefecture in Japan. Located in the Kansai region on the island of Honshu, Kyoto forms a part of the Keihanshin metropolitan area along with Osaka and Kobe. , the ci ...
and back again. ''Takachiho'' and ''Naniwa'' participated in the fleet maneuvers from 22 August to 5 September. Two months later they circumnavigated the Home Islands together with four other ships. In mid- and late 1888, the sisters cruised to
Okinawa is a prefecture of Japan. Okinawa Prefecture is the southernmost and westernmost prefecture of Japan, has a population of 1,457,162 (as of 2 February 2020) and a geographic area of 2,281 km2 (880 sq mi). Naha is the capital and largest city ...
,
Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...
,
Wonsan Wŏnsan (), previously known as Wŏnsanjin (), Port Lazarev, and Genzan (), is a port city and naval base located in Kangwŏn Province, North Korea, along the eastern side of the Korean Peninsula, on the Sea of Japan and the provincial capital. ...
, Kingdom of Korea, and Chifu,
China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
. By the following year, ''Takachiho'' was assigned to the
Sasebo Naval District was the third of five main administrative districts of the pre-war Imperial Japanese Navy. Its territory included the western and southern coastline of Kyūshū, the Ryukyu Islands, Taiwan and Korea, as well as patrols in the East China Sea and t ...
and was serving as the flagship of the Standing Small Fleet. Together with her sister, she visited ports in the
Russian Far East The Russian Far East (russian: Дальний Восток России, r=Dal'niy Vostok Rossii, p=ˈdalʲnʲɪj vɐˈstok rɐˈsʲiɪ) is a region in Northeast Asia. It is the easternmost part of Russia and the Asian continent; and is admini ...
, Korea and China while also participating in fleet maneuvers in the last half of the year. After taking part in the 1890 Great Maneuvers with the
Imperial Japanese Army The was the official ground-based armed force of the Empire of Japan from 1868 to 1945. It was controlled by the Imperial Japanese Army General Staff Office and the Ministry of the Army, both of which were nominally subordinate to the Emperor o ...
, the cruiser was reviewed by the Emperor. On 23 August ''Takachiho'' and ''Naniwa'' were reclassified as first-class warships. ''Takachiho'' sailed to China in mid-1891 for a diplomatic visit between the fleet commander,
Rear Admiral Rear admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, equivalent to a major general and air vice marshal and above that of a commodore and captain, but below that of a vice admiral. It is regarded as a two star "admiral" rank. It is often regarde ...
Arichi Shinanojō Baron was an admiral in the early Imperial Japanese Navy, and served as Chief of the Imperial Japanese Navy General Staff in the late 19th century. Biography Arichi was born in Chōshū Domain (now Yamaguchi Prefecture. His younger brother wa ...
, and
Li Hongzhang Li Hongzhang, Marquess Suyi ( zh, t=李鴻章; also Li Hung-chang; 15 February 1823 – 7 November 1901) was a Chinese politician, general and diplomat of the late Qing dynasty. He quelled several major rebellions and served in important ...
,
Viceroy of Zhili The Viceroy of Zhili, fully referred to in Chinese as the Governor-General of Zhili and Surrounding Areas Overseeing Military Affairs and Food Production, Manager of Waterways, Director of Civil Affairs, was one of eight regional Viceroys during ...
. After the training ship damaged her propeller and hull in a heavy storm in Futami Bay on 4 October, Arichi transferred his flag to ''Naniwa'' while ''Takachiho'' towed ''Tsukuba'' to
Kure Naval Arsenal was one of four principal naval shipyards owned and operated by the Imperial Japanese Navy. History The Kure Naval District was established at Kure, Hiroshima in 1889, as the second of the naval districts responsible for the defense of the J ...
for repairs. The sisters cruised to
Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...
in early 1892 before participating in the annual Great Maneuvers. ''Takachiho'' was reduced to reserve in July while she was in a refit that lasted until 21 April 1893. She resumed her role as the fleet flagship as Rear Admiral
Itō Sukeyuki Marshal-Admiral Count (20 May 1843 – 16 January 1914) was a Japanese career officer and admiral in the Imperial Japanese Navy in Meiji-period Japan. Biography Born in what is now part of Kagoshima City as the son of a ''samurai'' of the Sa ...
hoisted his flag aboard the cruiser before she traveled to China in July so that Itō could meet with Li. On 13 August, the ship became the flagship of the Standing Fleet and visited
Vladivostok Vladivostok ( rus, Владивосто́к, a=Владивосток.ogg, p=vɫədʲɪvɐˈstok) is the largest city and the administrative center of Primorsky Krai, Russia. The city is located around the Zolotoy Rog, Golden Horn Bay on the Sea ...
later that month. On 6 March 1894, ''Takachiho'' departed Japan to relieve her sister in
Honolulu Honolulu (; ) is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, which is in the Pacific Ocean. It is an unincorporated county seat of the consolidated City and County of Honolulu, situated along the southeast coast of the island ...
,
Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only stat ...
, that was protecting Japanese citizens and interests there during the time that the
Provisional Government of Hawaii The Provisional Government of Hawaii (abbr.: P.G.; Hawaiian: ''Aupuni Kūikawā o Hawaiʻi'') was proclaimed after the overthrow of the Hawaiian Kingdom on January 17, 1893, by the 13-member Committee of Safety under the leadership of its ch ...
controlled the country. The cruiser arrived on 21 March and remained there until tensions began to rise between Japan and China over Korea. She arrived at Yokosuka on 10 July and was assigned to the Main Squadron on 22 July.


First Sino-Japanese War

''Takachiho'' was transferred to the First Flying Squadron about 30 July where she joined her sister and the fast protected cruisers and , under the command of Rear Admiral
Tsuboi Kōzō Baron was an admiral of the early modern Imperial Japanese Navy, known primarily for his role in the First Sino-Japanese War. Biography Tsuboi Kōzō was born as Hara Kōzō, the second son of a doctor in what is now part of Hōfu, Yamaguchi, ...
. On 9 August, Vice Admiral Itō, now commanding the Combined Fleet, took his ships to
Weihai Weihai (), formerly called Weihaiwei (), is a prefecture-level city and major seaport in easternmost Shandong province. It borders Yantai to the west and the Yellow Sea to the east, and is the closest Chinese city to South Korea. Weihai's popula ...
wei, China, in search of the
Beiyang Fleet The Beiyang Fleet (Pei-yang Fleet; , alternatively Northern Seas Fleet) was one of the four modernized Chinese navies in the late Qing dynasty. Among the four, the Beiyang Fleet was particularly sponsored by Li Hongzhang, one of the most trust ...
and conducted a desultory bombardment of the port's coastal defenses when he did not find the Chinese ships. No damage was inflicted on either side and the Combined Fleet returned to
Kunsan Gunsan (), also romanized as Kunsan, is a city in North Jeolla Province, South Korea. It is on the south bank of the Geum River just upstream from its exit into the Yellow Sea. It has emerged as a high-tech manufacturing industrial city and an int ...
, Korea. For the rest of the month, the Flying Squadron escorted troop convoys to Kunsan. Itō sent a pair of cruisers back to Weihahiwei on 14–15 September to find the Chinese ships, but they were unsuccessful. Their failure convinced Itō that the Beiyang Fleet was further north. The Flying Squadron led the rest of the Combined Fleet northwest on 16 September to investigate the anchorage at Haiyang Island. Finding it empty the following morning, Itō ordered his ships to head northeast and search the area around the Yalu River
estuary An estuary is a partially enclosed coastal body of brackish water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea. Estuaries form a transition zone between river environments and maritime environment ...
. At 11:23 lookouts aboard ''Yoshino'' spotted the Chinese ships some away. Knowing that his ships were faster than the Chinese ones, Itō intended to
cross the T Crossing the ''T'' or capping the ''T'' is a classic naval warfare tactic used from the late 19th to the mid-20th centuries in which a line of warships crosses in front of a line of enemy ships to allow the crossing line to bring all their guns ...
of the Beiyang Fleet and then concentrate his fire on the weakly protected ships of the Chinese right wing. Admiral
Ding Ruchang Admiral Ding Ruchang (; 18 November 1836 – 12 February 1895) was a Chinese military officer in the late Qing dynasty. Early life Ding was a native of what is now part of Chaohu City in Anhui Province, China. He joined the Taiping Rebellion i ...
's ships had been caught by surprise, but were able to
weigh anchor Weigh anchor is a nautical term indicating the final preparation of a sea vessel for getting underway. ''Weighing anchor'' literally means raising the anchor of the vessel from the sea floor and hoisting it up to be stowed on board the vessel. At ...
and assume Ding's preferred
line abreast Galley tactics were the dominant form of naval tactics used from antiquity to the late 16th century when sailing ships began to replace oared ships as the principal form of warships. Throughout antiquity and the Middle Ages until the 16th century, ...
formation while the Combined Fleet was still out of range. The Chinese ships opened fire at long range and were unable to hit any of the Japanese ships as they passed in front. The Flying Squadron's ships opened fire as the range closed to and soon set the unprotected cruisers and on fire. The battle quickly devolved into a melee at close range, and the protected cruiser and the armored cruiser were sunk as the Flying Squadron's ships concentrated on the Chinese cruisers. During the battle ''Takachiho'' was slightly damaged by five hits that killed one man and wounded two others. She fired 22 shells from her main guns, 89 from her secondary armament and several thousand from her smaller guns. After the battle, the Combined Fleet escorted troop convoys through the Korea Bay to Chinese territory at the base of the
Liaodong Peninsula The Liaodong Peninsula (also Liaotung Peninsula, ) is a peninsula in southern Liaoning province in Northeast China, and makes up the southwestern coastal half of the Liaodong region. It is located between the mouths of the Daliao River (the ...
and supported the IJA's advance down the length of the peninsula towards Port Arthur (modern Lüshunkou). This allowed the Beiyang Fleet to sail from Port Arthur to Weihei in early November without being detected. Itō sent ''Takachiho'' and ''Yoshino'' to see if the Chinese ships were still at Port Arthur on 8 November and only located them at Weihaiwei a week later. The Combined Fleet cruised off the Chinese port on 16–17 November, but Ding was under orders to refuse battle, and the Japanese ships departed to begin the blockade of Port Arthur in support of the IJA's impending successful assault on the port. ''Takachiho'' surveyed the area around the
Hai River The Hai River (海河, lit. "Sea River"), also known as the Peiho, ("White River"), or Hai Ho, is a Chinese river connecting Beijing to Tianjin and the Bohai Sea. The Hai River at Tianjin is formed by the confluence of five watercourses: the S ...
estuary on 7–11 December to evaluate its suitability for
amphibious operation Amphibious warfare is a type of offensive military operation that today uses naval ships to project ground and air power onto a hostile or potentially hostile shore at a designated landing beach. Through history the operations were conducted u ...
s ultimately leading to an attack on the Chinese capital of
Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...
. The specialists aboard the ship concluded that no such landings were possible during the winter season. Combined with pressure by the European nations not to attack Beijing, this forced the Japanese strategists to focus on the destruction of the Beiyang Fleet by assaulting its home port of Weihaiwei and ''Takachiho'' spent 23–26 December locating a suitable landing place on the
Shandong Peninsula The Shandong (Shantung) Peninsula or Jiaodong (Chiaotung) Peninsula is a peninsula in Shandong Province in eastern China, between the Bohai Sea to the north and the Yellow Sea to the south. The latter name refers to the east and Jiaozhou. G ...
. The Japanese landed troops in January 1895 and gradually encircled the city. Itō was unwilling to commit his lightly armored ships to attacks on the formidable fortifications defending the port as he had to be prepared to defeat the Chinese ships if they attempted to break through the blockade. Successful night attacks by his torpedo boats in early February sank or damaged the larger ships and the morale of the Chinese crews continued to decline. Ding failed to make his own nocturnal torpedo attacks against the blockaders, but the Chinese torpedo boats
sortie A sortie (from the French word meaning ''exit'' or from Latin root ''surgere'' meaning to "rise up") is a deployment or dispatch of one military unit, be it an aircraft, ship, or troops, from a strongpoint. The term originated in siege warfare. ...
d on the morning of 7 February and unsuccessfully attempted to escape by steaming west along the coast towards Zhifu. All of them were either destroyed or captured, although the two fastest boats had to be pursued by ''Takachiho'' and ''Yoshino'' and were forced to
beach A beach is a landform alongside a body of water which consists of loose particles. The particles composing a beach are typically made from rock, such as sand, gravel, shingle, pebbles, etc., or biological sources, such as mollusc shel ...
themselves before reaching the port. It is unclear whether Ding ordered them to breakout or if they deserted before the Chinese surrender on 12 February. The Japanese wanted to take the
Pescadores Islands The Penghu (, Hokkien POJ: ''Phîⁿ-ô͘''  or ''Phêⁿ-ô͘'' ) or Pescadores Islands are an archipelago of 90 islands and islets in the Taiwan Strait, located approximately west from the main island of Taiwan, covering an area ...
between the Chinese coast and Taiwan as a base from which to mount their invasion of Taiwan. Delayed by bad weather, the IJA landed on Wangan Island on 23 March as ''Takachiho'' and the Flying Squadron bombarded the fort defending the island. The Chinese forces defending the islands surrendered or abandoned their positions and all of the islands were under Japanese control three days later. Preparations to conquer Taiwan took several months to organize and the IJA only made its first landing on the island on 1 June. Two days later, ''Takachiho'' and ''Naniwa'' were among the ships bombarding the forts defending the port of Keelung as the IJA successfully attacked it. On 7 June the sisters briefly blockaded the port of
Tamsui Tamsui District (Hokkien POJ: ''Tām-chúi''; Hokkien Tâi-lô: ''Tām-tsuí''; Mandarin Pinyin: ''Dànshuǐ'') is a seaside district in New Taipei, Taiwan. It is named after the Tamsui River; the name means "fresh water". The town is popula ...
near the island's capital of
Taipei Taipei (), officially Taipei City, is the capital and a special municipality of the Republic of China (Taiwan). Located in Northern Taiwan, Taipei City is an enclave of the municipality of New Taipei City that sits about southwest of the n ...
. ''Takachiho'' returned to Japan on 10 July and was reduced to reserve eight days later. She received a lengthy refit and modernization in 1896. The ship was reclassified as a second-class cruiser on 21 March 1898 and cruised off Taiwan and the
southern Chinese South China () is a geographical and cultural region that covers the southernmost part of China. Its precise meaning varies with context. A notable feature of South China in comparison to the rest of China is that most of its citizens are not ...
coast in 1899. During the Boxer Rebellion, the cruiser was dispatched to support Japanese troops in
Amoy Xiamen ( , ; ), also known as Amoy (, from Hokkien pronunciation ), is a sub-provincial city in southeastern Fujian, People's Republic of China, beside the Taiwan Strait. It is divided into six districts: Huli, Siming, Jimei, Tong'an, ...
on the
Taiwan Strait The Taiwan Strait is a -wide strait separating the island of Taiwan and continental Asia. The strait is part of the South China Sea and connects to the East China Sea to the north. The narrowest part is wide. The Taiwan Strait is itself a s ...
on 14 July 1900 and returned to Sasebo on 18 October. Two years later, ''Takachiho'' was transferred to 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 ...
on 1 April.


Russo-Japanese War

On 28 December 1903, ''Takachiho'' and ''Naniwa'' were assigned to the Fourth Division of Vice Admiral
Kamimura Hikonojō Baron was an early Japanese admiral of the Imperial Japanese Navy, commanding the IJN 2nd Fleet during the Russo-Japanese War, most notably at the Battle off Ulsan and Tsushima. Biography Born to a ''samurai'' family in the Satsuma Domain (pr ...
's
Second Fleet The United States Second Fleet is a numbered fleet in the United States Navy responsible for the East Coast and North Atlantic Ocean. The Fleet was established following World War II. In September 2011, Second Fleet was deactivated in view of ...
and ''Takachiho'' had minelaying equipment installed by the Kure Naval Arsenal on 7–16 January 1904. Vice Admiral
Tōgō Heihachirō Marshal-Admiral Marquis , served as a '' gensui'' or admiral of the fleet in the Imperial Japanese Navy and became one of Japan's greatest naval heroes. He claimed descent from Samurai Shijo Kingo, and he was an integral part of preserving ...
, commander of the Combined Fleet, intended that the Fourth Division, under the command of Rear Admiral
Uryū Sotokichi Baron was an early admiral of the Imperial Japanese Navy, active in the Russo-Japanese War, most notably at the Battle of Chemulpo Bay and the Battle of Tsushima. His name has sometimes been transliterated as "Uriu Sotokichi", or "Uriu Sotok ...
, reinforced by the armored cruiser , would escort troop ships to Chemulpo (modern
Incheon Incheon (; ; or Inch'ŏn; literally "kind river"), formerly Jemulpo or Chemulp'o (제물포) until the period after 1910, officially the Incheon Metropolitan City (인천광역시, 仁川廣域市), is a city located in northwestern South Kore ...
) and destroy any Russian forces there to clear the way for the IJA units to land. The cruiser was present at Chemulpo monitoring the situation there and would coordinate with Uryū. ''Chiyoda'' rendezvoused with Uryū's ships on the morning of 8 February and reported that the Russian protected cruiser and the elderly
gunboat A gunboat is a naval watercraft designed for the express purpose of carrying one or more guns to bombard coastal targets, as opposed to those military craft designed for naval warfare, or for ferrying troops or supplies. History Pre-steam ...
were anchored in the neutral port of Chemulpo, together with British, French, Italian and American warships. It was against the laws of war to attack enemy ships in a neutral ports, so Uryū decided to send his transports to unload their troops in the port as the Russians would be unlikely to initiate hostilities in neutral territory amidst the Western ships. Just in case, he ordered ''Takachiho'', ''Asama'', and ''Chiyoda'' to escort the troop ships into harbor with the two first cruisers to later rejoin the rest of the Fourth Division blockading the port. The following morning Uryū announced that a state of war existed between the Russian and Japanese Empires and the Russian commander decided to attempt to break through the blockade even though he was heavily outnumbered. His ships sortied later that morning and ''Takachiho'' was among the ships that badly damaged ''Varyag'' and forced the Russian ships to return to Chemulpo where ''Varyag'' was
scuttled Scuttling is the deliberate sinking of a ship. Scuttling may be performed to dispose of an abandoned, old, or captured vessel; to prevent the vessel from becoming a navigation hazard; as an act of self-destruction to prevent the ship from being ...
and ''Korietz'' was blown up later that afternoon. After the battle, the Fourth Division was tasked to protect the Korean coast between Chemulpo and
Asan Asan () is a city in South Chungcheong Province, South Korea. It borders the Seoul Capital Area to the north. Asan has a population of approximately 300,000. Asan is known for its many hot springs and is a city of spas. Asan has grown into th ...
and to cover the movement of IJA reinforcements through the former port. On 10 March the division ineffectually bombarded what the Japanese believed to be a
naval mine A naval mine is a self-contained explosive device placed in water to damage or destroy surface ships or submarines. Unlike depth charges, mines are deposited and left to wait until they are triggered by the approach of, or contact with, any ...
control station on an island near Port Arthur. The following month, raids by the Russian cruisers based in Vladivostok under the command of Rear Admiral
Karl Jessen Vice Admiral Karl Johann Peter Jessen (russian: Карл Петрович Иессен, tr. ; 30 June 1852 – 30 November 1918) was a Baltic German admiral in the Imperial Russian Navy during the Russo-Japanese War. Biography Jessen was of Dan ...
caused Tōgō to task Kamimura with the defense of the
Sea of Japan The Sea of Japan is the marginal sea between the Japanese archipelago, Sakhalin, the Korean Peninsula, and the mainland of the Russian Far East. The Japanese archipelago separates the sea from the Pacific Ocean. Like the Mediterranean Sea, it h ...
and the
Tsushima Strait or Eastern Channel (동수로 Dongsuro) is a channel of the Korea Strait, which lies between Korea and Japan, connecting the Sea of Japan, the Yellow Sea, and the East China Sea. The strait is the channel to the east and southeast of Tsushima ...
, for which task he was reinforced with the Fourth Division. At the end of April Kamimura took his ships to lay minefields off Vladivostok and ''Takachiho'' laid 24 mines on 29 April, after which her minelaying equipment was removed. She was under repair at Tsushima when the Russian cruiser squadron sank three transports on 15 June. During another raid by the Russians at the end of the month, Kamimura's ships spotted the enemy ships, but lost contact with them after nightfall.


Battle off Ulsan

The Russian
Pacific Squadron The Pacific Squadron was part of the United States Navy squadron stationed in the Pacific Ocean in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Initially with no United States ports in the Pacific, they operated out of storeships which provided naval s ...
was supposed to break through the Japanese blockade of Port Arthur and rendezvous with the Vladivostok cruiser squadron near the Strait of Tsushima on 10 August, but Admiral Wilgelm Vitgeft, commander of the Pacific Squadron, failed to coordinate with Jessen and the latter's ships were unprepared to immediately sortie when Jessen was surprised to receive a telegram from Port Arthur stating that Vitgeft's ships were at sea on the afternoon of 11 August. Jessen's ships were only able to depart late the following morning and were out of radio range before they could be told that the Pacific Squadron had been defeated and returned to port. Kamimura had kept the four armored cruisers of the 2nd Division together under his direct command and was patrolling the southern Part of the Sea of Japan when each side spotted the other around 05:00. Kamimura was between Jessen's ships and Vladivostok and he radioed nearby ships that he had the enemy in sight. Uryū's ships were deployed further south with ''Naniwa'' and ''Takachiho'' the closest. The latter logged Kamimura's message at 05:15, but continued steam west-southwest for another half-hour before she turned northward and increased speed to . ''Naniwa'' arrived around 06:00 and ''Takachiho'' an hour after that, but Uryū kept his lightly armored ships away from the more heavily armored Russian cruisers until Jessen had abandoned the badly damaged armored cruiser around 08:30. The sisters opened fire at 08:42 at a range of and continued until 10:05 when Uryū ordered them to cease fire after they had expended over 650 six-inch shells between them. The senior surviving Russian officer ordered ''Rurik'' scuttled shortly afterwards and the Japanese ships began rescuing survivors. Each of the sisters had been hit once during the battle and the Russian shell had injured 13 crewmen.


Battle of Tsushima

On 8 April 1905, ''Takachiho'' was assigned to the Vladivostok blockading force, but was relieved of that assignment less than a week later. By 21 May she had rejoined Uryū's Fourth Division. Tōgō tasked the division with attacking the Russian cruisers and other smaller ships trailing the battleships once the battle began. Accordingly Uryū opened fire on the protected cruisers and and the elderly armored cruisers and around 14:45 on 27 May at ranges between in poor visibility. About 15:35 ''Takachiho'' was struck by a large shell underwater that failed to penetrate the hull, but the shock of the impact disabled her steering gear which forced her to
heave to In sailing, heaving to (to heave to and to be hove to) is a way of slowing a sailing vessel's forward progress, as well as fixing the helm and sail positions so that the vessel does not have to be steered. It is commonly used for a "break"; this ...
in order to make repairs. The isolated cruiser had just finished her repairs at 17:11 when she was engaged by three Russian battleships at 17:20 when they had closed the range to . They only briefly fired at ''Takachiho'' before Kamimura's armored cruisers interposed themselves between the Russians and all of the Japanese protected cruisers. Around 18:00, the cruiser rejoined the Fourth Division and briefly engaged the disabled battleship and the
repair ship A repair ship is a naval auxiliary ship designed to provide maintenance support to warships. Repair ships provide similar services to destroyer, submarine and seaplane tenders or depot ships, but may offer a broader range of repair capability incl ...
''
Kamchatka The Kamchatka Peninsula (russian: полуостров Камчатка, Poluostrov Kamchatka, ) is a peninsula in the Russian Far East, with an area of about . The Pacific Ocean and the Sea of Okhotsk make up the peninsula's eastern and wes ...
'' a half-hour later. Several days after the battle, ''Takachiho'' and ''Naniwa'', together with the armored cruiser , were detached to monitor the internment of some Russian colliers that had entered port before the battle.


Subsequent career

''Takachiho'' was assigned to the South China Fleet in 1906 and cruised the waters of the
South China Sea The South China Sea is a marginal sea of the Western Pacific Ocean. It is bounded in the north by the shores of South China (hence the name), in the west by the Indochinese Peninsula, in the east by the islands of Taiwan and northwestern Phil ...
. The ship visited
Shanghai Shanghai (; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four direct-administered municipalities of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the Huangpu River flow ...
and Fuchow, China, the following year and was relieved of her assignment on 13 June. In October 1908 the sisters participated in that year's grand maneuvers under the command of the
First Fleet The First Fleet was a fleet of 11 ships that brought the first European and African settlers to Australia. It was made up of two Royal Navy vessels, three store ships and six convict transports. On 13 May 1787 the fleet under the command ...
. ''Takachiho'' became a submarine depot ship in April 1909 and was then refitted. She was converted into a minelayer by the
Yokosuka Naval Arsenal was one of four principal naval shipyards owned and operated by the Imperial Japanese Navy, and was located at Yokosuka, Kanagawa prefecture on Tokyo Bay, south of Yokohama. History In 1866, the Tokugawa shogunate government established the ...
in early 1911 with all of her six-inch guns exchanged for eight or twelve guns except for the bow gun, the installation of mine rails on the upper deck and storage for over 200 mines on the middle and lower decks. The ship then became a training ship for the IJN's submarine school. ''Takachiho'' was redesignated as a second-class
coastal defence ship Coastal defence ships (sometimes called coastal battleships or coast defence ships) were warships built for the purpose of coastal defence, mostly during the period from 1860 to 1920. They were small, often cruiser-sized warships that sacrifi ...
on 28 August 1912, but likely continued as a training ship. After the Japanese declaration of
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 ...
on the
German Empire The German Empire (),Herbert Tuttle wrote in September 1881 that the term "Reich" does not literally connote an empire as has been commonly assumed by English-speaking people. The term literally denotes an empire – particularly a hereditary ...
on 8 August 1914, ''Takachiho'' was ordered to load 120 mines and assigned to the Second Fleet. On 23 August the fleet sortied to begin the siege of German-owned Tsingtao and the minelayer escorted the troopships there. The ship was struck by two
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 ...
es fired from the German torpedo boat on the night of 17/18 October with 120 mines aboard. The detonation of the torpedo
warhead A warhead is the forward section of a device that contains the explosive agent or toxic (biological, chemical, or nuclear) material that is delivered by a missile, rocket, torpedo, or bomb. Classification Types of warheads include: * Explosiv ...
s triggered a sympathetic explosion of ''Takachiho''s mines and sank her with the loss of 264 crewmen. There were only three survivors of the disaster. She was struck from the
navy list A Navy Directory, formerly the Navy List or Naval Register is an official list of naval officers, their ranks and seniority, the ships which they command or to which they are appointed, etc., that is published by the government or naval author ...
on 29 October 1914.


References


References

* * * * * * * * (contact the editor at lars.ahlberg@halmstad.mail.postnet.se for subscription information) * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Takachiho Naniwa-class cruisers Minelayers of Japan Ships built by Armstrong Whitworth Ships built on the River Tyne 1885 ships Naval ships of Japan First Sino-Japanese War cruisers of Japan Russo-Japanese War cruisers of Japan World War I cruisers of Japan World War I shipwrecks in the Pacific Ocean Maritime incidents in October 1914 Naval magazine explosions