was a

river gunboat A river gunboat is a type of gunboat adapted for river operations. River gunboats required shallow draft for river navigation. They would be armed with relatively small caliber cannons, or a mix of cannons and machine guns. If they carried mor ...

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 surrend ...

, that operated on the

Yangtze River The Yangtze or Yangzi ( or ; ) is the longest list of rivers of Asia, river in Asia, the list of rivers by length, third-longest in the world, and the longest in the world to flow entirely within one country. It rises at Jari Hill in th ...

and in coastal waters of China during the 1930s, and during 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

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 opposing ...

Background

''Saga'' was constructed due to dissatisfaction by the Imperial Japanese Navy with the gunboat , which was underarmed, and lacked the suitable accommodations to serve as a gunboat flagship. The Japanese Navy also wanted a vessel which could serve for both coastal patrol duties as well as on inland waterways. ''Saga'' was laid down at Sasebo Naval Arsenal on 7 January 1912, launched on 27 September 1912 and entered service on 18 November 1912.Nishida, '' Ships of the Imperial Japanese Navy''

Design

The basic design of ''Saga'' was modeled after her British built predecessors, but with much larger dimensions and much more powerful engines. ''Saga'' had a hull with an overall length of and width of , with a normal displacement of 780 tons and draft of . She was propelled by two reciprocating engines with two Kampon boilers driving three shafts, producing 1600 hp and a top speed of 15 knots.Conway, '' Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1906–1921'', page 249 The ship was initially armed with one 12 cm/45 10th Year Type naval gun guns, three / 40 cal. guns and six 6.6mm

machine gun A machine gun is a fully automatic, rifled autoloading firearm designed for sustained direct fire with rifle cartridges. Other automatic firearms such as automatic shotguns and automatic rifles (including assault rifles and battle rifles) ar ...

Service record

During the

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 ...

, ''Saga'' accompanied the main Japanese fleet to Shandong Province, China at 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. ...

(25 September-16 November 1914) against the forces of

Imperial Germany 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 hereditar ...

as part of Japanese’ contribution to the Allied cause under the Anglo-Japanese Alliance. Subsequently, she was transferred to the Japanese Second Fleet and assigned to patrols in 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 Phi ...

. In September 1924, ''Saga'' was reassigned to the Japanese First Fleet. Commander

Chūichi Nagumo Chūichi Nagumo (, ''Nagumo Chūichi''; 25 March 1887 – 6 July 1944) was an admiral in the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) during World War II. Nagumo led Japan's main carrier battle group, the '' Kido Butai'', in the attack on Pearl Harbor, ...

served as captain from 20 March 1926 to 15 October 1926. She was reassigned to the Japanese Third Fleet from June 1931, joining the 11th

Sentai In Japanese, is a military unit and may be literally translated as " squadron", " task force", " division (of ships)", "group" or "wing". The terms "regiment" and "flotilla", while sometimes used as translations of ''sentai'', are also used t ...

in October 1937 after the Marco Polo Bridge Incident and the start of hostilities in the

. From 15 December 1938 to 20 October 1939, she was captained by Commander

Tamotsu Oishi was a career officer in the Imperial Japanese Navy during World War II. Biography Born in Kōchi Prefecture, Oishi graduated from the 48th class of the Imperial Japanese Naval Academy in 1920, with a ranking of 13th out of a class of 171 cadets. ...

. From November 1939, she was assigned to the Second China Expeditionary Fleet in southern China. At the time of the

attack on Pearl Harbor The attack on Pearl HarborAlso known as the Battle of Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike by the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service upon the United States against the naval base at Pearl Harbor in Honolulu, Territory of Hawaii ...

, ''Saga'' was based at

Guangdong Guangdong (, ), alternatively romanized as Canton or Kwangtung, is a coastal province in South China on the north shore of the South China Sea. The capital of the province is Guangzhou. With a population of 126.01 million (as of 2020) ...

and was assigned to the Japanese invasion force for the Battle of Hong Kong, where she was based afterwards. She was sunk by a

sea 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 v ...

on 26 September 1944 off Hong Kong, and later refloated and towed back to Hong Kong for repairs. On 22 January 1945, while still in dock for repairs, she was destroyed during an air raid, probably by

USAAF The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...

14th Air Force The Fourteenth Air Force (14 AF; Air Forces Strategic) was a numbered air force of the United States Air Force Space Command (AFSPC). It was headquartered at Vandenberg Air Force Base, California. The command was responsible for the organizati ...

Consolidated B-24 Liberators. 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 autho ...

on 20 March 1945.

References

* *

External links

*
Monograph 144 Chapter II
*

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Saga Gunboats of the Imperial Japanese Navy 1912 ships Ships built by Sasebo Naval Arsenal Second Sino-Japanese War naval ships of Japan Ships sunk by mines Ships sunk by US aircraft Maritime incidents in September 1944 Maritime incidents in January 1945