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 ...

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 ...

History

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 ...

was established at

Sasebo, Nagasaki is a core city located in Nagasaki Prefecture, Japan. It is also the second largest city in Nagasaki Prefecture, after its capital, Nagasaki. On 1 June 2019, the city had an estimated population of 247,739 and a population density of 581 persons p ...

in 1886, as the third of the naval districts responsible for the defense of the

Japanese home islands The Japanese archipelago ( Japanese: , ''Nihon Rettō'') is an archipelago of 14,125 islands that form the country of Japan. It extends over from the Sea of Okhotsk in the northeast to the East China and Philippine seas in the southwest alon ...

. After the establishment of the navy base, a ship repair facility was established in 1889 with a

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, ...

. With the addition of equipment and facilities for ship production by 1897, the "Sasebo Shipyards" were officially established, and renamed the "Sasebo Naval Arsenal" in 1903. Construction of the arsenal was supervised by the French engineer

Louis-Émile Bertin Louis-Émile Bertin (23 March 1840 – 22 October 1924) was a French naval engineer, one of the foremost of his time, and a proponent of the " Jeune École" philosophy of using light, but powerfully armed warships instead of large battleships. ...

. In 1913, a 250-ton

crane Crane or cranes may refer to: Common meanings * Crane (bird), a large, long-necked bird * Crane (machine), industrial machinery for lifting ** Crane (rail), a crane suited for use on railroads People and fictional characters * Crane (surname) ...

was installed, and the shipbuilding facilities expanded to permit the construction of large

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. With the mothballing of the

Maizuru Naval Arsenal was one of four principal naval shipyards owned and operated by the Imperial Japanese Navy. History The Maizuru Naval District was established at Maizuru, Kyoto Prefecture in 1889, as the fourth of the naval districts responsible for the defense ...

due to restrictions by the

Washington Naval Treaty The Washington Naval Treaty, also known as the Five-Power Treaty, was a treaty signed during 1922 among the major Allies of World War I, which agreed to prevent an arms race by limiting naval construction. It was negotiated at the Washington ...

, much of the design and prototype work for new classes of destroyers and

torpedo boats 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 ...

formerly done at Maizuru was shifted to Sasebo. The facilities at Sasebo were also used for the conversion of the ''Akagi'' and ''Kaga'' from battleships to aircraft carriers. The Imperial Japanese Navy employed some 50,000 people at the Sasebo Naval Arsenal at the peak 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 World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, constructing and refitting destroyers,

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 ...

s, submarines and other various naval vessels. The 21st Naval Air Arsenal (''Dai-Nijuichi Kaigun Kokusho''), established jointly at Sasebo and Omura, produced a total of 966 aircraft. The facilities at Sasebo were used for repairs on the battleships ''Yamato'' and ''Musashi'' during the Pacific War. After the surrender of Japan, On September 22, 1945, the

5th Marine Division The 5th Marine Division was a United States Marine Corps ground combat division which was activated on 11 November 1943 (officially activated on 21 January 1944) at Camp Pendleton, California during World War II. The 5th Division saw its first ...

landed at Sasebo, and in June 1946, United States Fleet Activities Sasebo was formally established on a portion of the former Sasebo Naval Arsenal. The remaining portion of the shipyards was given into civilian hands with the establishment o
Sasebo Heavy Industries Co., Ltd.
in 1946. Sasebo Heavy Industries is one of Japan's few remaining active shipbuilders.

Ship class produced at Sasebo Naval Arsenal

Destroyers

World War I

* ''Kamikaze''-class (1905): Yūgure, Yūdachi, Mikazuki, Nowaki * ''Kaba''-class: '' Sakaki'' * ''Momo''-class: '' Momo, Yanagi'' * ''Enoki''-class: '' Maki, Keyaki''

World War II

* ''Kamikaze''-class (1922): ''Yūnagi'' * ''Mutsuki''-class: '' Mutsuki, Mikazuki'' * ''Fubuki'' Type-1(''Fubuki''-class): '' Shinonome, Uranami'' * ''Fubuki'' Type-2(''Ayanami''-class): '' Asagiri, Akebono, Oboro'' * ''Fubuki'' Type-3(''Akatsuki''-class): ''Akatsuki'' * ''Hatsuharu''-class: '' Hatsuharu'', ''Wakaba'' * ''Shiratsuyu''-class: '' Shiratsuyu, Yūdachi'' * '' Asashio-class'': '' Asashio, Natsugumo'' * ''Kagerō''-class: '' Yukikaze, Isokaze'' * ''Akizuki''-class: '' Harutsuki, Natsuzuki'', ''Michitsuki''(Unfinished), ''Ōtsuki''(Unfinished)

Cruisers

* ''Tenryū''-class: ''Tatsuta'' * : , * : , * Experimental cruiser * : , ,

Submarines

* Type B: , , , , , , * Type C: , , , , * Sentoku class: , * Kaidai-type: , , , , , * Kaichū-type: , , , , ,

Aircraft carriers

* :

References

* *

External links

History of US Fleet Activities Sasebo
{{Authority control Imperial Japanese Navy Shipbuilding companies of Japan Defunct companies of Japan Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force bases Shipyards building World War II warships