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Keiji Shibazaki
was a Rear Admiral in the Imperial Japanese Navy. He was the commander of the Japanese garrison on the island of Betio of the Tarawa atoll during World War II. Shibazaki and all his senior officers were killed by naval gunfire on the first day of the Battle of Tarawa. He was posthumously promoted to vice-admiral. Biography Shibazaki was born in Kasai, Hyōgo Prefecture. He was a graduate of the 43rd class of the Imperial Japanese Naval Academy in 1915, ranking 26th out of 95 cadets. He served as midshipman on the cruiser ''Azuma'' and battleship ''Settsu''. As a Kaigun Shōi (Ensign), he was assigned to ''Satsuma'' and cruiser ''Yakumo''. As a Kaigun Chūi (Lieutenant junior grade), he served on the cruiser ''Chikuma'', destroyer ''Kaba'' and battleship ''Yamashiro''. Shibazaki was promoted to Kaigun Taii (lieutenant) in 1921, and after taking courses in navigation, was assigned as chief navigator to ''Tachikaze'', oiler ''Kamoi'' and survey ship ''Musashi''. After hi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kasai, Hyōgo
is a Cities of Japan, city located in Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 42,494 in 18242 households and a population density of 72 persons per km2. The total area of the city is . Geography Kasai is located almost in the center of the Harima Plain, with forests in the north and low mountains in the south. The city measures approximately 12.4 kilometers east–west, and 19.8 kilometers north–south. The main rivers that flow here are the Manganji River, which is one of the tributaries of the Kako River, and the Fukkoji River, which is a tributary of the Manganji River. Neighbouring municipalities Hyōgo Prefecture * Fukusaki, Hyōgo, Fukusaki * Himeji, Hyōgo, Himeji * Ichikawa, Hyōgo, Ichikawa * Kakogawa, Hyōgo, Kakogawa * Katō, Hyōgo, Katō * Nishiwaki, Hyōgo, Nishiwaki * Ono, Hyōgo, Ono * Taka, Hyōgo, Taka Climate Kasai has a Humid subtropical climate (Köppen ''Cfa'') characterized by warm summers and cool winters with light to no ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Battleship
A battleship is a large, heavily naval armour, armored warship with a main battery consisting of large naval gun, guns, designed to serve as a capital ship. From their advent in the late 1880s, battleships were among the largest and most formidable weapon systems ever built, until they were surpassed by aircraft carriers beginning in the 1940s. The modern battleship traces its origin to the sailing ship of the line, which was developed into the steam ship of the line and soon thereafter the ironclad warship. After a period of extensive experimentation in the 1870s and 1880s, ironclad design was largely standardized by the British , which are usually referred to as the first "pre-dreadnought battleships". These ships carried an armament that usually included four large guns and several medium-caliber guns that were to be used against enemy battleships, and numerous small guns for self-defense. Naval powers around the world built dozens of pre-dreadnoughts in the 1890s and early ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Shanghai
Shanghai, Shanghainese: , Standard Chinese pronunciation: is a direct-administered municipality and the most populous urban area in China. The city is located on the Chinese shoreline on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the Huangpu River flowing through it. The population of the city proper is the List of largest cities, second largest in the world after Chongqing, with around 24.87 million inhabitants in 2023, while the urban area is the List of cities in China by population, most populous in China, with 29.87 million residents. As of 2022, the Greater Shanghai metropolitan area was estimated to produce a gross metropolitan product (GDP (nominal), nominal) of nearly 13 trillion Renminbi, RMB ($1.9 trillion). Shanghai is one of the world's major centers for finance, #Economy, business and economics, research, science and technology, manufacturing, transportation, List of tourist attractions in Shanghai, tourism, and Culture of Shanghai, culture. The Port of Sh ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kure, Hiroshima
is a Cities of Japan, city in the Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 208,024 in 106,616 households and a population density of 590 persons per km2. The total area of the city is . With a strong industrial and naval heritage, Kure hosts the second-oldest naval dockyard in Japan and remains an important base for the Japan Maritime Self-Defence Force. History The area of Kure is part of ancient Aki Province, and the port of Kure was an important seaport for Hiroshima Domain in the Edo period. The Kure Naval District was first established in 1889, leading to the construction of the Kure Naval Arsenal and the rapid growth of steel production and shipbuilding in the city. Kure was formally incorporated on October 1, 1902. From 1889 until the end of the Pacific War, the city served as the headquarters of the Kure Naval District. Kure dockyards recorded a number of significant engineering firsts including the launching of the first major domestical ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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 era In the age of sail, a gunboat was usually a small undecked vessel carrying a single smoothbore cannon in the bow, or just two or three such cannons. A gunboat could carry one or two masts or be oar-powered only, but the single-masted version of about length was most typical. Some types of gunboats carried two cannon, or else mounted a number of swivel guns on the railings. The small gunboat had advantages: if it only carried a single cannon, the boat could manoeuvre in shallow or restricted areas – such as rivers or lakes – where larger ships could sail only with difficulty. The gun that such boats carried could be quite heavy; a 32-pounder for instance. As such boats were cheap and quick to build, naval forces favoured swarm ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Prince Kuni Asaakira
, was third head of the Kuni-no-miya, a ōke, collateral branch of the Imperial House of Japan, Japanese imperial family and vice admiral in the Japanese Imperial Navy during World War II. He was the elder brother of Empress Nagako, Empress Kōjun (Nagako), the consort of Hirohito, Emperor Shōwa (Hirohito), and thus a maternal uncle to the Akihito, Emperor Emeritus Akihito. Early life Prince Kuni Asaakira was born in Tokyo, the eldest son of Prince Kuni Kuniyoshi and his wife, Chikako, the seventh daughter of Kazoku, Prince Shimazu Tadayoshi (2nd), Shimazu Tadayoshi, the last ''daimyō'' of Satsuma Domain. In 1921, he served for the customary term in the Japanese House of Peers, House of Peers. Upon his father's death on 29 June 1929, he succeeded as head of the Kuni-no-miya house. Military career Prince Kuni graduated from the 49th class of the Imperial Japanese Naval Academy in 1921. He served as a midshipman on the cruiser and battleship . After his commissioning as Ensi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Japanese Destroyer Tachikaze (1921)
was a , built for the Imperial Japanese Navy immediately following World War I. Advanced for their time, these ships served as first-line destroyers through the 1930s, but were considered obsolescent by the start of the Pacific War. History Construction of the large-sized ''Minekaze''-class destroyers was authorized as part of the Imperial Japanese Navy's 8-4 Fleet Program from fiscal 1917–1920, as an accompaniment to the medium-sized with which they shared many common design characteristics. Equipped with powerful engines, these vessels were capable of high speeds and were intended as escorts for the projected s, which were ultimately never built. ''Tachikaze'', built at the Maizuru Naval Arsenal, was the eleventh ship of this class. The destroyer was laid down on 18 August 1920, launched on 31 March 1921 and commissioned on 5 December 1921. On completion, ''Tachikaze'' was teamed with sister ships , , and at the Yokosuka Naval District to form Destroyer Division 4 unde ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Japanese Battleship Yamashiro
was the second of two dreadnought battleships built for the Imperial Japanese Navy. Launched in 1915 and commissioned in 1917, she initially patrolled off the coast of China, playing no part in World War I. In 1923, she assisted survivors of the Great Kantō earthquake. ''Yamashiro'' was modernized between 1930 and 1935, with improvements to her armor and machinery and a rebuilt superstructure in the pagoda mast style. Nevertheless, with only 14-inch guns, she was outclassed by other Japanese battleships at the beginning of World War II, and played auxiliary roles for most of the war. By 1944, though, she was forced into front-line duty, serving as the flagship of Vice-Admiral Shōji Nishimura's Southern Force at the Battle of Surigao Strait, the southernmost action of the Battle of Leyte Gulf. During fierce night fighting in the early hours of 25 October against a superior American and Australian force, ''Yamashiro'' was sunk by torpedoes and naval gunfire. Nishimura went ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Japanese Destroyer Kaba (1915)
was the name ship of her class of 10 destroyers that were built for the Imperial Japanese Navy during World War I. Design and description The ''Kaba''-class destroyers were improved versions of the preceding . They displaced at normal load and at deep load. The ships had a length between perpendiculars of and an overall length of , a beam of and a draught of . The ''Kaba''s were powered by three vertical triple-expansion steam engines, each driving one shaft using steam produced by four Kampon water-tube boilers.Friedman 1985, p. 242 Two boilers burned a mixture of coal and fuel oil while the other pair only used oil.Todaka, et al., p. 215 The engines produced a total of that gave the ships a maximum speed of .Watts & Gordon, p. 248 They carried a maximum of of coal and of oil which gave them a range of at a speed of . Their crew consisted of 92 officers and ratings.Jentschura, Jung & Mickel, p. 135 The main armament of the ''Kaba''-class ships consisted of a sin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Destroyer
In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast, maneuverable, long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy, or carrier battle group and defend them against a wide range of general threats. They were conceived in 1885 by Fernando Villaamil for the Spanish NavySmith, Charles Edgar: ''A short history of naval and marine engineering.'' Babcock & Wilcox, ltd. at the University Press, 1937, page 263 as a defense against torpedo boats, and by the time of the Russo-Japanese War in 1904, these "torpedo boat destroyers" (TBDs) were "large, swift, and powerfully armed torpedo boats designed to destroy other torpedo boats". Although the term "destroyer" had been used interchangeably with "TBD" and "torpedo boat destroyer" by navies since 1892, the term "torpedo boat destroyer" had been generally shortened to simply "destroyer" by nearly all navies by the First World War. Before World War II, destroyers were light vessels with little endurance for unatte ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Japanese Cruiser Chikuma (1911)
was the lead ship in the of protected cruisers of the Imperial Japanese Navy. ''Chikuma'' had two sister ships, and the . ''Chikuma'' was named for the Chikuma River in Nagano prefecture. Background The ''Chikuma''-class protected cruisers were built as part of the 1907 Naval Expansion Program, based on lessons learned during the Russo-Japanese War. ''Chikuma'' was laid down at Sasebo Naval Arsenal in Nagasaki Prefecture, Japan on 1 April 1909, launched on 1 April 1911 and entered service on 17 May 1912.Nishida, '' Ships of the Imperial Japanese Navy'' Design The basic design of the ''Chikuma''-class cruisers was modeled after the Royal Navy with some modifications and was also largely influenced by the design of the cruiser Jentsura, ''Warships of the Imperial Japanese Navy''; page 104-105 The silhouette of the ''Chikuma'' class was readily distinguishable due to its four tall smokestacks. ''Chikuma'' had a hull with an overall length of and width of , with a normal di ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
