was the second ship of the two
pre-dreadnought battleship
Pre-dreadnought battleships were sea-going battleships built from the mid- to late- 1880s to the early 1900s. Their designs were conceived before the appearance of in 1906 and their classification as "pre-dreadnought" is retrospectively appli ...
s 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, Potsdam Declaration, when it was dissolved followin ...
(IJN) in the first decade of the 20th century, the last to be built by British shipyards. Ordered just before the start of the
Russo-Japanese War
The Russo-Japanese War (8 February 1904 – 5 September 1905) was fought between the Russian Empire and the Empire of Japan over rival imperial ambitions in Manchuria and the Korean Empire. The major land battles of the war were fought on the ...
of 1904–1905, the ship was completed a year after its end. She saw no combat during
World War I
World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
, although the ship was present when Japan joined the
Siberian Intervention in 1918. ''Kashima'' was disarmed and
scrapped in 1923–1924 in accordance with the terms of the
Washington Naval Treaty
The Washington Naval Treaty, also known as the Five-Power Treaty, was signed during 1922 among the major Allies of World War I, Allies of World War I, which agreed to prevent an arms race by limiting Navy, naval construction. It was negotiated at ...
of 1922.
Design and description

The ''Katori''-class ships were ordered just before the start of the Russo-Japanese War in 1904 as improved versions of the
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...
's s.
[ ''Kashima'' was long overall and had a beam of . She had a full-load draught of and normally displaced and had a crew of 864 officers and enlisted men.][Brook 1999, p. 128] The ship was powered by two vertical triple-expansion steam engines using steam generated by 20 Niclausse boilers. The engines were rated at , using forced draught, and were designed to reach a top speed of . ''Kashima'', however, reached a top speed of from on her sea trial
A sea trial or trial trip is the testing phase of a watercraft (including boats, ships, and submarines). It is also referred to as a "shakedown cruise" by many naval personnel. It is usually the last phase of construction and takes place on op ...
s on 4 April 1906. She carried a maximum of of coal and of fuel oil
Fuel oil is any of various fractions obtained from the distillation of petroleum (crude oil). Such oils include distillates (the lighter fractions) and residues (the heavier fractions). Fuel oils include heavy fuel oil (bunker fuel), marine f ...
which was sprayed on the coal to increase their power. This allowed her to steam for at a speed of .[Jentschura, Jung & Mickel, p. 22]
The ship's main battery consisted of four Elswick 12-inch guns mounted in two twin-gun turret
A gun turret (or simply turret) is a mounting platform from which weapons can be fired that affords protection, visibility and ability to turn and aim. A modern gun turret is generally a rotatable weapon mount that houses the crew or mechanis ...
s, one forward and one aft. The secondary armament consisted of four Elswick 10 inch 45 calibre guns mounted in four single-gun turrets positioned on each side 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 ...
. ''Katori'' also carried twelve six-inch guns, mounted in casemate
A casemate is a fortified gun emplacement or armoured structure from which guns are fired, in a fortification, warship, or armoured fighting vehicle.Webster's New Collegiate Dictionary
When referring to antiquity, the term "casemate wall" ...
s on the sides of the hull and in the superstructure. A number of smaller guns were carried for defence against torpedo boats. These included a dozen QF 12-pounder guns and three QF 3 pounder Hotchkiss guns. She was also armed with five submerged 18-inch torpedo tube
A torpedo tube is a cylindrical device for launching torpedoes.
There are two main types of torpedo tube: underwater tubes fitted to submarines and some surface ships, and deck-mounted units (also referred to as torpedo launchers) installed aboa ...
s, two on each broadside and one in the stern.
''Kashima''s waterline
The waterline is the line where the hull of a ship meets the surface of the water.
A waterline can also refer to any line on a ship's hull that is parallel to the water's surface when the ship is afloat in a level trimmed position. Hence, wate ...
armour belt consisted of Krupp cemented armour and was thick. The armour of her main gun turrets had a maximum thickness of and her deck ranged from in thickness.[Gardiner & Gray, p. 227]
Construction and career
''Kashima'', named for a Shinto shrine
A Stuart D. B. Picken, 1994. p. xxiii is a structure whose main purpose is to house ("enshrine") one or more kami, , the deities of the Shinto religion.
The Also called the . is where a shrine's patron is or are enshrined.Iwanami Japanese dic ...
in Kashima, Ibaraki,[Silverstone, p. 332] was ordered in January 1904 from Armstrong Whitworth
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, Tyne and Wear, Elswick, Newcastle upon Tyne, Armstrong Whitworth built armaments, ships, locomot ...
. The ship was laid down at their Elswick shipyard on 29 February 1904 as yard number 755. She was launched on 22 March 1905, and completed on 23 May 1906.[ ''Kashima'' departed Britain on 31 May on her maiden voyage and shakedown cruise and arrived at ]Yokosuka
is a city in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan.
, the city has a population of 373,797, and a population density of . The total area is . Yokosuka is the 11th-most populous city in the Greater Tokyo Area, and the 12th in the Kantō region. The city i ...
on 4 August 1906.
Whilst conducting gunnery training in Hiroshima Bay on 16 September 1907, brown powder propellant in ''Kashima''s starboard rear gun mount ignited when it came in contact with burning residue from the previous shot. The fire killed seven officers and 27 enlisted men and wounded two officers and six enlisted men.
When World War I began, ''Kashima'' was in a refit at Maizuru Naval Arsenal that lasted until March 1915. The ship was assigned to the 2nd Battleship Squadron when her refit was completed and became the squadron's flagship in 1916. ''Kashima'' joined her sister ship
A sister ship is a ship of the same Ship class, 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 o ...
in the 5th Battleship Squadron as its flagship in 1918 and both ships covered the landing of Japanese troops in Siberia
Siberia ( ; , ) is an extensive geographical region comprising all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has formed a part of the sovereign territory of Russia and its predecessor states ...
in August of that year as Japan intervened in the Russian Civil War
The Russian Civil War () was a multi-party civil war in the former Russian Empire sparked by the 1917 overthrowing of the Russian Provisional Government in the October Revolution, as many factions vied to determine Russia's political future. I ...
.
On 3 March 1921, ''Katori'', escorted by ''Kashima'', departed Yokohama
is the List of cities in Japan, second-largest city in Japan by population as well as by area, and the country's most populous Municipalities of Japan, municipality. It is the capital and most populous city in Kanagawa Prefecture, with a popu ...
bound for Great Britain carrying Crown Prince
A crown prince or hereditary prince is the heir apparent to the throne in a royal or imperial monarchy. The female form of the title, crown princess, is held by a woman who is heir apparent or is married to the heir apparent.
''Crown prince ...
Hirohito
, Posthumous name, posthumously honored as , was the 124th emperor of Japan according to the traditional order of succession, from 25 December 1926 until Death and state funeral of Hirohito, his death in 1989. He remains Japan's longest-reigni ...
, the first Japanese crown prince to travel abroad. The ships arrived at Portsmouth
Portsmouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. Most of Portsmouth is located on Portsea Island, off the south coast of England in the Solent, making Portsmouth the only city in En ...
on 9 May and Hirohito disembarked to tour Europe; they returned home several months later. To comply with the terms of the Washington Naval Treaty the ship was disarmed in April 1922,[ stricken from the Navy List on 20 September 1923 and the removal of her armor was completed by February 1924. ]Mitsubishi
The is a group of autonomous Japanese multinational companies in a variety of industries.
Founded by Yatarō Iwasaki in 1870, the Mitsubishi Group traces its origins to the Mitsubishi zaibatsu, a unified company that existed from 1870 to 194 ...
won the public auction conducted 26–27 April with a price of 238,900 yen and had to pay an additional 35,000 yen to have her towed to Nagasaki for scrapping. The company finished the job on 24 November. Her guns were turned over to the Imperial Japanese Army
The Imperial Japanese Army (IJA; , ''Dai-Nippon Teikoku Rikugun'', "Army of the Greater Japanese Empire") was the principal ground force of the Empire of Japan from 1871 to 1945. It played a central role in Japan’s rapid modernization during th ...
for use as coastal artillery
Coastal artillery is the branch of the armed forces concerned with operating anti-ship artillery or fixed gun batteries in coastal fortifications.
From the Middle Ages until World War II, coastal artillery and naval artillery in the form of ...
; her main gun turrets were installed around Tokyo Bay
is a bay located in the southern Kantō region of Japan spanning the coasts of Tokyo, Kanagawa Prefecture, and Chiba Prefecture, on the southern coast of the island of Honshu. Tokyo Bay is connected to the Pacific Ocean by the Uraga Channel. Th ...
and on Iki Island
, or the , is an archipelago in the Tsushima Strait, which is administered as the city of Iki in Nagasaki Prefecture, Japan. The islands have a total area of with a total population of 28,008. Only four (4) of the twenty-three (23) named is ...
in the Strait of Tsushima. The rest of her guns were placed in reserve and ultimately scrapped in 1943.[Gibbs & Tamura, pp. 192, 194]
Notes
References
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External links
Materials of the Imperial Japanese Navy
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kashima
Katori-class battleships
Ships built by Armstrong Whitworth
Ships built on the River Tyne
1905 ships
World War I battleships of Japan