Japanese Cruiser Yoshino
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was a
protected cruiser Protected cruisers, a type of cruiser of the late 19th century, took their name from the armored deck, which protected vital machine-spaces from fragments released by explosive shells. Protected cruisers notably lacked a belt of armour alon ...
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, Potsdam Declaration, when it was dissolved followin ...
. ''Yoshino'' is sometimes regarded as a
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 ...
to , although the two vessels are of different classes. The name ''Yoshino'' comes from the Yoshino mountains, located in the southern portion of
Nara prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Kansai region of Honshu. Nara Prefecture has a population of 1,321,805 and has a geographic area of . Nara Prefecture borders Kyoto Prefecture to the north, Osaka Prefecture to the ...
. She played an important role in the
First Sino-Japanese War The First Sino-Japanese War (25 July 189417 April 1895), or the First China–Japan War, was a conflict between the Qing dynasty of China and the Empire of Japan primarily over influence in Joseon, Korea. In Chinese it is commonly known as th ...
, but was sunk in 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 ...
after being rammed by Japanese
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 pre-dreadnought battles ...
in dense fog.


Background

''Yoshino'' was an improved design of the
Argentine Navy The Argentine Navy (ARA; ). This forms the basis for the navy's ship prefix "ARA". is the navy of Argentina. It is one of the three branches of the Armed Forces of the Argentine Republic, together with the Argentine Army, Army and the Argentine ...
cruiser ''Veinticinco de Mayo'' designed by Sir Philip Watts, and built by the
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 ...
shipyards in Elswick, 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 Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
. Watts was also responsible for the design of the cruiser and the s. When commissioned, ''Yoshino'' was the largest ship in the Imperial Japanese Navy, and was also the fastest
cruiser A cruiser is a type of warship. Modern cruisers are generally the largest ships in a fleet after aircraft carriers and amphibious assault ships, and can usually perform several operational roles from search-and-destroy to ocean escort to sea ...
in the world when she entered service.Evans, ''Kaigun'', p. 34.Elleman, ''Modern Chinese Warfare'', p. 102.


Design

''Yoshino'' was a typical Elswick cruiser design, with a steel housing, divided into waterproof compartments, a low
forecastle The forecastle ( ; contracted as fo'c'sle or fo'c's'le) is the upper deck (ship), deck of a sailing ship forward of the foremast, or, historically, the forward part of a ship with the sailors' living quarters. Related to the latter meaning is t ...
, twin funnels, and two masts. The
prow The bow () is the forward part of the hull (watercraft), hull of a ship or boat, the point that is usually most forward when the vessel is underway. The aft end of the boat is the stern. Prow may be used as a synonym for bow or it may mean the f ...
was reinforced for
ramming In warfare, ramming is a technique used in air, sea, and land combat. The term originated from battering ram, a siege engine used to bring down fortifications by hitting it with the force of the ram's momentum, and ultimately from male sheep. Thus ...
. The power plant was a triple expansion reciprocating
steam engine A steam engine is a heat engine that performs Work (physics), mechanical work using steam as its working fluid. The steam engine uses the force produced by steam pressure to push a piston back and forth inside a Cylinder (locomotive), cyl ...
with four cylindrical boilers, driving two screws.Chesneau, '' Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1860–1905'', pp. 226–227. The main armament of ''Yoshino'' consisted of four separate Elswick
QF 6 inch /40 naval gun The QF 6-inch 40 calibre naval gun (Quick firing gun, Quick-Firing) was used by many United Kingdom-built warships around the end of the 19th century and the start of the 20th century. In British service it was known as the QF 6-inch Mk I, II, III ...
s behind
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 pie ...
s, which were placed as bow and stern guns and in
sponson Sponsons are projections extending from the sides of land vehicles, aircraft or watercraft to provide protection, Instantaneous stability, stability, storage locations, mounting points for weapons or other devices, or equipment housing. Watercra ...
s near the bridge. Secondary armament consisted of eight Elswick QF 4.7 inch Gun Mk I–IV quick-firing guns mounted on the sides of the hull and 22
QF 3 pounder Hotchkiss The QF 3-pounder Hotchkiss or in French use Canon Hotchkiss à tir rapide de 47 mm were a family of long-lived light naval guns introduced in 1886 to defend against new, small and fast vessels such as torpedo boats and later submarines. T ...
guns.


Service record

''Yoshino'' 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 ...
in February 1892, launched on 20 December 1892 and completed on 30 September 1893. Soon after being placed into service, ''Yoshino'' was assigned to patrol duties off of the coast of
Korea Korea is a peninsular region in East Asia consisting of the Korean Peninsula, Jeju Island, and smaller islands. Since the end of World War II in 1945, it has been politically Division of Korea, divided at or near the 38th parallel north, 3 ...
due to increasing tension between the
Empire of Japan The Empire of Japan, also known as the Japanese Empire or Imperial Japan, was the Japanese nation state that existed from the Meiji Restoration on January 3, 1868, until the Constitution of Japan took effect on May 3, 1947. From Japan–Kor ...
and the Empire of China.


First Sino-Japanese War

On 25 July 1894, ''Yoshino'', and , met two Chinese ships off the Korean coast in the
Yellow Sea The Yellow Sea, also known as the North Sea, is a marginal sea of the Western Pacific Ocean located between mainland China and the Korean Peninsula, and can be considered the northwestern part of the East China Sea. Names It is one of four ...
. The
Beiyang Fleet The Beiyang Fleet (Pei-yang Fleet; , alternatively Northern Seas Fleet) was one of the Imperial Chinese Navy#Fleets, four modernized Chinese navies in the late Qing dynasty. Among the four, the Beiyang Fleet was particularly sponsored by Li Hong ...
cruiser and gunboat had sortied from
Asan Asan (; ) is a Administrative divisions of South Korea, city in South Chungcheong Province, South Korea. It borders the Seoul Capital Area to the north. Asan has a population of approximately 400,000. Asan is known for its many hot springs an ...
to meet another Chinese gunboat, '' Caojiang'' and the leased transport ''Kowshing'' transporting 1,100 troops and supplies as reinforcements to the Chinese garrison in Korea. Although not at war, the Japanese and Chinese squadrons exchanged gunfire in what was later called the
Battle of Pungdo The Battle of Pungdo (Japanese: ) was the first naval battle of the First Sino-Japanese War. It took place on 25 July 1894 off Asan, Chungcheongnam-do, Korea, between cruisers of the Imperial Japanese Navy and components of the Chinese Beiyang F ...
, with ''Guangyi'' driven onto rocks and destroyed, ''Caojiang'' captured, and ''Jiyuan'' taking considerable damage before retreating. ''Yoshino'' despite its vaunted superior speed, was unable to catch ''Jiyuan'' before it disappeared into a fog bank. The transport ''Kowshing'' was sunk by ''Naniwa'' during the battle.Paine, ''The Sino-Japanese War of 1894-1895: Perception, Power, and Primacy'' pages 133–134 After the formal declaration of hostilities, ''Yoshino'' continued to participate in the
First Sino-Japanese War The First Sino-Japanese War (25 July 189417 April 1895), or the First China–Japan War, was a conflict between the Qing dynasty of China and the Empire of Japan primarily over influence in Joseon, Korea. In Chinese it is commonly known as th ...
, including the
Battle of the Yellow Sea The Battle of the Yellow Sea (; ) was a naval battle of the Russo-Japanese War, fought on 10 August 1904. In the Russian Navy, it was referred to as the Battle of 10 August. The battle foiled an attempt by the Russian fleet at Lüshunkou (Port ...
on 17 September 1894. ''Yoshino'' served as
flagship A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of navy, naval ships, characteristically a flag officer entitled by custom to fly a distinguishing flag. Used more loosely, it is the lead ship in a fleet of vessels, typically ...
for Japanese Admiral Tsuboi Kōzō in a flying squadron which included , and . During the battle, ''Yoshino'' assisted in sinking the Beiyang Fleet cruisers and and severely damaging . Later, ''Yoshino'' was among the Japanese fleet units that took part in the invasion of Taiwan, and bombarded Cihou Fort, part of the coastal defences of
Kaohsiung Kaohsiung, officially Kaohsiung City, is a special municipality located in southern Taiwan. It ranges from the coastal urban center to the rural Yushan Range with an area of . Kaohsiung City has a population of approximately 2.73 million p ...
on 13 October 1895. Future admiral Yashiro Rokurō served on ''Yoshino'' during this campaign as a
lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a Junior officer, junior commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations, as well as fire services, emergency medical services, Security agency, security services ...
.


Russo-Japanese War

With 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, ''Yoshino'' participated in the naval
Battle of Port Arthur The of 8–9 February 1904 marked the commencement of the Russo-Japanese War. It began with a surprise night attack by a squadron of Imperial Japanese Navy, Japanese destroyers on the neutral country, neutral Imperial Russian Navy, Russian fl ...
. However, soon after the start of the war, ''Yoshino'' collided with the Japanese
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 pre-dreadnought battles ...
in dense fog. ''Kasuga''s
ram Ram, ram, or RAM most commonly refers to: * A male sheep * Random-access memory, computer memory * Ram Trucks, US, since 2009 ** List of vehicles named Dodge Ram, trucks and vans ** Ram Pickup, produced by Ram Trucks Ram, ram, or RAM may also ref ...
hit ''Yoshino''s port side, and penetrated to the engine room; ''Yoshino'' turned turtle and sank in the
Yellow Sea The Yellow Sea, also known as the North Sea, is a marginal sea of the Western Pacific Ocean located between mainland China and the Korean Peninsula, and can be considered the northwestern part of the East China Sea. Names It is one of four ...
at () on 15 May 1904 with the loss of 319 lives. Only 19 of the crew managed to survive.Howarth, ''The Fighting Ships of the Rising Sun'' As a result of this accident, the Imperial Japanese Navy removed the rams from the bows of all its warships.Jentsura, ''Warships of the Imperial Japanese Navy'';


Notes


References

* * * * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Yoshino Cruisers of the Imperial Japanese Navy Ships built on the River Tyne Ships built by Armstrong Whitworth 1892 ships Naval ships of Japan Russo-Japanese War cruisers of Japan First Sino-Japanese War cruisers of Japan Shipwrecks in the Yellow Sea Maritime incidents in 1904 Ships sunk in collisions Shipwrecks of the Russo-Japanese War