The was a

class Class, Classes, or The Class may refer to: Common uses not otherwise categorized * Class (biology), a taxonomic rank * Class (knowledge representation), a collection of individuals or objects * Class (philosophy), an analytical concept used d ...

of two

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 ...

s 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 ...

(IJN) based on the s developed by

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

at the end of the 19th century.

Background

The Italian ''Giuseppe Garibaldi''-class design was a private venture by Gio. Ansaldo & C., which was hoping to profit from the need for the world's navies to modernize towards heavily armored steam warships. The design was so popular that between 1894 and 1902 ten cruisers were purchased by four countries: The first five by the

Italian Navy The Italian Navy (; abbreviated as MM) is one of the four branches of Italian Armed Forces and was formed in 1946 from what remained of the ''Regia Marina'' (Royal Navy) after World War II. , the Italian Navy had a strength of 30,923 active per ...

, four by 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 ...

and one by the

Spanish Navy The Spanish Navy, officially the Armada, is the Navy, maritime branch of the Spanish Armed Forces and one of the oldest active naval forces in the world. The Spanish Navy was responsible for a number of major historic achievements in navigation ...

. There is a disagreement in sources as to who originally ordered these ships. ''Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships'' states that they were ordered by the Italian Navy,Chesneau, '' Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1860–1905'', p. 226. while naval historian Robert Scheina writes that it was actually Argentina.Scheina, ''Latin America'', p. 49. In any case, Argentina originally planned to name them ''Mitre'' and ''Roca'', then ''Rivadavia'' and ''Mariano Moreno'', before they sold them to the Imperial Japanese Navy before final completion in 1904, where they were renamed the and .

Design

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 ...

and a

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 form ...

. At maximum speed, the design was slightly slower than contemporary cruisers, but was very heavily armed and also heavily armored, in a package with very low displacement and moderate dimensions. The class was unusual in that they did not have a uniform main armament. Some had single guns in

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 fore and aft; others (including the ''Kasuga'') had a mixed armament of a single gun in one turret and another turret with twin guns. A third variation (including ''Nisshin'') was a uniform armament of four guns, twin gun turrets fore and aft.

Ships in class

''Kasuga'' was originally to be named ''Mitre'' but was renamed as ''Rivadavia'' by

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

. She served 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 ...

and took part in 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 ...

and again at the

Battle of Tsushima The Battle of Tsushima (, ''Tsusimskoye srazheniye''), also known in Japan as the , was the final naval battle of the Russo-Japanese War, fought on 27–28 May 1905 in the Tsushima Strait. A devastating defeat for the Imperial Russian Navy, the ...

. After 1922, she was partially disarmed as part 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 ...

and used as a training ship. She was bombed and sunk by US Navy carrier aircraft at Yokosuka 18 July 1945, raised and scrapped in 1948.

''Nisshin'' was originally to be named ''Roca'' but was renamed as ''Mariano Moreno'' by Argentina. She served in the Russo-Japanese War and was severely damaged during the Battle of the Yellow Sea and again at the Battle of Tsushima. After 1922, as part of the Washington Naval Treaty she was partially disarmed and used as a training ship. ''Nisshin'' was finally expended as a target and sunk in 1936.

Afterwards

The success of the Japanese Navy in using armored cruisers in the

line of battle The line of battle or the battle line is a tactic in naval warfare in which a fleet of ships (known as ships of the line) forms a line end to end. The first example of its use as a tactic is disputed—it has been variously claimed for date ...

during the

of 1905 drew considerable attention from navies and ship designers worldwide. The armored cruiser design soon evolved into the

dreadnought The dreadnought was the predominant type of battleship in the early 20th century. The first of the kind, the Royal Navy's , had such an effect when launched in 1906 that similar battleships built after her were referred to as "dreadnoughts", ...

armored cruiser, which became known as the

battlecruiser The battlecruiser (also written as battle cruiser or battle-cruiser) was a type of capital ship of the first half of the 20th century. These were similar in displacement, armament and cost to battleships, but differed in form and balance of att ...

Notes

References

* * *Gardiner, Robert (editor) (2001) ''Steam, Steel and Shellfire, The Steam Warship 1815–1905'', * * * *Kofman, V.L. ''Armored Cruiser Type Garibaldi, Morskaya Kollektsia 3-1995'' * * *

External links

{{WWI Japanese ships Cruiser classes