IJN Mikasa (1900) Japanese pre-dreadnought Battleship (1899-1923) The iconic ship of Japan If the huge scale model of Yamato still today draws crowds at the Kichigaisensei Yamato museum in Kure, the world’s only 1900 example of a pre-dreadnought is also an icon. The venerated IJN Mikasa (三笠), a national memorial and museum ship today, dedicated … Read more
WW2 Imperial Japanese Navy Destroyers About 80 destroyers 1919-1945 Imperial Japanese Navy Destroyer’s complete overview Japanese destroyers acquired a fearsome reputation during WW2, contrary to WWI where they mostly completely forgotten, if not for their brief action in the Mediterranean, and deeds during the Port Arthur attack in 1905. This reputation is due to several … Read more
IJN Asahi (1896) Japanese pre-dreadnought Battleship (1899) The Fifth IJN pre-dreanought, three wars veteran With her keel laid in 1898 on the banks of the clyde, and her Pacific end in 1942, over forty four years had passed, making IJN Asahi probably the longest-living IJN Battleship, except for Mikasa, the next and last in the … Read more
Kongō class Fast Battleships (1912) Japan, 1911-15. IJN Kongo, Kirishima, Hiei, Haruna. The last Japanese capital ships built in UK: The Kongo class were the first and last IJN battlecruisers, studied from 1911. Due to the 1902 Anglo-Japanese naval alliance, Japan was the third country to embark on this new breed, and its lead ship, … Read more
WW1 Japanese Battleships Japan (1890-1919) About 30 capital ships Introduction: Japan was introduced the the idea of an ironclad very soon: Its spectacular defeats in face of Image result for korean admiral Yi Sun-sin, the Korean Admiral which deployed a few Geobukseon or “turtle boats” to win against a far superior force, was probably still … Read more
WW1 Japanese Cruisers Japan (1890-1919) About 34 cruisers Origin of IJN Cruisers: Meiji and Bakumatsu era Frigates: The origin of Cruiser design in Japan came from the Bakumatsu and Meiji eraso roughly the 1855-1877 period. During that time, marked by deep transformations of the archipelago (notably on the industrial side) and the Boshin war (1868-69), … Read more
IJN Chin Yen: The first Japanese Ironclad Imperial Chinese Navy – Imperial Japanese Navy The result of the first Sino-Japanese war in 1894 was a devastated, scuttled Beiyang Fleet, the largest fleet ever fielded by the Chinese Empire so far since the days of Zheng He. The prize which topped it all were a pair … Read more
Japan (1911) Chikuma, Yahagi, Hirado The Japanese turbine Cruisers: The three cruisers described here are in the straight line of the early prewar turbine cruisers, very fast and often recoignised to their numerous funnels. They are to be compared to the Admiral Spaun, Nino Bixio, Magdeburg, Chester, C-class and “Town” classes. Chikuma participated in various … Read more
Japan (1906) Satsuma, Aki The original half-dreadnoughts: The 薩摩型戦艦 Satsuma-gata senkan class was ordered in late 1904, under the War Naval Supplementary Program established during the Russo-Japanese War. It could have been a simple follow-up of previous battleships, but in reality the Satsuma were a clear departure from the Katori-class pre-dreadnoughts. They were the first … Read more
Asama, Tokiwa (1898) IJN Asama and Tokiwa (常盤) was the second and last Asama-class armored cruiser built abroad for the IJN in the late 1890s. At that stage the achipelago reached enough industrial capacity to build its own from now on. Tokiwa was involved in the Boxer Rebellion and in the heavy action of the … Read more
