Service Izumo-class cruiser

1 service

1.1 russo-japanese war

1.1.1 battle of tsushima


1.2 subsequent service

1.2.1 china service , world war ii

service
russo-japanese war

the sisters spent of russo-japanese war flagships in 2nd division of 2nd fleet; iwate divisional commander, rear admiral misu sotarō, , izumo fleet commander, vice admiral kamimura hikonojō. participated in battle of port arthur on 9 february 1904, when vice admiral tōgō heihachirō led combined fleet in attack on russian ships of pacific squadron anchored outside port arthur. tōgō had expected earlier surprise night attack destroyers more successful was, anticipating russians badly disorganized , weakened, had recovered surprise , ready attack. iwate moderately damaged russians, izumo slightly.

a postcard of iwate @ anchor, before 1905

in april 1904, division tasked contain russian armored cruisers based @ vladivostok, failed until 13 august when latter tried rendezvous ships attempted breakout port arthur. unbeknownst russians, tōgō had defeated ships port arthur during battle of yellow sea on 10 august , russian squadron vladivostok intercepted off ulsan, korea 2nd division. steering of russian cruiser rurik damaged in battle , russians made several attempts prevent japanese concentrating fire on her, forced abandon her fate. kamimura left rurik tender ministrations of reinforcements , pursued 2 remaining russian ships time before breaking off pursuit prematurely based on incorrect report izumo had expended of ammunition. ship hit on 20 times, suffered fewer 20 men killed or wounded. iwate, in contrast, hit far fewer times, 1 of them started major ammunition fire killed or wounded dozens of men. after battle, sisters refitted , assigned different units, escorting troop convoys northern korea, providing cover while minefield laid off vladivostock, , blockading tsugaru strait until russian ships baltic fleet approached japan in mid-1905.

battle of tsushima

the russian 2nd , 3rd pacific squadrons spotted on morning on 27 may 1904 , tōgō ordered ships put sea. izumo , iwate had rejoined 2nd division in anticipation of battle , kamimura s ships confirmed initial spotting later morning before joining tōgō s battleships. of japanese battleships, division opened fire @ 14:10 on russian battleship oslyabya, forced fall out of formation @ 14:50 , sank 20 minutes later. after failed torpedo attack repulsed iwate , several other cruisers around same time, russian battleship knyaz suvorov appeared out of mist @ 15:35 @ short range. kamimura s ships engaged 5 minutes before disappeared mists. later in day, kamimura led division in fruitless pursuit of of russian cruisers around 17:30. abandoned chase around 18:03 , encountered russian battleline half hour later. stayed @ long range , ships fired when practicable before ceasing fire @ 19:30.

a japanese postcard of izumo @ anchor, 1905

the surviving russian ships spotted next morning , japanese ships opened fire , stayed beyond range @ russian ships reply. rear admiral nikolai nebogatov therefore decided surrender ships neither return fire nor close range. after nebogatov s surrender, coast defense ship admiral ushakov spotted south of nebogatov s ships , iwate , armored cruiser, yakumo, tasked pursue her. japanese ships demanded russians surrender when came within range, captain refused. admiral ushakov attempted close range bring japanese cruisers within range of guns, fast enough keep range open , russian ship not hit either of them. after half hour, admiral ushakov had been heavily damaged bear , commander ordered crew abandon ship , scuttling charges detonated. both iwate , izumo struck several times during battle, neither damaged , casualties light. after battle, division covered amphibious landings in northeastern korea in july , august before war ended.

subsequent service

izumo ordered patrol west coast of mexico safeguard japanese interests , nationals during mexican revolution , still there when japan declared war on german empire on 23 august 1914. tasked search german commerce raiders , protect allied shipping off western coasts of north , central america. ship assisted armored cruiser asama in 1915, when struck rock off baja california. in 1917, izumo became flagship of japanese squadron deployed in mediterranean sea. after war, sailed great britain take control of ex-german submarines , escorted them part of way japan.

iwate played minor role in war, participating in battle of tsingtao before sailing south sea islands search german commerce raiders. ship began first of many training cruises naval cadets of imperial japanese navy academy in 1916, task last until end of 1939. izumo began making training voyages of own during 1920s.

izumo @ anchor in burrard inlet, vancouver, canada, february 1925

in 1924, 4 of ships 12-pounder guns removed, of qf 2.5-pounder guns, , single 40-caliber 8 cm/40 3rd year type anti-aircraft (aa) gun added. gun had maximum elevation of +75 degrees, , fire 3-inch, 12.5 lb (5.67 kg) projectile muzzle velocity of 2,200 ft/s (680 m/s) maximum height of 23,600 feet (7,200 m). refitted again in 1930–31, torpedo tubes removed of main deck 6-inch guns , casemates plated over; carried 4 12-pounders. @ time, iwate had boilers replaced 6 water-tube boilers, izumo not reboilered until 1935. new boilers produced less steam limited engine power 7,000 ihp (5,200 kw) , reduced top speed 16 knots (30 km/h; 18 mph).

china service , world war ii

izumo @ anchor in huangpu river, shanghai, 1932. american armored cruiser uss rochester anchored left.

in 1932, during first shanghai incident, izumo became flagship of newly re-established 3rd fleet garrisoned japanese-occupied china. 2 years later, equipped operate floatplane @ sasebo naval arsenal. during second sino-japanese war, ship participated in battle of shanghai in mid-1937 during provided naval gunfire support japanese troops ashore.

still in shanghai @ beginning of pacific war on 8 december 1941, izumo captured american river gunboat uss wake , assisted in sinking british river gunboat hms peterel. on 31 december, cruiser struck mine in lingayen gulf while supporting japanese forces during philippines campaign. during period, iwate still serving training ship in home waters. sisters briefly re-classified 1st-class cruisers on 1 july 1942 before became training ships in 1943. izumo returned japan late year , joined sister in training naval cadets.

in 1945, sisters rearmed when 8-inch guns replaced 4 12.7 cm (5.0 in) type 89 dual-purpose guns in 2 twin mounts , 4 of remaining 6-inch guns removed. when firing @ surface targets, type 89 gun had range of 16,100 yards (14,700 m); had maximum ceiling of 30,970 feet (9,440 m) @ elevation of +90 degrees. maximum rate of fire 14 rounds minute, sustained rate of fire around 8 rounds per minute. light anti-aircraft armament reinforced addition of 9 (iwate) , 14 (izumo) license-built hotchkiss 25-millimeter type 96 light aa guns in single, double , triple mounts , 2 13.2-millimeter hotchkiss machine guns in single mounts. 25 mm (0.98 in) weapon standard japanese light anti-aircraft gun during world war ii, suffered severe design shortcomings rendered largely ineffective weapon. twin , triple mounts lacked sufficient speed in train or elevation; gun sights unable handle fast targets; gun exhibited excessive vibration; magazine small and, finally, gun produced excessive muzzle blast. weapon had maximum range of 24,600 feet (7,500 m), effective range 4,900–9,800 feet (1,500–3,000 m).

the sisters attacked, not hit, during american aerial attack on kure in july 1945. however, shockwaves near misses caused extensive flooding in both ships. iwate sank in shallow water on 25 july , izumo capsized 3 days later. both ships removed navy list on 20 november , wrecks raised , scrapped in 1946–47.