Japanese cruiser Kasuga

{{see also|Argentine–Chilean naval arms race}}

Kasuga was the next-to-last of the 10 Giuseppe Garibaldi-class armored cruisers to be built. The first ship had been completed in 1895 and the class had enjoyed considerable export success and had been gradually improved over the years.Chesneau & Kolesnik, p. 351; Milanovich, p. 92; Silverstone, p. 314 The last two ships of the class were ordered on 23 December 1901 by the Royal Italian Navy and sold the next year to the Argentine Navy in response to the order placed with a British shipbuilder by Chile for two second-class battleships. The possibility of war between Argentina and Chile, however, abated before the vessel was completed, and a combination of financial problems and British pressure forced Argentina to dispose of Bernardino Rivadavia and her sister ship Mariano Moreno. The Argentine government attempted to sell the ships to Russia, but negotiations failed over the price demanded by the Argentinians. The Japanese government quickly stepped in and purchased them due to increasing tensions with Russia despite the high price of ¥14,937,390 (£1,530,000) for the two sisters. Already planning to attack Russia, the government delayed their surprise attack on Port Arthur that began the Russo-Japanese War until the ships had left Singapore and could not be delayed or interned by any foreign power.Milanovich, pp. 83–84

File:Kasuga-classBrasseys.jpg 1906]]

Kasuga had an overall length of {{convert|111.73|m|ftin|sp=us}}, a beam of {{convert|18.71|m|ftin|sp=us}}, a molded depth of {{convert|12.1|m|ftin|sp=us}} and a deep draft (ship) of {{convert|7.31|m|ftin|sp=us}}. She displaced {{convert|7700|t|LT|sp=us|lk=on}} at normal load. The ship was powered by two vertical triple-expansion steam engines, each driving one shaft, using steam from 8 coal-fired Scotch marine boilers. Designed for a maximum output of {{convert|13500|ihp|lk=on}} and a speed of {{convert|20|kn|lk=in}}, Kasuga barely exceeded this, reaching a speed of {{convert|20.05|kn}} during her sea trials on 20 September 1903 despite {{convert|14944|ihp|abbr=on}} produced by her engines. She had a cruising range of {{convert|5500|nmi|lk=in}} at {{convert|10|kn}}.Milanovich, pp. 87, 90 Her complement consisted of 560 officers and enlisted men.Silverstone, p. 314

Her main armament consisted of one 40-caliber Armstrong Whitworth 10 in/40 Type 41 naval gun in a single turret forward and two 45-caliber 20.3 cm/45 Type 41 naval gun, in a twin-gun turret aft. Ten of the 40-caliber quick-firing (QF) QF 6 inch /40 naval gun that comprised her secondary armament were arranged in casemates amidships on the main deck; the remaining four guns were mounted on the upper deck. Kasuga also had ten QF QF 12 pounder 18 cwt naval gun and six QF 3-pounder Hotchkiss to defend herself against torpedo boats. She was fitted with four submerged {{convert|18|in|mm|abbr=on}} torpedo tubes, two on each side.

In 1924 two of her 3 in guns were removed, as were all of her QF 3-pounder Hotchkiss guns, and a single 3-inch 3rd Year Type anti-aircraft gun was added.Chesneau, p. 174 By August 1933, all ten of her casemated 6-inch guns had been removed in addition to four more 3 in guns.Jentschura, Jung & Mickel, p. 75

The ship's waterline armor belt had a maximum thickness of {{convert|150|mm|sp=us|1}} amidships and tapered to {{convert|70|mm|sp=us|1}} towards the ends of the ship. Between the main gun barbettes it covered the entire side of the ship up to the level of the upper deck. The ends of the central armored citadel were enclosed by transverse bulkheads {{convert|120|mm|sp=us}} thick. The forward barbette, the conning tower, and gun turrets were also protected by 150-millimeter armor while the aft barbette only had {{convert|100|mm|sp=us|1}} of armor. Her deck armor ranged from {{convert|20|to|40|mm|sp=us|1}} thick and the 6-inch guns on the upper deck were protected by gun shields.Milanovich, pp. 87, 89

The ship's keel was laid down on 10 March 1902 with the temporary name of San Mitra and she was launched on 22 October 1902 and renamed Bernardino Rivadavia by the Argentinians.Chesneau & Kolesnik, p. 226 The vessel was sold to Japan on 30 December 1903Milanovich, p. 84 and renamed Kasuga, after Kasuga Shrine in Nara prefecture,Silverstone, p. 332 on 1 January 1904. Kasuga and her newly renamed sister Nisshin were formally turned over to Japan and commissioned on 7 January. The sisters departed Genoa on 9 January under the command of British captains and manned by British seamen and Italian stokers. When they arrived at Port Said, Egypt, five days later, they encountered the Russian protected cruiser {{ship|Russian cruiser|Aurora||2}} and reached Suez on the 16th, accompanied by the British armored cruiser {{HMS|King Alfred|1901|2}}. The Japanese ships reached Singapore on 2 February where they were slightly delayed by a coolie strike.{{cite journal|date=April–July 1904|title=The Arrival of the Nisshin and Kasuga|journal=The Russo-Japanese War Fully Illustrated|publisher=Kinkodo Publishing Co. & Z. P. Maruya & Co.|location=Tokyo|issue=1|pages=98–99|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LEU7AQAAMAAJ&pg=PA98}}

File:Japanese cruiser Kasuga 2.jpg

Kasuga and Nisshin reached Yokosuka on 16 February just as Japan initiated hostilities with its surprise attack on Port Arthur, and began working up with Japanese crews. The sisters were assigned to reinforce the battleships of the 1st Division of the 1st Fleet under the overall command of Admiral Tōgō Heihachirō on 11 April. In an effort to block the Russian ships in Port Arthur, Togo ordered a minefield laid at the mouth of the harbor on 12 April and Kasuga and Nisshin were tasked to show themselves "as a demonstration of our power".Warner & Warner, pp. 235–36 Tōgō successfully lured out a portion of the Russian Pacific Squadron, including Vice Admiral Stepan Makarov's flagship, the battleship {{ship|Russian battleship|Petropavlovsk|1897|2}}. When Makarov spotted the five Japanese battleships and Kasuga and Nisshin, he turned back for Port Arthur and his flagship ran into the minefield just laid by the Japanese. The ship sank in less than two minutes after one of her magazines exploded, and Makarov was one of the 677 killed. In addition to this loss, the battleship {{ship|Russian battleship|Pobeda||2}} was damaged by a mine.Forczyk, pp. 45–46 Emboldened by his success, Tōgō resumed long-range bombardment missions, making use of the long-range capabilities of Kasuga and Nisshin{{'}}s guns to blindly bombard Port Arthur on 15 April from Pigeon Bay, on the southwest side of the Liaodong Peninsula, at a range of {{convert|9.5|km|sp=us}}.{{cite book|last=Great Britain|first=War Office: General Staff|title=The Russo-Japanese War|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-3kaAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA38|volume=Part I|year=1906|publisher=His Majesty's Stationery Office|location=London|page=51}} In early May, the sisters fired at ranges up to {{convert|18|km|sp=us}} although this proved to be ineffective.Evans & Peattie, p. 99

On 15 May, the battleships {{ship|Japanese battleship|Yashima||2}} and {{ship|Japanese battleship|Hatsuse||2}} were sunk by Russian mines. That same day, off Port Arthur, Kasuga collided in the fog with the protected cruiser {{ship|Japanese cruiser|Yoshino||2}}, which capsized and sank with the loss of 318 officers and enlisted men.Warner & Warner, pp. 280–82 With a third of Japan's battleships lost, Tōgō decided to use Kasuga and Nisshin in the line of battle together with his four remaining battleships.Forczyk, p. 48 The first test of this decision would have occurred on 23 June when the Pacific Squadron sortied in an abortive attempt to reach Vladivostok, but the new squadron commander, Rear Admiral Wilgelm Vitgeft, ordered the squadron to return to Port Arthur when it encountered the Japanese battleline (including Kasuga and Nisshin) shortly before sunset, as he did not wish to engage his numerically superior opponents in a night battle.Warner & Warner, pp. 305–06 On 27 July, the sisters forced a Russian force of one battleship and several cruisers and gunboats to return to port because of long-range gun fire after they sortied to provide fire support to the Russian Army.McLaughlin, p. 62

Kasuga and Nisshin participated in the Battle of the Yellow Sea on 10 August, but only played a minor role as they were in the rear of the Japanese battleline. During the battle, the ship's executive officer was Kantarō Suzuki, later Prime Minister of Japan.Kowner, p. 363 Kasuga was not significantly damaged, although she was hit three times with 11 crewmen wounded.{{cite journal|last=Empire of Japan|first=Naval General Staff|date=September–October 1914|title=Battle of the Yellow Sea: The Official Version of the Japanese General Staff|journal=United States Naval Institute Proceedings|publisher=United States Naval Institute|location=Annapolis, Maryland|volume=40|issue=5|page=1289}} Kasuga fired 33 ten-inch shells along with an unknown number of eight-inch shells during the battle.Forcyzk, pp. 48–51, 73 After the battle the sisters returned to Pigeon Bay where they engaged the Russian fortifications.Warner & Warner, p. 339

File:IJN Kasuga at Kure.jpg, 1904–05]]

At the Battle of Tsushima on 26 May 1905, Kasuga was fifth in the line of battle. At about 14:10, Kasuga opened fire on the battleship {{ship|Russian battleship|Oslyabya||2}}, the lead ship in the second column of the Russian fleet. Due to the limited visibility and heavy smoke during the battle detailed knowledge is not available about her activities during the rest of the day's action.Campbell, pp. 127–31 The surviving Russian ships had been located near the Liancourt Rocks by the Japanese the following morning and Tōgō reached them about 10:00. Heavily outnumbering the Russians, he opted for a long-range engagement to minimize any losses and Kasuga opened fire at the obsolete battleship {{ship|Russian battleship|Imperator Nikolai I|1889|2}} at a range of {{convert|9100|m|yd|sp=us}}. The ship hit her target's funnel on her third salvo and the Russians surrendered shortly afterwards.Forczyk, pp. 70–71

During the course of the battle, Kasuga fired 50 ten-inch and 103 eight-inch shells; due to the poor visibility and sinking of many Russian ships, the only confirmed hits made by the ship were two against the battleship {{ship|Russian battleship|Oryol||2}} with ten-inch shells, one of which broke up on the armor of the aft {{convert|12|in|mm|adj=on|0|spell=in}} turret. In return she was struck by one 12-inch, one 6-inch, and one unidentified shell, none of which significantly damaged her.Campbell, pp. 258, 260, 263

Shortly after the Battle of Tsushima, Kasuga was assigned to the 3rd Fleet) for the invasion and occupation of Sakhalin in July–August.Corbett, II, p. 357 On 2 September 1911, the ship escorted the ex-Russian torpedo depot ship Anegawa to Vladivostok to be returned to the Russians.{{cite news|url=http://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000327/19110904/004/0002|title=Ship Returned by Japan|date=4 September 1911|work=Derby Daily Telegraph|page=2|access-date=9 March 2015| via = British Newspaper Archive|url-access=subscription }} At the start of 1914, Kasuga was overhauled with her boilers replaced by 12 Kampon Type 1 water-tube boilers.Jentschura, Jung & Mickel, pp. 75, 244

Kasuga served as the flagship of Destroyer Squadron (Suiraisentai) 3 from 13 December 1915 to 13 May 1916 and 12 September 1916 to 13 April 1917.Lacroix & Wells, p. 552 After the incursion of the German commerce raider {{SMS|Wolf|1916|6}} into the Indian Ocean in March 1917, the British Admiralty requested that the Japanese government reinforce its ships already present, there and in Australian waters.Newbolt, pp. 214–17 The ship was sent south and escorted Allied shipping between Colombo, Ceylon and Fremantle, Australia in April–May.Hirama, pp. 143–44 She was based at Singapore through November.Newbolt, p. 225 On 13 January 1918, Kasuga ran aground on a sandbank in the Bangka Strait, in the Dutch East Indies, where she was stuck until June, when she could finally be refloated for repairs.{{cite news |title=Japanese Cruiser Aground |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000540/19180125/095/0003 |access-date=3 December 2022 |work=The Scotsman |issue=23292 |date=25 January 1918 |location=Edinburgh |page=2|via=British Newspaper Archive}}

Kasuga arrived in Portland, Maine on 3 July 1920 for the centennial celebrations of the State of Maine{{cite news|url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1920/07/04/102864716.pdf|title=Cruiser Arrives|work=The New York Times|access-date=9 March 2015|date=4 July 1920}} and then made port visits in New York City and Annapolis, Maryland.{{cite news|url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1920/07/21/103463084.pdf|title=Kasuga Off for Annapolis|date=21 July 1920|work=The New York Times|access-date=9 March 2015}} In August 1920 Kasuga visited the city of Cristobal in the Republic of Panama, after transiting the Panama Canal, from 22 to 25 August 1920, with an official reception for the crew before heading to San Francisco.{{cite news|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KXnNAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA16|title=Visit of the Kasuga|work=Panama Canal Record|year=1921 |page=16|access-date=9 March 2015}}

She was used to transport Japanese soldiers and supplies to Siberia in 1922 as part of Japan's Siberian Intervention.Gardiner & Gray, p. 225 During the time, Kasuga was commanded by Mitsumasa Yonai, another future Prime Minister of Japan.Stewart, p. 292 On 15 June 1926, the ship helped to rescue the crew of the freighter {{SS|City of Naples}} that struck a rock off the coast of Japan and broke up. Two of her crewmen were later awarded silver medals for gallantry during the rescue by King George V.{{cite news|url=http://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000577/19261015/056/0007|title=Japanese Navymen|work=Aberdeen Journal|page=7|access-date=9 March 2015| via = British Newspaper Archive|url-access=subscription }}

From 1927 to 1942, Kasuga was used as a training vessel for navigators and engineers. On 27 July 1928 she rescued the crew of the semi-rigid airship N3 after it exploded in heavy weather during fleet maneuvers.{{cite news|url=http://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000378/19271024/094/0003|title=Destruction of a Dirigible|date=24 October 1928|work=Hartlepool Mail|page=3|access-date=9 March 2015| via = British Newspaper Archive|url-access=subscription }} In January–February 1934, Kasuga ferried 40 scientists to Truk to observe a total solar eclipse on 14 February.{{cite news|url=http://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000564/19340127/066/0004|title=Scientists Invade Island|date=27 January 1934|work=Dundee Courier|page=4|access-date=9 March 2015| via = British Newspaper Archive|url-access=subscription }} She was hulked and disarmed in July 1942 and used as a floating barracks for the rest of the Pacific War. Kasuga capsized at her mooring at Yokosuka on 18 July 1945 during an air raid by United States Navy aircraft from TF-38. Her wreck was salvaged in August 1948 and broken up for scrap by the Uraga Dock Company.

{{reflist|30em}}

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• {{cite book|title=Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1922–1946|editor1-last=Chesneau|editor1-first=Roger|publisher=Conway Maritime Press|location=Greenwich, UK|year=1980|isbn=0-85177-146-7}}
• {{cite book|title=Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1860–1905|editor1-last=Chesneau|editor1-first=Roger|editor2-last=Kolesnik|editor2-first=Eugene M.|publisher=Conway Maritime Press|location=Greenwich|year=1979|isbn=0-8317-0302-4|name-list-style=amp|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/conwaysallworlds0000unse_l2e2}}
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• {{cite book| last1 = Evans| first1 = David| first2 = Mark R. |last2=Peattie| year = 1997| title = Kaigun: Strategy, Tactics, and Technology in the Imperial Japanese Navy, 1887–1941| publisher =Naval Institute Press| location =Annapolis, Maryland| isbn = 0-87021-192-7|name-list-style=amp|author2-link=Mark Peattie}}
• {{cite book|title=Russian Battleship vs Japanese Battleship, Yellow Sea 1904–05|author=Forczyk, Robert|publisher=Osprey|year=2009|location=Botley, UK|isbn=978-1-84603-330-8}}
• {{cite book |editor1-last=Gardiner|editor1-first=Robert|editor2-last=Gray|editor2-first=Randal|title=Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1906–1921|year=1985|location=Annapolis, Maryland|publisher=Naval Institute Press|isbn=0-85177-245-5|name-list-style=amp}}
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| last1 = McLaughlin

| first1 = Stephen

| editor1-last = Ahlberg

| editor1-first= Lars

| title = Retvizan

| date = September 2008

| pages = 60–63

| journal = Contributions to the History of Imperial Japanese Warships

| issue = Paper V}}{{subscription required}}(contact the editor at lars.ahlberg@halmstad.mail.postnet.se for subscription information)

• {{cite book|editor=Jordan, John|chapter=Armored Cruisers of the Imperial Japanese Navy|last=Milanovich|first=Kathrin|publisher=Conway |location=London|year=2014|title=Warship 2014|isbn=978-1-84486-236-8}}
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• {{cite book|last1=Warner|first1=Denis|last2=Warner|first2=Peggy|title=The Tide at Sunrise: A History of the Russo-Japanese War, 1904–1905|publisher=Frank Cass|location=London|year=2002|edition=2nd|isbn=0-7146-5256-3|name-list-style=amp}}

{{commons category|Kasuga (ship, 1904)|Japanese cruiser Kasuga}}

{{Kasuga class cruiser}}

{{January 1918 shipwrecks}}

{{July 1945 shipwrecks}}

{{coord|35.3|N|139.667|E|source:kolossus-plwiki|display=title}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kasuga}}

Category:Kasuga-class cruisers

Category:Ships built in Genoa

Category:1902 ships

Category:Naval ships of Japan

Category:Russo-Japanese War cruisers of Japan

Category:World War I cruisers of Japan

Category:Maritime incidents in 1918

Category:Shipwrecks in Tokyo Bay

Category:Cruisers sunk by aircraft

Category:Maritime incidents in July 1945

Category:Ships built by Gio. Ansaldo & C.

Category:Ships sunk by US aircraft