Kawachi-class battleship

File:Kawachi-classDrawing.jpg 1915]]

The Kawachi class was ordered on 22 June 1907 under the 1907 Warship Supplement Program after the Russo-Japanese War as Japan's first dreadnoughts,Lengerer, p. 74 although their construction was delayed by a severe depression. They were one of the first steps in the fulfillment of the recently adopted Eight-Eight Fleet Program that required a fleet of eight dreadnoughts and armored cruisers.Evans & Peattie, pp. 150–51 Their design was based on the {{ship|Japanese battleship|Aki||2}} with a uniform {{convert|12|in|adj=on|0}} main-gun armamentLengerer, p. 73 in the hexagonal layout used by the German dreadnoughts of the {{sclass|Nassau|battleship|5}} and {{sclass|Helgoland|battleship|4}}es.Evans & Peattie, p. 160

The first iteration of the design had six twin-gun turrets, with two pairs of superfiring turrets fore and aft of the superstructure and the two other turrets amidships "en echelon" to maximize end-on fire. This layout was rejected as it exceeded the informal {{convert|20,000|LT|t|0}} limit. The design was then revised with the turrets in the hexagonal layout using the same 45-caliber 12-inch guns used in the preceding battleships. In early 1908, the IJN received reports that the Royal Navy's latest battleships used longer 50-caliber guns. The Chief of the Naval General Staff, Admiral Tōgō Heihachirō, pushed to use these guns; cost considerations prevented all the guns from having the same barrel length, so they were used only in the fore and aft turrets.Lengerer, pp. 72–73

The two ships had different bow designs for comparison purposes; Settsu{{'}}s clipper bow was longer than Kawachi{{'}}s vertical stem. Otherwise the two ships were externally virtually identical.Lengerer, pp. 73–74 The ships had an overall length of {{convert|526|-|533|ft|m|1}}, a beam of {{convert|84|ft|3|in|m|1}}, and a normal draft of {{convert|27|-|27.8|ft|m|1}}. They displaced {{convert|20823|-|21443|LT|t|lk=on}} at normal loadJentschura, Jung & Mickel, p. 24 and had a metacentric height of {{convert|1.59|m|ftin|order=flip}}.Lengerer, p. 76 Their crew ranged from 999 to 1100 officers and enlisted men.

The Kawachi-class vessels were fitted with a pair of license-built Curtis steam turbine sets, each set driving one propeller, using steam from 16 Miyabara water-tube boilers with a working pressure of {{convert|17.5|bar|kPa psi|0|abbr=on|lk=on}}.Lengerer, p. 77 The turbines were rated at a total of {{convert|25000|shp|lk=on}} for a design speed of {{convert|21|kn}}. During testing, the turbines of both ships proved to be significantly more powerful than designed, {{convert|30,399|shp|abbr=on}} for Kawachi and {{convert|32,200|shp|abbr=on}} for Settsu, although the speeds attained on sea trials are unknown.Lengerer, p. 78 The ships carried a maximum of {{convert|2300|LT|t}} of coal and {{convert|400|LT|t}} of fuel oil which gave them a range of {{convert|2700|nmi|lk=in}} at a speed of {{convert|18|kn}}.

The Kawachi class carried four 50-caliber Type 41 12-inch guns mounted in two twin-gun turrets, one each fore and aft of the superstructure. Settsu{{'}}s guns were ordered from Vickers and Kawachi{{'}}s were built in Japan. The fore and aft turrets could each traverse 270°.Lengerer, pp. 73, 80–81 They fired {{convert|850|lb|kg|adj=on|0}} armor-piercing (AP) shells at a muzzle velocity of {{convert|3000|ft/s|m/s|abbr=on}};Friedman, p. 273 this gave a maximum range of {{convert|22000|m|yd|order=flip}}.Lengerer, p. 80 The eight 45-caliber 12-inch 41st Year Type were mounted in four twin-gun wing turrets, two on each broadside. Each turret could traverse 160°.Lengerer, pp. 73, 81 The 45-caliber guns fired the same shell as the longer guns, although muzzle velocity was reduced to {{convert|2800|ft/s|m/s|abbr=on}}Friedman, p. 272 and range to {{convert|20000|m|yd|order=flip|0}}. Each 12-inch gun was provided with 80 rounds, normally loaded at an elevation of +5°, although they could be loaded at any angle up to +13°. The guns had an elevation range of -5° to +25°.Lengerer, pp. 79, 81

Their secondary armament consisted of ten 45-caliber 6-inch (152 mm) guns, mounted in casemates in the sides of the hull, and eight 40-caliber quick-firing (QF) 4.7-inch (120 mm) 41st Year Type guns. The {{convert|6|in|mm|0|adj=on}} gun fired a {{convert|100|lb|adj=on}} AP shell at a muzzle velocity of {{convert|2706|ft/s|m/s|abbr=on}}Friedman, p. 276 and the ships carried 150 rounds for each gun.Lengerer, p. 79 The shell of the 4.7-inch gun weighed {{convert|45|lb|1}} and was fired at a muzzle velocity of {{convert|2150|ft/s|m/s|abbr=on}}.Friedman, p. 278 Each gun was also provided with 150 rounds.

The ships were also equipped with a dozen 40-caliber QF 12 pounder 12 cwt naval gun guns for defense against torpedo boats{{#tag:ref|These guns were mounted on the main gun turrets' roofs for use only at night and were manned by the gun crews from the turrets; they were dismounted and stowed inside the ship during daylight.|group=Note}} and four shorter 12-pounder guns were used as saluting guns or mounted on the ships' boats. Both of these guns fired {{convert|5.67|kg|lb|adj=on|order=flip}} shells with muzzle velocities of {{convert|2300|ft/s|m/s|abbr=on}} and {{convert|450|m/s|ft/s|order=flip}} respectively.Friedman, p. 279 They carried a total of 1,200 rounds for the longer guns and another 1,200 for the shorter guns.

In addition, they were fitted with five submerged {{convert|18|in|adj=on|0}} torpedo tubes, two on each broadside and one in the stern.Preston, p. 196 Two of the ships' boats could carry torpedoes and the ships carried a total of 24 Type 43 torpedoes.Lengerer, p. 82 These had a {{convert|95|kg|adj=on|order=flip}} warhead and a maximum range of {{convert|5500|yd|m}} at a speed of {{convert|26|kn}}.Friedman, p. 349

The waterline main belt of the Kawachi-class ships consisted of Krupp cemented armor that had a maximum thickness of 12 inches amidships and tapered to a thickness of {{convert|5|in|mm|0}} inches at the ends of the ship. Approximately {{convert|1.93|m|ftin|order=flip}} of the belt was above the waterline and {{convert|1.95|m|ftin|order=flip}} below it. Above the belt was a strake of armor {{convert|8|in|0}} thick that covered the side of the hull up to the height of the middle deck. Above that was a 6-inch strake that protected the casemates. The barbettes for the main guns were {{convert|11|in}} thick above the weather deck and {{convert|9|in|0}} below it. The armor of all the 12-inch gun turrets had a maximum thickness of 11 inches with a 3-inch roof. The deck armor was {{convert|29|mm|order=flip}} thick and the conning tower was protected by {{convert|10|in|0}} of armor.Lengerer, pp. 76, 81

Following the Japanese ship-naming conventions, Kawachi and Settsu were named after ancient Japanese provinces,Silverstone, pp. 325, 333 both now a part of Osaka prefecture. The only significant action performed by either ship during World War I was when they bombarded German fortifications in October–November 1914 during the final stage of the Battle of Qingdao.Hackett & Kingsepp They were both assigned to the First Squadron until they were refitted in 1917 and 1916 respectively. Upon their completion of their refits, both ships were assigned to the Second Squadron. On 12 July 1918, Kawachi was sunk in an accidental magazine explosion in Tokuyama Bay that killed over 600 crewmen.{{#tag:ref|Sources differ widely on the exact number of men killed. Gardiner and Gray and Jentschura, Jung and Mickel agree on 700, but Lengerer says 600Lengerer, p. 83 and Kingsepp gives 618 killed from a crew of 960.Kingsepp, p. 99|group=Note}} Stricken from the Navy List on 21 September 1918, the wreck was later partially dismantled although most of the hull was abandoned in place to serve as an artificial reef.Lengerer, pp. 83–84

Settsu was reassigned to the First Squadron later that month. By this time, the dozen 40-caliber 3-inch 4th Year Type guns had been removed and four 3-inch anti-aircraft guns were added. Two of the torpedo tubes were also removed. The ship served as the flagship for Emperor Taishō for the naval reviews held in 1918 and 1919. She was placed in reserve in late 1919 and reboilered during an overhaul that lasted until 1921. Settsu was disarmed in 1922 under the terms of the Washington Naval Treaty{{#tag:ref|Originally Japan was going to be able to retain Settsu intact, but she was given up so that the IJN could keep the brand-new battleship {{ship|Japanese battleship|Mutsu||2}}.|group=Note}} and stricken from the Navy List on 1 October 1923. Her guns were turned over to the Imperial Japanese Army for use as coastal artillery; her main gun turrets were installed around the Strait of Tsushima. The rest of her guns were placed in reserve and scrapped in 1943.Gibbs & Tamura, pp. 192, 194 The ship was converted into a target ship in 1924 with her armor reinforced to withstand hits.

File:Japanese battleship Settsu as target ship April 7 1940.jpg

In 1935–1937, the ship was converted to radio-control which allowed her to be maneuvered by operators aboard another ship and additional armor was added. At the beginning of the Second Sino-Japanese War in 1937, she transported a battalion of naval troops to the Shanghai area. Settsu simulated the radio traffic of eight aircraft carriers at the beginning of the Pacific War in an effort to deceive Allied intelligence as to the locations and activities of the Japanese carriers. For the rest of the war she served as a target for carrier pilots. Settsu was badly damaged when Allied carrier aircraft attacked the IJN base at Kure in July 1945 and was forced to beach herself lest she sink. The ship was stricken from the Navy List on 20 November and her hulk was raised and broken up in 1946–1947.

{{reflist|group=Note}}

{{Reflist|2}}

• {{cite book

| last = Evans

| first = David C.

| last2 = Peattie

| first2 = Mark R.

| title = Kaigun: Strategy, Tactics, and Technology in the Imperial Japanese Navy, 1887–1941

| location = Annapolis, Maryland

| publisher = Naval Institute Press

| year = 1997

| isbn = 0-87021-192-7

| author-link2 = Mark Peattie|name-list-style=amp

}}

• {{cite book|last=Friedman|first=Norman|title=Naval Weapons of World War One|publisher=Seaforth|location=Barnsley, South Yorkshire, UK|year=2011|isbn=978-1-84832-100-7}}
• {{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=0-87021-907-3 |name-list-style=amp}}
• {{cite journal |last1=Gibbs |first1=Jay|last2=Tamura|first2=Toshio |title=Question 51/80 |journal=Warship International |date=1982 |volume=XIX |issue=2 |pages=190, 194–195|issn=0043-0374|name-list-style=amp}}
• {{cite web|url=http://www.combinedfleet.com/Settsu_t.htm|title=IJN Settsu: Tabular Record of Movement|last1=Hackett|first1=Bob|last2=Kingsepp|first2=Sander|year=2009|publisher=Combinedfleet.com|access-date=8 September 2013|name-list-style=amp}}
• {{cite book| last = Jentschura| first = Hansgeorg| first2 = Dieter |last2=Jung|first3=Peter |last3=Mickel| year = 1977| title = Warships of the Imperial Japanese Navy, 1869–1945| publisher = United States Naval Institute| location = Annapolis, Maryland| isbn = 0-87021-893-X|name-list-style=amp}}
• {{cite journal

| last1 = Kingsepp

| first1 = Sander

| editor1-last = Ahlberg

| editor1-first= Lars

| title = Reader Reactions and Questions

| date = March 2007

| pages = 99–100

| journal = Contributions to the History of Imperial Japanese Warships

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

• {{cite journal

| last1 = Lengerer

| first1 = Hans

| editor1-last = Ahlberg

| editor1-first= Lars

| title = Battleships Kawachi and Settsu

| date = September 2006

| pages = 66–84

| journal = Contributions to the History of Imperial Japanese Warships

| issue = Paper I}}{{subscription required}}

• {{cite book |last1=Lengerer |first1=Hans |last2=Ahlberg |first2=Lars |title=Capital Ships of the Imperial Japanese Navy 1868–1945: Ironclads, Battleships and Battle Cruisers: An Outline History of Their Design, Construction and Operations|volume=I: Armourclad Fusō to Kongō Class Battle Cruisers |date=2019 |publisher=Despot Infinitus |location=Zagreb, Croatia |isbn=978-953-8218-26-2|name-list-style=amp}}
• {{cite book|last=Preston|first=Antony|title=Battleships of World War I: An Illustrated Encyclopedia of the Battleships of All Nations 1914–1918|publisher=Galahad Books|location=New York|year=1972|isbn=0-88365-300-1}}
• {{cite book|last=Silverstone|first=Paul H.|title=Directory of the World's Capital Ships|year=1984|publisher=Hippocrene Books|location=New York|isbn=0-88254-979-0}}

{{Commons category|Kawachi class battleship}}

{{Kawachi class battleship}}

{{WWI Japanese ships}}

{{WWII Japanese ships}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kawachi Class Battleship}}

Category:Battleship classes