Shikishima (battleship)

Shikishima (battleship) was a pre-dreadnought battleship built for the Imperial Japanese Navy in the late 1890s. As the lead ship of her two-vessel class, she was constructed in the United Kingdom by the Thames Ironworks and Shipbuilding Company and served as a front-line capital ship during the Russo-Japanese War. The vessel was later relegated to secondary duties before being disarmed and ultimately scrapped following World War II.

Design and description

The design for *Shikishima* was prepared by the British naval architect Sir Philip Watts and was a modified and improved version of the preceding *Majestic*-class built for the Royal Navy. Her primary armament consisted of four 12-inch (305 mm) guns mounted in two twin-gun turrets, one forward and one aft. Secondary firepower was provided by fourteen 6-inch (152 mm) quick-firing guns mounted in casemates along the sides of the hull. For defense against torpedo boats, the ship carried twenty 12-pounder and eight 3-pounder guns, along with four submerged torpedo tubes. *Shikishima* was protected by a full-length armored belt of Harvey armor and her propulsion machinery, consisting of two triple-expansion steam engines fed by 25 Belleville boilers, gave her a top speed of 18 knots (33 km/h).

Construction and career

*Shikishima* was ordered as part of the 1896 naval expansion program following the First Sino-Japanese War. Her keel was laid down at the Thames Ironworks and Shipbuilding Company shipyard in Blackwall, London, on 29 March 1897. The battleship was launched on 1 November 1898 and completed on 26 January 1900. After her delivery voyage to Japan, she was assigned to the Standing Fleet, the main battle line of the Imperial Japanese Navy. In 1901, she participated in a naval review held for Emperor Meiji in Kobe. Along with her sister ship *Hatsuse*, *Shikishima* was considered one of the most powerful and modern battleships in the Japanese fleet at the turn of the century.

Service history

*Shikishima* played a central role in the Russo-Japanese War of 1904–1905. As part of the 1st Division of the First Fleet, she was flagship of Vice Admiral Tōgō Heihachirō during the Battle of Port Arthur in February 1904. She subsequently participated in the Battle of the Yellow Sea in August 1904. Her most significant action was at the decisive Battle of Tsushima in May 1905, where she engaged the Russian Baltic Fleet and sustained only minor damage while contributing to the overwhelming Japanese victory. Following the war, she was reclassified as a coast defence ship in 1910 and later served as a training vessel. During World War I, she was deployed to the Siege of Tsingtao and performed patrol duties in the Pacific Ocean.

Fate

After 1921, *Shikishima* was disarmed under the terms of the Washington Naval Treaty and converted into a stationary training hulk. She was re-designated *Haikan No. 6* in 1923 and served in this capacity at the Yokosuka Naval Arsenal for over two decades. Following the surrender of Japan and the end of World War II, the derelict hulk was scrapped at the Uraga Dock Company facility in 1948, concluding nearly half a century of service.

Category:Battleships of the Imperial Japanese Navy Category:Pre-dreadnought battleships of Japan Category:Ships built on the River Thames