Japanese battleship Katori
Encyclopedia
was the lead ship
in the Katori class
of pre-dreadnought
battleship
s of the Imperial Japanese Navy
, designed and built by Vickers
shipyards, in the United Kingdom
. The name Katori comes from a famous Shinto
shrine Katori Shrine
in Katori City
, Chiba
, located to the northeast of Tokyo
. Its sister ship
was the battleship Kashima
.
and Yashima
in the Russo-Japanese War
. Although the armored cruiser
s Nisshin
and Kasuga
successfully held their own in the line of battle
during the crucial Battle of Tsushima
, the Japanese Navy projected that a fleet of six battleships was the minimum necessary against potential threats from China
, Russia
or the United States
. Although construction was rushed, Katori was delivered only after the end of the Russo-Japanese War. Prince and Princess Arisugawa were on hand for the official launching ceremony.
on 15 August 1906 after her maiden voyage and shakedown cruise
from Portsmouth
, England
.
During the visit of the United States Navy
's Great White Fleet
on its around-the-world voyage, Katori was part of the escort fleet through Japanese waters in October 1908. In a Naval Review off of Yokosuka on 10 November 1913, Katori had the honor of hosting the crown prince
(the future Emperor Hirohito).
Although rendered obsolete by the development of the Dreadnought
-type battleships, Katori participated in World War I
, albeit in a relatively minor role in the occupation of lightly defended German colonies in the Caroline Islands
, Mariana Islands
, and Palau
Islands groups.
After World War I, Katori served as part of the Japanese fleet involved in covering the landings of troops and coastal patrol during the Siberian Intervention
of 1918–1921.
On 1922-03-03, Katori departed Japan with Prince Regent Hirohito on a six month tour of the United Kingdom and five other European countries: (France
, Italy
, Vatican City
, the Netherlands, and Belgium
) thus making him the first Japanese crown prince to travel abroad. Katori returned to Japan on 3 September 1922, and a series of commemorative postage stamps depicting Katori were issued by the Japanese government to commemorate the safe voyage.
As a result of the Washington Naval Agreement, the Katori was decommissioned on 20 September 1923, and was sent to the breakers at Maizuru Naval Arsensal in 1924. However, some of its larger guns were salvaged, and re-used in coastal artillery
batteries around Tokyo Bay
.
The battleship Katori should not be confused with the light cruiser
Katori
of the Pacific War
era.
Lead ship
The lead ship or class leader is the first of a series or class of ships all constructed according to the same general design. The term is applicable military ships and larger civilian craft.-Overview:...
in the Katori class
Katori class battleship
The was a two-ship class of pre-dreadnought battleships of the Imperial Japanese Navy. The Katori class ships were the last battleships to be built for Japan at overseas shipyards, and the last to be equipped with a ram.-Background:...
of pre-dreadnought
Pre-dreadnought
Pre-dreadnought battleship is the general term for all of the types of sea-going battleships built between the mid-1890s and 1905. Pre-dreadnoughts replaced the ironclad warships of the 1870s and 1880s...
battleship
Battleship
A battleship is a large armored warship with a main battery consisting of heavy caliber guns. Battleships were larger, better armed and armored than cruisers and destroyers. As the largest armed ships in a fleet, battleships were used to attain command of the sea and represented the apex of a...
s of the Imperial Japanese Navy
Imperial Japanese Navy
The Imperial Japanese Navy was the navy of the Empire of Japan from 1869 until 1947, when it was dissolved following Japan's constitutional renunciation of the use of force as a means of settling international disputes...
, designed and built by Vickers
Vickers Shipbuilding and Engineering Ltd
In 1994 VSEL was subject to two takeover proposals, one from GEC and another from British Aerospace . VSEL was willing to participate in a merger with a larger company to reduce its exposure to cycles in warship production, particularly following the "Options for Change" defence review after the...
shipyards, in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
. The name Katori comes from a famous Shinto
Shinto
or Shintoism, also kami-no-michi, is the indigenous spirituality of Japan and the Japanese people. It is a set of practices, to be carried out diligently, to establish a connection between present day Japan and its ancient past. Shinto practices were first recorded and codified in the written...
shrine Katori Shrine
Katori Shrine
The is a Shintō shrine in the city of Katori in Chiba Prefecture, Japan. It is the ichinomiya of former Shimōsa Province, and is the head shrine of the approximately 400 Katori shrines around the country ....
in Katori City
Katori, Chiba
is a city located in northern Chiba, Japan. As of February 2011, the city had an estimated population of 82,633 and a population density of 315 persons per km². The total area was 262.31 km²...
, Chiba
Chiba Prefecture
is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region and the Greater Tokyo Area. Its capital is Chiba City.- History :Chiba Prefecture was established on June 15, 1873 with the merger of Kisarazu Prefecture and Inba Prefecture...
, located to the northeast of Tokyo
Tokyo
, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
. Its sister ship
Sister ship
A sister ship is a ship of the same class as, or of virtually identical design to, another ship. Such vessels share a near-identical hull and superstructure layout, similar displacement, and roughly comparable features and equipment...
was the battleship Kashima
Japanese battleship Kashima
was a Katori class pre-dreadnought battleship of the Imperial Japanese Navy, designed and built by Armstrong Whitworth at the Elswick Yard, in the United Kingdom. The name Kashima comes from the famous Kashima Shrine Shinto shrine in Ibaraki prefecture, located to the northeast of Tokyo...
.
Background
Kashima and Katori were ordered in response to the loss of HatsuseJapanese battleship Hatsuse
|-External links:**...
and Yashima
Japanese battleship Yashima
|-External links:** The New York Times, June 2, 1905....
in the Russo-Japanese War
Russo-Japanese War
The Russo-Japanese War was "the first great war of the 20th century." It grew out of rival imperial ambitions of the Russian Empire and Japanese Empire over Manchuria and Korea...
. Although the armored cruiser
Armored cruiser
The armored cruiser was a type of warship of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Like other types of cruiser, the armored cruiser was a long-range, independent warship, capable of defeating any ship apart from a battleship, and fast enough to outrun any battleships it encountered.The first...
s Nisshin
Japanese cruiser Nisshin
, also transliterated as Nissin, was a armored cruiser of the Imperial Japanese Navy designed and built by Ansaldo in Genoa Italy, where the type was known as the . Designed as a cross between a battleship and a cruiser, but with a very small displacement, it had the ability to stand in the line...
and Kasuga
Japanese cruiser Kasuga
was the lead ship of the armored cruisers of the Imperial Japanese Navy, designed and built by Ansaldo Yards, Genoa, Italy, where the type was known as the...
successfully held their own in the line of battle
Line of battle
In naval warfare, the line of battle is a tactic in which the ships of the fleet form a line end to end. A primitive form had been used by the Portuguese under Vasco Da Gama in 1502 near Malabar against a Muslim fleet.,Maarten Tromp used it in the Action of 18 September 1639 while its first use in...
during the crucial Battle of Tsushima
Battle of Tsushima
The Battle of Tsushima , commonly known as the “Sea of Japan Naval Battle” in Japan and the “Battle of Tsushima Strait”, was the major naval battle fought between Russia and Japan during the Russo-Japanese War...
, the Japanese Navy projected that a fleet of six battleships was the minimum necessary against potential threats from China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
, Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
or the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. Although construction was rushed, Katori was delivered only after the end of the Russo-Japanese War. Prince and Princess Arisugawa were on hand for the official launching ceremony.
Operational history
Katori arrived at YokosukaYokosuka, Kanagawa
is a city located in Kanagawa, Japan. As of 2010, the city had an estimated population of 419,067 and a population density of 4,160 people per km². It covered an area of 100.62 km²...
on 15 August 1906 after her maiden voyage and shakedown cruise
Shakedown cruise
Shakedown cruise is a nautical term in which the performance of a ship is tested. Shakedown cruises are also used to familiarize the ship's crew with operation of the craft....
from Portsmouth
Portsmouth
Portsmouth is the second largest city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire on the south coast of England. Portsmouth is notable for being the United Kingdom's only island city; it is located mainly on Portsea Island...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
.
During the visit of the United States Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
's Great White Fleet
Great White Fleet
The Great White Fleet was the popular nickname for the United States Navy battle fleet that completed a circumnavigation of the globe from 16 December 1907 to 22 February 1909 by order of U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt. It consisted of 16 battleships divided into two squadrons, along with...
on its around-the-world voyage, Katori was part of the escort fleet through Japanese waters in October 1908. In a Naval Review off of Yokosuka on 10 November 1913, Katori had the honor of hosting the crown prince
Crown Prince
A crown prince or crown princess is the heir or heiress apparent to the throne in a royal or imperial monarchy. The wife of a crown prince is also titled crown princess....
(the future Emperor Hirohito).
Although rendered obsolete by the development of the Dreadnought
Dreadnought
The dreadnought was the predominant type of 20th-century battleship. The first of the kind, the Royal Navy's had such an impact when launched in 1906 that similar battleships built after her were referred to as "dreadnoughts", and earlier battleships became known as pre-dreadnoughts...
-type battleships, Katori participated in World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, albeit in a relatively minor role in the occupation of lightly defended German colonies in the Caroline Islands
Caroline Islands
The Caroline Islands are a widely scattered archipelago of tiny islands in the western Pacific Ocean, to the north of New Guinea. Politically they are divided between the Federated States of Micronesia in the eastern part of the group, and Palau at the extreme western end...
, Mariana Islands
Mariana Islands
The Mariana Islands are an arc-shaped archipelago made up by the summits of 15 volcanic mountains in the north-western Pacific Ocean between the 12th and 21st parallels north and along the 145th meridian east...
, and Palau
Palau
Palau , officially the Republic of Palau , is an island nation in the Pacific Ocean, east of the Philippines and south of Tokyo. In 1978, after three decades as being part of the United Nations trusteeship, Palau chose independence instead of becoming part of the Federated States of Micronesia, a...
Islands groups.
After World War I, Katori served as part of the Japanese fleet involved in covering the landings of troops and coastal patrol during the Siberian Intervention
Siberian Intervention
The ', or the Siberian Expedition, of 1918–1922 was the dispatch of troops of the Entente powers to the Russian Maritime Provinces as part of a larger effort by the western powers and Japan to support White Russian forces against the Bolshevik Red Army during the Russian Civil War...
of 1918–1921.
On 1922-03-03, Katori departed Japan with Prince Regent Hirohito on a six month tour of the United Kingdom and five other European countries: (France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, Vatican City
Vatican City
Vatican City , or Vatican City State, in Italian officially Stato della Città del Vaticano , which translates literally as State of the City of the Vatican, is a landlocked sovereign city-state whose territory consists of a walled enclave within the city of Rome, Italy. It has an area of...
, the Netherlands, and Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
) thus making him the first Japanese crown prince to travel abroad. Katori returned to Japan on 3 September 1922, and a series of commemorative postage stamps depicting Katori were issued by the Japanese government to commemorate the safe voyage.
As a result of the Washington Naval Agreement, the Katori was decommissioned on 20 September 1923, and was sent to the breakers at Maizuru Naval Arsensal in 1924. However, some of its larger guns were salvaged, and re-used in coastal artillery
Coastal artillery
Coastal artillery is the branch of armed forces concerned with operating anti-ship artillery or fixed gun batteries in coastal fortifications....
batteries around Tokyo Bay
Tokyo Bay
is a bay in the southern Kantō region of Japan. Its old name was .-Geography:Tokyo Bay is surrounded by the Bōsō Peninsula to the east and the Miura Peninsula to the west. In a narrow sense, Tokyo Bay is the area north of the straight line formed by the on the Miura Peninsula on one end and on...
.
The battleship Katori should not be confused with the light cruiser
Light cruiser
A light cruiser is a type of small- or medium-sized warship. The term is a shortening of the phrase "light armored cruiser", describing a small ship that carried armor in the same way as an armored cruiser: a protective belt and deck...
Katori
Japanese cruiser Katori
was the lead ship of the Katori class of three light cruisers which served with the Imperial Japanese Navy during World War II. It is named after the noted Shinto shrine Katori Shrine in Chiba prefecture, Japan.-Background:...
of the Pacific War
Pacific War
The Pacific War, also sometimes called the Asia-Pacific War refers broadly to the parts of World War II that took place in the Pacific Ocean, its islands, and in East Asia, then called the Far East...
era.