was a 2nd class protected cruiser

Protected cruiser

The protected cruiser is a type of naval cruiser of the late 19th century, so known because its armoured deck offered protection for vital machine spaces from shrapnel caused by exploding shells above...

 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 the Armstrong Whitworth

Armstrong Whitworth

Sir W G Armstrong Whitworth & Co Ltd was a major British manufacturing company of the early years of the 20th century. Headquartered in Elswick, Newcastle upon Tyne, Armstrong Whitworth engaged in the construction of armaments, ships, locomotives, automobiles, and aircraft.-History:In 1847,...

 shipyards in Elswick

Elswick, Tyne and Wear

Elswick is a ward of the city of Newcastle upon Tyne, England, in the western part of the city, bordering the river Tyne. One of the earliest references to the coal mining industry of the north east occurs in 1330, when it was recorded that the Prior of Tynemouth let a colliery, called Heygrove, at...

, in Great Britain

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...

. Yoshino is sometimes regarded as a 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...

 to the , although the two vessels are of different classes. The name Yoshino comes from the Yoshino mountains

Yoshino District, Nara

Yoshino is a district located in Nara Prefecture, Japan.As of 2003, the district has an estimated population of 59,020 and a density of 26.14 persons per km²...

, located in the southern portion of Nara prefecture

Nara Prefecture

is a prefecture in the Kansai region on Honshū Island, Japan. The capital is the city of Nara.-History:The present-day Nara Prefecture was created in 1887, making it independent of Osaka Prefecture....

.

Background

Yoshino was an improved design of the Argentine Navy

Argentine Navy

The Navy of the Argentine Republic or Armada of the Argentine Republic is the navy of Argentina. It is one of the three branches of the Armed Forces of the Argentine Republic, together with the Army and the Air Force....

 cruiser 25 de Mayo designed by Sir Philip Watts, who was also responsible for the design of the and the s. When commissioned, Yoshino was the largest ship in the Imperial Japanese Navy, and was also the fastest cruiser

Cruiser

A cruiser is a type of warship. The term has been in use for several hundreds of years, and has had different meanings throughout this period...

 in the world.

Service record

Soon after being placed into service, Yoshino was assigned to patrol duties off of the coast of Korea

Korea

Korea ) is an East Asian geographic region that is currently divided into two separate sovereign states — North Korea and South Korea. Located on the Korean Peninsula, Korea is bordered by the People's Republic of China to the northwest, Russia to the northeast, and is separated from Japan to the...

. On 25 July 1894, Yoshino, and , met two Chinese ships off the 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...

 coast. Although not yet at war, one of the Chinese ships (the Tsi-yuen

Chinese cruiser Jiyuan

The Jiyuan , sometimes translated as Chiyuan, was a cruiser in the Chinese Beiyang fleet of the Qing government. It was originally ordered as the third vessel in the class of battleships, but as the necessary funds could not be raised and the order was changed to a smaller armoured deck cruiser....

  headed straight for the Japanese ships in what appeared to be a torpedo

Torpedo

The modern torpedo is a self-propelled missile weapon with an explosive warhead, launched above or below the water surface, propelled underwater towards a target, and designed to detonate either on contact with it or in proximity to it.The term torpedo was originally employed for...

 attack. All three Japanese vessels opened fire, and shortly after, Tsi-yuen hauled down her colors and appeared to surrender, but she then managed to escape into the fog and safety.

After the formal declaration of hostilities, Yoshino continued to participate in the First Sino-Japanese War

First Sino-Japanese War

The First Sino-Japanese War was fought between Qing Dynasty China and Meiji Japan, primarily over control of Korea...

, including the Battle of the Yellow Sea

Battle of Yalu River (1894)

The Battle of the Yalu River , also called simply 'The Battle of Yalu' took place on September 17, 1894. It involved the Japanese and the Chinese navies, and was the largest naval engagement of the First Sino-Japanese War...

 on 17 September 1894. Yoshino was among the Japanese fleet units that took part in the invasion of Taiwan

Japanese invasion of Taiwan (1895)

The Japanese invasion of Taiwan was a conflict between the Empire of Japan and the armed forces of the short-lived Republic of Formosa following the Qing Dynasty's cession of Taiwan to Japan in April 1895 at the end of the First Sino-Japanese War...

 in 1895, and saw action on 13 October 1895 at the bombardment of the Chinese coastal forts

Cihou Fort

Qihou Fort or Qihou Battery – 19th century fort, formerly guarding northern entrance to Kaohsiung harbour.- History :First fortifications were built in 1720, during Kangxi's reign. After Japanese expedition in 1874 Chinese authorities constructed a modern fort, which in 1880 had new Armstrong's...

 at Takow (Kaohsiung

Kaohsiung

Kaohsiung is a city located in southwestern Taiwan, facing the Taiwan Strait on the west. Kaohsiung, officially named Kaohsiung City, is divided into thirty-eight districts. The city is one of five special municipalities of the Republic of China...

). Future Admiral

Admiral

Admiral is the rank, or part of the name of the ranks, of the highest naval officers. It is usually considered a full admiral and above vice admiral and below admiral of the fleet . It is usually abbreviated to "Adm" or "ADM"...

 Yashiro Rokuro served on Yoshino during this campaign as a lieutenant

Lieutenant

A lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer in many nations' armed forces. Typically, the rank of lieutenant in naval usage, while still a junior officer rank, is senior to the army rank...

.

With the start of 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...

 of 1904-1905, Yoshino participated in the naval Battle of Port Arthur

Battle of Port Arthur

The Battle of Port Arthur was the starting battle of the Russo-Japanese War...

. However, soon after the start of the war, Yoshino collided with the Japanese 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...

  in dense fog. Kasuga's ram

Naval ram

A naval ram was a weapon carried by varied types of ships, dating back to antiquity. The weapon consisted of an underwater prolongation of the bow of the ship to form an armoured beak, usually between six and twelve feet in length...

 hit Yoshino's port side, and penetrated to the engine room; Yoshino turned turtle and sank in the Yellow Sea

Yellow Sea

The Yellow Sea is the name given to the northern part of the East China Sea, which is a marginal sea of the Pacific Ocean. It is located between mainland China and the Korean Peninsula. Its name comes from the sand particles from Gobi Desert sand storms that turn the surface of the water golden...

 (38°07′N 122°33′E) on 15 May 1904 with the loss of 319 lives. Only 19 of the crew managed to survive.

As a result of this accident, the Imperial Japanese Navy removed the rams from the bows of all its warships.

Other ships named Yoshino

The cruiser Yoshino should not be confused with the transport vessel Yoshino-maru 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...

period.