japanese battleship class pre dreadnought battleship built imperial_japanese_navy 1890s japan lacked industrial capacity build warships ship designed built united_kingdom participated early stages russo japanese war including second day war involved subsequent operations struck mines port arthur sink immediately capsized tow number hours later japanese able loss secret russians year try advantage loss description feet long overall beam feet inches load draught feet normally displaced long tons crew officers enlisted men unlike sister ship fitted admiral flagship ship powered vertical triple expansion steam engines steam generated cylindrical boilers engines rated indicated horsepower forced draught designed reach speed knots mph reached speed knots mph ihp sea trials carried maximum tonnes long tons coal allowed steam nautical miles speed knots mph main battery consisted inch guns mounted twin gun turrets fore aft superstructure secondary battery consisted inch quick firing guns mounted casemates sides hull mounted upper deck protected gun shields number smaller guns carried defence torpedo boats included fourteen millimetre pounder guns pounder hotchkiss guns calibre armed inch torpedo tubes waterline armour belt consisted harvey armour inches thick armour gun turrets inches thick deck inches thick ship exchanged guns equal number pounder cwt guns raised number crewmen later construction career old japan ordered naval programme ship laid shipyard december yard number ship launched december completed august total cost conducted sea trials following month departed september arrived november initially assigned primary combat fleet reduced reserve november ship reclassified class battleship march reassigned years later placed reserve remained reactivated december assigned 1st division 1st fleet combined fleet start russo japanese war commanded participated february admiral led 1st fleet attack russian ships anchored outside port arthur expected surprise night attack destroyers successful anticipating russians badly disorganized weakened recovered surprise ready attack japanese ships spotted protected cruiser patrolling offshore alerted russian defences chose attack russian coastal defences main armament engage ships secondary guns splitting fire proved poor decision japanese inch inch guns inflicted little damage russian ships concentrated fire japanese ships effect ships sides hit russian casualties numbered japanese suffered killed wounded hit battle march sister command rear admiral bombarded harbour port arthur southwest range kilometres fired inch shells little damage tried march attacked russian coast defence guns transferred new russian commander vice admiral russian ships port arthur observers overlooking japanese ships hit inch shell participated action april successfully lured portion including flagship battleship spotted battleships 1st division turned port arthur struck minefield laid japanese previous night russian battleship sank minutes magazines exploded killed success resumed long range bombardment missions prompted russians lay minefields sea battleships flagship protected cruiser dispatch boat relieve japanese blockading force port arthur following morning squadron encountered minefield laid russian struck disabled steering struck moving assist blew hole starboard aft boiler room detonated starboard forward hull near underwater torpedo room second ship list starboard gradually increased day towed away minefield north japanese base taking water rate captain ordered ship anchored near allow crew easily abandon ship assembled crew sang japanese national anthem abandoned ship took tow battleship list continued increase capsized hours later cruiser forced cast tow roughly coordinates russians observed sink japanese able conceal loss year deception surviving crewmen assigned auxiliary assigned guard port arthur rest war addressed letters aboard battleship
Japanese battleship Yashima