Japanese battleship Mikasa

Japanese pre-dreadnought battleship

Mikasa

(三笠) is a pre-dreadnought battleship built for the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) in the late 1890s.
Named after Mount Mikasa in Nara, Japan, the ship served as the flagship of Vice Admiral Tōgō Heihachirō throughout the Russo-Japanese War of 1904–1905, including the Battle of Port Arthur on the second day of the war and the Battles of the Yellow Sea and Tsushima . A few days after the end of the war, Mikasa
's magazine accidentally exploded and sank the ship. She was salvaged and her repairs took over two years. The ship subsequently served as a coastal defense ship during World War I and supported Japanese forces during the Siberian Intervention in the Russian Civil War.

After 1922 Mikasa

was decommissioned under the Washington Naval Treaty and preserved as a museum ship in Yokosuka.
The post-World War II Occupation of Japan required major renovations in the late 1950s. She has been partially restored and is now a museum ship located at Mikasa Park in Yokosuka. Mikasa
is the last remaining example of a pre-dreadnought battleship anywhere in the world.[Note 1]

Background

The plans show Mikasa
in original condition, from
Jane's Fighting Ships 1906–07
Combat Experience in the First Sino-Japanese War 1894–1895. convinced the Imperial Japanese Navy of the weakness of the Jeune Ecole naval philosophy, which emphasized torpedo boats and commercial raiding to balance expensive, heavily armored ships, and Japan began a program to modernize and expand its fleet in preparation for further confrontations. In particular, Japan unveiled a ten-year naval expansion program with the construction of six battleships and six ships. armored cruisers at its core.[1] These ships were paid for out of £30,000,000. reparations were paid by China after defeat in the First Sino-Japanese War.[2]

As before Fuji

and
Shikishima
-class battleships, Japan lacked the technology and capability to build its own battleships and again turned to the United Kingdom for the four remaining battleships of the program.[2]
Mikasa
, the last of these ships, was ordered from Vickers shipyard at Barrow-in-Furness in 1898 at a cost of £880,000 (8.8 million yen at the time). Although it closely resembled several other ships ordered under this program, it was the only ship in its class.[3]

New in blogs

EDB Mikasa and a monument to his admiral.

Battleship "Mikasa"

The magazine “MARINE ENGINEER”, followed by our “Sea Collection” in 1900, reported on the launching of the first-class squadron battleship “Mikasa”, laid down on November 8, 1900 in Barrov, at the shipyard. January 1899. Contemporaries expected that it would be launched by May 1901. The battleship entered service on March 1, 1902, and at the end of 1902, after completing tests with a Japanese crew, it went home.

In terms of its displacement, armament and size, it was close to the battleship Asahi, having a very similar silhouette, but differed significantly from it in its armor system and quality of protection. At first it was assumed that the main armor protection on the ship would be a full belt of garveyed nickel steel manufactured by Vickers, but later it was clarified that the armor was Krupp, that is, even 16% stronger (according to other sources, 20%).

The cost of its construction was £930,000. According to other sources, each of the six main participants in the war with Russia was worth about 1,000,000 pounds, which corresponded to 4 million American dollars.

Mikasa was the second squadron battleship launched at the Vickers shipyard during the last two years of the nineteenth century and the forty-seventh warship built by the Naval Construction Works at Barrow, becoming upon completion Japan's largest and most heavily armed battleship and one of the the most powerful ships in the world. Its greatest length was 131.7 m, along the waterline - 126.5 m, between perpendiculars - 122 m, beam - 23.23 m, draft - 8.28 m. Coal reserve: normal - 700 tons, full - 1521 tons, which was enough for 4600 miles at 10 knots (according to other sources, 3000 miles at 11 knots) or 1900 miles at 16 knots. Normal displacement is 15352 tons, full displacement is 15979 tons.

The ship's hull was divided into compartments more thoughtfully than that of the Shikishima by numerous watertight bulkheads, which improved structural protection against possible damage from torpedo attacks or accidents. For the first time in the Japanese fleet, the underwater part of the battleship was coated with an improved composition of Hartman Rahtien (The Red Hand Brand). Like the Asahi, it was externally similar to the British pre-dreadnoughts of the Canopus and Formidable classes, differing from later British ships only in the absence of fire control posts on their masts.

The main armor protection on the ship was a full armor belt made of Krupp steel (only a small part of the stern end was unprotected) made by Vickers, which had a thickness of 47.6 m (according to other sources, 32 m) in the middle part of the ship opposite its vital parts 229 mm (which corresponded to 571.5 mm of iron) and then gradually thinning towards the bottom to 127 mm. Towards the extremities it decreased to 178, then to 127, and finally to 102 mm.

At the junction of the 178-mm and 127-mm belt plates at both ends, armored traverses with a thickness of 152 mm began, running, as on the Shikishima, at an angle to the centerline plane and mating with the main-caliber barbettes, which had a thickness of Krupp armor of 356 mm with side facing the enemy, and 203 mm (according to other sources, 254 mm) from the rear, where they were protected by traverses. The main belt sank below the waterline by 1.6 m and its upper edge rose above it by 0.76 m, connecting here with the 152-mm armor of the citadel, which, having a height of 2.3 m, in turn rose to the upper deck. This citadel constituted the main, especially characteristic feature in the design of the battleship, distinguishing it from the five above-mentioned brothers, since it not only protected the space enclosed between the armor belt and the battery of the main deck, but, rising to the upper deck, also replaced the usual ones on the English armadillo casemates. This provided complete protection for the 152 mm guns.

The placement of medium-caliber artillery in a checkerboard pattern and in separate casemates in the Japanese fleet was abandoned for the first time on the Mikasa. The advantage of such placement compared to a system of separate casemates, such as, for example, on the Asahi, is clear if you pay attention to the fact that in this case the protection extended to the servants and all the guns installed in the middle part of the main deck of the battleship (and the guns themselves turned out to be are just as well protected by 152 mm armor on the outside as when installed in separate casemates). These guns were much better protected from the rear, where they were protected not only by the same armor on the opposite side, but also by two steel longitudinal bulkheads 51 mm thick, each passing behind the battery of casemate guns. This should also include 51-mm steel transverse bulkheads that separated the guns from one another. Concerns about grouping 152 mm guns for fear of putting several of them out of action with one successful shell hit turned out to be minimal.

The maximum length of the citadel along the center plane between the outer edges of the barbettes was 78 m, along the sides 53 m, in the places where it interfaces with the barbettes 63 m. All the armor of the citadel was also made using the Krupp method. Four separate armored casemates remained for only four 152 mm guns, mounted on the upper deck in the superstructure, as on the Shikishima, Hatsusa and Asahi, above the four corners of the citadel. On the outside, these corner casemates were also protected by 152 mm armor, and on the other side by 76 mm, having a 51 mm roof.

From the base of the traverses, as on its predecessors, a carapace armored deck 76 mm thick ran to the ends, thinning to 51 mm towards the stems. Inside the citadel, the armored deck made of garvey-nickel steel also ran below the main deck and had a thickness of 51 mm in the horizontal part and 76 mm at the bevels. The upper deck in the citadel area had a thickness of 51 mm, giving reason to recognize the Mikasa as the first Japanese battleship to receive two armored decks.

The conning tower, in which the commander had all the instruments for controlling the ship: the steering wheel, engine telegraph, communication pipes to all the ship's posts, was protected by Krupp armor 356 mm thick, and the stern (at that time also called the observation room) - 76 mm. The protection of the main caliber turrets was the same thickness as on the Shikishima - 254 mm in the frontal part and 203 mm in the rest, including the roof. But the armor was already Krupp’s. The total weight of the armor was 4097 tons (slightly less than on the Shikishima, Hatsusa and Asahi).

The artillery armament was almost the same as on the battleship Shikishima. Four 305-mm forty-caliber (but with improved mechanisms by the Vickers plant, which made it possible to reduce, compared to the Shikishima, loading time to 30-50 s) Armstrong guns (firing range 69 ca., projectile weight 385.5 kg) were placed in barbettes with a diameter of 10.7 m (two feet less than the Shikishima).

Ten 152-mm (firing range 48.5-55 ca., projectile weight 45.5 kg) forty-caliber in the upper citadel and four on the upper deck in the corners in armored casemates. Of the 20 76-mm forty-caliber guns, 4 stood on the main deck at the ends, 8 (four on each side) on the upper deck between the casemates of the 152-mm guns, 4 on the roofs of these casemates, 4 on the wings of the bridges. 4 47-mm forty-caliber guns were located on the superstructure in the midship area, and 8 47-mm 33-caliber guns were on the tops, symmetrically relative to the centerline plane. According to other sources, the Mikasa had 20 47 mm guns. The weight of metal fired from all guns per minute was 11.5 tons, and the weight of a broadside salvo for the same time was 7.5 tons. In artillery tests in England, when firing three main-caliber shells per barrel, each shot required an average of 48 seconds. On all six of the above-described battleships, the 305-mm (elevation angle up to 13.5°), 152- and 76-mm guns were equipped with optical sights supplied by , rangefinders with a 1.2-m base, electrical synchronous command transmission systems (distance, type shells, team) from conning towers to towers and batteries.

The torpedo armament consisted of four underwater on-board vehicles with a caliber of 457 mm, located two at a time in the bow and stern, as on the Hatsusa. Initial information about the fifth surface vehicle in the bow turned out to be erroneous. Torpedo tubes on battleships indeed turned out to be a formidable weapon, but primarily for the ship itself, and the designers lacked the determination to abandon them. Indeed, the Japanese were afraid to approach the Chinese battleships in the Battle of Yalu to finish off precisely because of a possible torpedo counterattack on the almost doomed ships. Therefore, on new projects they tried to hide them below the waterline for protection from artillery fire, complicating the design and creating an even greater threat if an enemy mine or torpedo exploded in the area where the torpedoes were placed.

The Mikasa was equipped with three-cylinder machines with triple expansion of steam, similar to its three predecessors, with 25 (according to other sources, 24) Belleville system boilers, equipped with economizers. The total heating surface of the boilers was 3479.4 m2, and the area of ​​the grates was 118.54 m2 (slightly more than at Shikishima). The diameter of each of the two round chimneys was 4.27 m. The estimated power of the ship's mechanisms was 16,000 ind. hp was supposed to guarantee the battleship a maximum speed of 18 knots. During testing (with a mechanical power of 16,341 ind. hp), the battleship reached a speed of 18.5 knots. Both the machines and boilers were manufactured by the Vickers construction plant.

"Mikasa" had 14 boats and steam launches. Its crew consisted of 40 officers and 790 sailors, but, like the flagship, the number of the battleship's crew increased to 935 people (according to other sources, it was at times 756, 830 people). The ship's load as a percentage of normal displacement was distributed as follows: hull, devices, stores - 44.8; cars, boilers, fresh water - 9.7; armor - 28.5; weapons, ammunition - 10.8; normal coal reserve - 4.9; crew, luggage, provisions - 1.3.

After the appearance of the Mikasa in the Japanese fleet, the battleships were divided into four groups: the first included the very well-protected Mikasa, the second included the Asahi, Hatsuse, and Shikishima, the third included the Fuji and Yashima, in the fourth - the obsolete “Chin Yen” and “Fuso”. Thus, by the beginning of 1903, Japan’s armored fleet of six new ships and two obsolete ones was already concentrated in its waters, and there was still a whole year left for combat training before they entered the war.

"Mikasa" of all the ships described had the most eventful biography. As a flagship, she was hit more often than others by Russian shells in her first war. As it was written in the “Sea Collection” (No. 4 for 1905), “...according to the English magazine “Engineer”, it turns out that the flagship of Admiral Togo, the battleship “Mikasa” almost died in the battle on July 28. A 12″ shell tore off one sheet of the outer skin at the very waterline, and through the hole that was formed, water poured into the ship in a strong stream (there were “Mikasa”, “Asahi”, “Fuji”, “Shikishima”, “Nissin”, “Kasuga”) . And only thanks to the absolute calm it was possible to apply a band-aid and stop the leak.”

Shortly after the war, on the night of September 12, 1905, the Mikasa sank in Sasebo. 250 people were killed (according to other sources, 114 people), and 340 people were wounded. The battleship sank on an even keel at a depth of 11 m, and the first unsuccessful attempt to raise it was made on December 25 of the same year. The second attempt took place on January 16, 1906, the third on June 23, but, alas, just as unsuccessful. Then the rescuers decided to abandon the lifting methods they had previously used and surround the entire battleship with a wall of piles, thereby making an improvised dock, pump out the water from it and then carry out the necessary work to thoroughly seal the ship’s hull. After this labor-intensive operation was completed, on August 14, 1906, the last fourth attempt to raise it was made, which was crowned with success.

The main damage to the hull was a hole approximately 25 m long in the stern and ten more small holes on both sides in other parts. The investigation refuted the alleged version of the death of the ship as a result of its deliberate sinking by part of the personnel in the form of a protest against the conclusion of a peace treaty with Russia. The investigative commission suggested that, most likely, the ship died from a double explosion of the aft artillery magazine caused by the fire of ammunition, followed by the detonation of one of the torpedoes.

After the rise, the battleship was restored until March 24, 1908 and put into service on August 24, 1908. During its restoration in 1907-08. "Mikasa" was rearmed. It was equipped with 305- and 152-mm forty-five-caliber guns of British manufacture, supplied by Armstrong, Whitworth and Vickers.

During the First World War, Mikasa served in the defense of her coast, on duty at Maizuru in 1914-15, was part of the second division of the second squadron in 1915-16, and in 1917 she was transferred to the fifth squadron . In 1918, the battleship was again in Maizuru, possibly undergoing repairs. He also took part in supporting the operations of the Japanese interventionists in Soviet Siberia, coming to Vladivostok in 1921. On September 16, 1921, the battleship Mikasa, in fog, heading to Vladivostok from the northern tip of Sakhalin, landed on rocks south of Askold Island (30 miles southwest of Vladivostok). The situation was so dangerous that rescue was considered impossible, and only ten days later, on September 26, thanks to a strong storm, it was possible to remove it from the rocks and take it to the dock in Vladivostok under the escort of the battleship Fuji and the armored cruiser Kasuga.

Although the Mikasa and its three predecessors were still quite strong ships and had fairly serviceable mechanisms, they soon turned out to be unsuitable for service in the first line. Under the terms of the Washington Treaty of 1922, in the same year the Mikasa was removed from the lists of the fleet and disarmed. The magazine “Sea Collection” No. 3-4 for 1922 reported on this matter that “... The battleships “Mikasa”, “Asahi”, “Shikishima” and “Hizen” (formerly “Retvizan”) were excluded from the lists, armored cruisers "Asama", "Tokiwa, ...". According to other sources, he was deleted from the lists on September 20, 1923.

On November 12, 1926, the Mikasa was turned into a monument ship. He was taken into a pit specially dug and filled with water near the waters of the Yokosuka port, which was then covered with earth to the waterline. There they tried to restore it to its original form, and from November 26, 1926 until 1945, the battleship was preserved as a relic. After the Second World War, the guns and superstructures on the battleship were dismantled, but the remaining hull was difficult to disassemble, and it stood until January 20, 1960. Then they began to restore it again. By the way, this restoration took place with the active participation of US Navy Admiral Ch. Nimitz. The same Nimitz. Hero of the war in the Pacific. On May 27, 1961, these works were completed and “Mikasa” again became a monument to the Japanese fleet and Admiral Togo at the Battle of Tsushima.

The steering wheel from the heroic cruiser Varyag is still kept at the Mikasa EDB as an exhibit. The Japanese considered the Varyag's battle consistent with the samurai spirit and cited the courage of the Varyag and Korean crews as an example to their sailors.

I always want to “re-war” Tsushima.” In the history of steam fleets, Tsushima is the worst defeat. Never in a battle has one fleet sank so many main ships of the other side's line. And at the same time he did not lose a single one of his main combat units.

It seems like everything has been taken apart for a long time. Everything is explained. But still, I want to conquer Tsushima.

EDB Eagle after Tsushima. Well, why were they weaker???

Design and Description

Turret diagram for the original 12-inch (305 mm) 40-caliber guns
Designed by Mikasa

was a modified version of
the Formidable
-class Royal Navy battleships with two additional 6-inch (152 mm) guns.[4]
Mikasa
had a total length of 432 feet (131.7 m), a beam of 76 feet (23.2 m), and a normal draft of 27 feet 2 inches (8.3 m). It displaced 15,140 people. long tons (15,380 ) at normal load.[5] The crew numbered approximately 830 officers and men.[6]

The ship was powered by two vertical triple expansion steam engines, each driving one propeller, using steam generated by 25 Belleville boilers. The engines were estimated at 15,000 units. indicated power (11,000 kW), using forced thrust, and designed to achieve a top speed of 18 knots (33 km/h; 21 mph), although Mikasa

proved faster during her sea trials in December 1901, achieving 18.45 knots (34.17 km/h; 21.23 mph) from 16,341 horsepower (12,185 kW). She carried a maximum of 2,000 tons (2,000 long tons) of coal, allowing her to steam 9,000 tons. nautical miles (17,000 km; 10,000 mi) at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph).[7]

Mikasa

's main battery consisted of the same four Elswick Artillery Company 40-caliber twelve-inch guns used on all previous Japanese battleships. They were mounted in double-barreled barbettes fore and aft of the superstructure, which had armored hoods to protect the guns and were commonly called gun turrets. Hydraulically driven mounts could be loaded at all traverse angles, and guns could be loaded at a fixed angle of +13.5°.[8] They fired 850 lb (386 kg) projectiles at a muzzle velocity of 2,400 ft/s (730 m/s).[9]

The ship's secondary armament consisted of fourteen 40-caliber 6-inch (152 mm) rapid-fire weapons mounted in casemates. Ten of these guns were placed on the main deck, while the other four guns were placed above them at the corners of the superstructure. They fired 100 lb (45 kg) projectiles with a muzzle velocity of 2,300 ft/s (700 m/s).[10] Protection against torpedo boat attacks was provided by twenty QF 12-pounder 12 cwt[Note 2] pistols.[6] The 12-pounder guns fired 3-inch (76 mm), 12.5-pound (5.7 kg) shells at a muzzle velocity of 2,359 ft/s (719 m/s).[11] The light guns consisted of eight 47 mm (1.9 in) three-pounder Hotchkiss guns and eight 47 mm 2.5-pounder Hotchkiss pistols.[6] The three-pounder gun fired 3.19-pound (1.45 kg) shells with a muzzle velocity of 1,927 ft/s (587 m/s), while the 2.5-pounder fired 2.5-pound (1. 1 kg) with an initial speed of 1420 feet. /s (430 m/s).[12] The ship was also equipped with four underwater 18-inch torpedo tubes, two on each side.[4]

In waterline armored belt from Mikasa

consisted of cemented Krupp armor which had a maximum thickness of 9 inches (229 mm) at the center of the ship. It was only 102 mm (4 in) thick at the ends of the ship, and above it was a six-inch Strake of armor running between the barbettes.[6] The barbettes were 14 inches (356 mm) thick, but reduced to six inches at lower deck level. The barbettes' hood armor was 8–10 inches (203–254 mm) thick.[13] The casemates protecting the secondary weapons were 2–6 inches (51–152 mm) thick, and the deck armor was 2–3 inches (51–76 mm) thick.[6] The forward conning tower was protected by 14 inches of armor, but the aft conning tower had only four inches of armor.[13]

Mikasa

, like all other Japanese battleships of the time, was equipped with four Barr and Stroud FA3 coincident rangefinders which had an effective range of 7,300 meters (8,000 yd). In addition, the ships were equipped with 24-horsepower engines. magnification telescopic sights.[14]

"Mikasa" - battleship museum

Spring wind. Responded to someone's voices

Mount Mikasa. Basho. Translation from Japanese by Vera Markova.

Today there are many monument ships in the world, and each of them has its own “memory”. So the Japanese have a monument ship, which is most closely associated with the name of a specific admiral and a specific battle. This is an early 20th century battleship, the flagship of the Japanese fleet, and today it is a museum ship. This ship was named after a mountain in Nara Prefecture. It was ordered in 1898 and was built in England at a shipyard. It was launched in 1900, and it entered operational service in 1902. Probably everyone has already understood that we will be talking about the battleship Mikasa, the flagship of Admiral Togo in the historical Battle of Tsushima.

Battleships Mikasa and Shikishima. Painting by the Penza artist marine painter A. Zaikin.

Let's start with the purpose for which this ship was created. When Japan defeated agrarian and backward China in 1895, it became an event for the world community. However, this victory did not bring much satisfaction to the Japanese, and here's why. Russia did not allow China to be finished off. After all, it was precisely because of pressure from the Russian Empire that Japan was never able to annex Manchuria and give up the captured Lushun (Port Arthur). Therefore, it was decided that they would have to fight with Russia, and for this they needed a fleet of ships superior to the Russian ones. Therefore, already in 1895, the Japanese adopted a ten-year shipbuilding program and began building warships one after another. Of course, they chose Britain for this, and the battleship Mikasa was built there. It was designed by engineer D. Makrow. S. The British are great rationalists, so he didn’t come up with anything particularly new, but decided to take as a basis the project of the battleship “Canopus”, the descendant of which was “Mikasa”. The ship was laid down on a slipway in the city of Barrow. There are no exact data on the cost of the ship, but it can be assumed that it was at least one million pounds sterling or four million dollars. As a result, the battleship Mikasa turned out to be a classic representative of the British school of combat shipbuilding, but with a national, so to speak, bias.

Launching the battleship into the water.

The hull was assembled from high-grade shipbuilding steel and had a transverse hull frame system. The design is single-deck, with a slight collapse of the bow frames, but the collapse along the midsection and aft was noticeably pronounced. The hull was divided into many compartments and had many waterproof bulkheads, which increased its protection from torpedoes. The features of the battleship included the presence of a double side and a double bottom. The side armor reached the level of the armored deck.

"Mikasa" shortly after entering service.

In the best traditions of the “after Lissa” era, the battleship had a ram in the bow and had a noticeable sheerness, that is, it had a deflection of the upper deck. To stabilize the ship during rolling, side keels were installed on the bottom. By this time, English shipbuilders had developed the Hartman Rahtien composition to coat the underwater part of the hull, which prevented it from becoming overgrown with shells and increased the speed.

"Mikasa" in February 1905.

The ship's total displacement was more than 16,000 tons, and its maximum length was 132 meters with an average hull width of 24 meters and a draft of eight meters. The Mikasa differed from all other English-built battleships by the noticeably shorter distance between the barbettes of its 305 mm guns. As a result, the design of the upper part of the ship, that is, its superstructures, became more compact, but because of this design decision it made the placement of 152-mm medium-caliber guns in separate casemates impossible; or rather, only four of them were placed on the upper deck, for four guns .

"Mikasa": artillery and armor layout diagram.

The first armor belt, about 2.5 m wide, ran along the waterline, rising above it by about 70 cm. Its maximum thickness reached 229 mm, but in the area of ​​the underwater part it gradually decreased to 127 mm, and at the ends it was 127-102 mm. In the area of ​​the citadel there was a second belt of 152 mm armor, reaching the battery deck, and above it there was a third, also 152 mm, with gun ports cut into it, protecting a battery of 10 six-inch guns, between which armored bulkheads were arranged , separating one weapon from another. So the Japanese ended up with a ship that had 14 152-mm cannons on board, distributed in such a way that there were 7 guns on each side. This was two more guns than the newest Russian battleships of the Borodino type, which had 12 guns in two-gun rotating turrets. This solution was quite, and even more modern than the traditional British placement of guns in casemates, but in the event of damage to the turret (even if it was just warped on the rollers due to a burst or shell impact), two guns would fail at once, but Japanese ship had to “shoot them off” one by one! The ship's "anti-mine caliber" consisted of 20 76-mm guns located in the bow, stern and in the central battery located above the armored deck.

Semi-armor-piercing shell for a British-made 12-inch gun. A special feature of these shells was that they were equipped with lyddite, a very powerful explosive based on picric acid. To increase the safety of handling such projectiles, the picric acid charge was wrapped in paper and placed in a container made of brass or copper foil.

Barbettes, not turrets, were the main caliber (in this, English ships also differed from Russian ones) and the ship's conning tower was protected by 356 mm armor. The upper deck traverses had rational angles, so the designers installed 152 mm thick armor plates here and this significantly lightened the ship. All gun mounts on the sides were covered with 152 mm armor plates, that is, in the area of ​​the ship’s citadel, almost the entire side up to the main deck was armored. The upper deck was armored with 25 mm armor. The lower deck (inside the gun citadel itself) was armored with 51 mm sheets (while its slopes towards the side had a thickness of 76 mm). The thickness of the carapace deck armor was 76 mm. For the cabin, development armor with a thickness of 356 mm was used, but the aft cabin was less protected. There armor was only 76 mm. Moreover, it was the Mikasa that became the first Japanese ship to use Krupp armor for its armor. Before this, the British used Harvey armor, but the German armor turned out to be 16-20% better. The importance of increasing the quality of armor while reducing its weight is indicated by such an indicator as the weight of the armor on the ship. On the Mikas, its weight reached 4091 tons, that is, in fact, 30% of its displacement.

Mikasa is a museum ship in Yokosuka.

When designing the ship, a twin-screw design was chosen. The “heart” of “Mikasa” was three three-cylinder “triple expansion” steam engines, the steam for which was produced by 25 Belleville water-tube boilers, withstanding a maximum steam pressure of 21 kg/cm². The draft in the boilers was provided by two chimneys with a diameter of more than four meters each! The total power of the ship's power plant was 16,000 l/s, which gave it the opportunity to reach a maximum speed of 18 knots. At the same time, its cruising range at an economic speed of 10 knots was 4,600 miles.

Monument to Admiral Togo in front of his flagship ship.

This is what he looked like if you looked at him up close.

Coal reserves were stored in two huge bunkers located along the perimeter of both sides, parallel to the boiler rooms. Usually they were loaded with 700 tons of coal, but the ship could take more - 1.5 thousand tons. In general, the ship's seaworthiness was quite high, but it had an unpleasant tendency to bury itself in waves, which led to a drop in speed. The relatively low position of medium-caliber artillery made it difficult to use in fresh weather.

The memorial ship is always crowded. The Japanese love to visit “interesting places” in groups, families, and individually.

The fact that the ship is buried in the ground is very convenient. You can sit next to it, touch its sides, or even lean your bicycle - let it stand and wait for its owner.

The ship was provided with radio communications - Italian devices with a range of 180 nautical miles. The ship's crew consisted of 830 people.

Among the ship's shortcomings, experts noted that the location of most of the 152-mm guns was too low relative to the surface of the water. Now, if they were in the place of the 76 mm, then there would be no problems with firing in fresh weather!

The ship received its baptism of fire at the walls of Port Arthur on January 26, 1904, when the Japanese squadron launched a surprise attack on Russian ships stationed in the outer roadstead, and then on February 9, the Mikasa, at the head of a squadron of eight battleships, approached Port Arthur and entered into a battle with the Russian fleet, which was supported by fire from coastal batteries. Already at 11.16, the Mikasa was hit by a 254-mm shell, followed by another hit. The greatest danger in this battle for Japanese ships was the accurate fire of coastal batteries, so Admiral Togo hastened to withdraw his ships from the battle. Then "Mikasa" took part in a battle with Russian ships during their attempt to break out from Port Arthur to Vladivostok, as a result of which it was decided to increase the ammunition on board the ship.

Anchor and bow gun mount for 305 mm guns.

Barbet installation of main caliber guns, covered with an armored box on top.

But this is a shell not from the Mikasa, but from the battleship Yamato, 457 mm caliber.

During the battle in the Tsushima Strait, the Mikasa received about 40 hits, most of which were from 305-mm shells. In this case, the third casemate 152-mm gun suffered the most. First, a 305-mm shell hit the roof of his casemate, the explosion of which killed about nine people and simply miraculously did not detonate the ammunition located right there. Two hours later, a 152-mm shell also hit the same place (!). But by luck, the explosion was avoided this time too. Then several guns were damaged by shell hits, and the armor plates of the hull began to diverge in several places. Shells exploded in the bores of the main caliber guns, which led to the guns failing. However, despite all its damage, the ship was able to remain in service, maintained its speed and controllability, and fought until the last moment. According to Japanese sources, the battleship lost 18 people in this battle, and 105 crew members were wounded.

November 28, 1947, the main caliber is being dismantled.

But on the night of September 11-12, while staying at the base in Sasebo, part of the ammunition in the stern detonated on the ship for unknown reasons and the battleship quickly sank at a depth of 11 meters, that is, fortunately, not very deep. 256 sailors were killed on the ship, and another 343 people were injured, many of which were also fatal. A huge hole appeared in the hull, which was later repaired, so that after 11 months the ship returned to service, but the consequences of this explosion were finally eliminated only two years later. During the First World War, the ship carried out patrol duty off the coast of Japan, took part in the intervention against Soviet Russia and was even able to stand in the roadstead of Vladivostok Bay. In September 1921, he hit rocks near Askold Island near Vladivostok and again received serious damage, after which he was expelled from the fleet in 1923.

In 1948 the ship looked like this!

In 1926, the Mikasa was turned into a museum ship: they dug a huge pit for this purpose in the port of Yokosuka, brought a battleship into it and... covered it with earth right up to the waterline. During the Second World War, the Americans, not seeing from above what kind of ship was below, dropped several bombs on it. Then it was deprived of its memorial status and in 1948 it was turned into a dance hall, for which its towers and superstructure were removed and a long hangar was built in their place. Thus, a new House of Culture “Mikasa” appeared in Yokosuka, named after a mountain from the province of Nara, that is, its military past was completely erased.

Rear Admiral Kemp Tolley plants a palm tree in honor of Admiral Nimitz in the park near Mikasa during ceremonies marking the dedication of the memorial on June 2, 1961.

Rumor has it that the Soviet Union at this time several times demanded the complete destruction of the former flagship of Admiral Togo. But then the Mikasa suddenly had a powerful defender and not just one of the locals, but Chester William Nimitz, Admiral of the US Fleet and Commander-in-Chief of the Pacific Fleet and Adjacent Territories during the war, who accepted the surrender of Japan as a representative of the American side.

Opening ceremony of the Mikasa Memorial on May 27, 1961. In the foreground are representatives from the United States, Rear Admiral Kemp Tolley and his wife.

He proposed restoring the Mikasa as a monument, and since it was not cheap, he donated a decommissioned American tank landing ship to the museum restoration fund, which the Japanese sold for scrap and thus collected a third of the required amount.

The old ship is ready to go to sea!

Repair of the old ship began in 1959, and already at the beginning of 1961, the Mikasa, of which by this time only the hull remained, was actually rebuilt. True, many of the lost elements had to be replaced with dummies, but still it was better than nothing. It was opened to the public on May 27, 1961, and this day was clearly not chosen by chance! 76-year-old Admiral Nimitz was unable to attend the ceremony, but the US delegation, of course, did.

Model of the battleship "Mikasa" on a scale of 1:200.

So, thanks to the confluence of all these random circumstances, the battleship "Mikasa" has survived to this day and can be visited and inspected. Experts believe that it is not the ideal of reconstruction, but, nevertheless, today it is the only surviving battleship built at the turn of the century. However, from a distance he looks as if he was standing at the quay wall, ready to go. This monument ship is very popular in Japan. And almost any souvenir shop will offer you a prefabricated model of it made of paper or plastic.

Construction and career

Admiral Walk on the Mikasa
, before the Battle of Tsushima in 1905

Mikasa

, named after Gore Micas,[15] was laid down to Vickers at their Barrow-in-Furness shipyard on 24 January 1899. launched November 8, 1900 and completed March 1, 1902[16] After visiting Devonport, she left Plymouth on 13 March for Yokohama under the command of Captain Hayasaki.[17]

At the beginning of the Russo-Japanese War, Mikasa

Under the command of Captain Hikojiro Ijichi, he was assigned to the 1st Division of the 1st Fleet.
She participated in the Battle of Port Arthur on 9 February 1904, when Admiral Togo Heihachiro led the 1st Fleet in an attack on the Russian Pacific Squadron ships anchored near Port Arthur. Togo expected his surprise night attack on the Russians by his destroyers to be much more successful than it actually was, and expected to find them greatly disorganized and weakened, but the Russians recovered from their surprise and were ready for his attack. The Japanese ships were spotted by the cruiser Boyarin
, which was patrolling the coastal areas and alerted the Russian defenses.
Chogo decided to attack the Russian coastal defenses with his main weapons and attack the Russian ships with his secondary guns. Splitting his fire turned out to be a bad idea, as the Japanese 8-inch (203 mm) and six-inch guns did very little significant damage to the Russian ships, which concentrated all their fire on the Japanese ships with some effect. Although a large number of ships on both sides were hit, Russian losses were only 17, while the Japanese lost 60 killed and wounded before Tōgō withdrew from the battle. Mikasa
was hit by two ten-inch shells during the battle, wounding seven crew members.[18]

The ship took part in the battle on April 13, when Togo successfully lured out part of the Pacific squadron, including Vice Admiral Stepan Makarovs flagship, the battleship Petropavlovsk

.
When Makarov spotted five battleships of the 1st Division, he turned back to Port Arthur and Petropavlovsk
was blown up by a minefield laid by the Japanese the night before. The Russian battleship sank less than two minutes after one of its ships sank. The magazines exploded and Makarov was one of the 677 killed. Encouraged by his success, Togoo resumed long-range bombardment, which prompted the Russians to lay new minefields that sank two Japanese battleships the following month.[19]

During the Battle of the Yellow Sea on August 10, Mikasa

stood at the head of a column of Japanese battleships and was one of the main targets of Russian ships.
She was hit twenty times, two of which disabled her aft 12-inch gun turret and caused 125 casualties among her crew. In turn, she concentrated most of her fire on the battleships. Poltava
and
Tsesarevich
, although both ships were only slightly damaged by Japanese shells, which, as a rule, did not penetrate armor and exploded on impact.[20]

Battle of Tsushima

Main article: Battle of Tsushima
Mikasa
as it appeared in 1905

At the Battle of Tsushima on May 27, 1905, Mikasa

again led the 1st Fleet into battle, this time against the 2nd and 3rd Pacific Squadrons, which had separated from the Baltic Fleet.
The ship opened fire on the battleship Knyaz Suvorov
, the Russian flagship, at 14:10, and was joined by the battleship
Asahi
and the armored cruiser
Azuma
shortly after.
Within an hour, Japanese ships started a serious fire on board the Russian ship, seriously wounding the fleet commander, Vice Admiral. Zinovy ​​Rozhdestvensky knocked out her rear twelve-inch gun turret and jammed Prince Suvorov
's rudder so that it fell out of action.
During this time, Mikasa
was the focus of Russian fire as the leading ship of the Japanese column and was hit by 6 twelve-inch and 19 six-inch shells.
They inflicted very little damage and Togo was able to cross T Russian squadrons. Prince Suvorov
's steering was later repaired, but later in the battle she made several mistakes between the Japanese and Russian fleets and
Mikasa
fired three torpedoes at her unsuccessfully.
Later in the battle, the ship appears to have fired primarily at the battleship. Borodino
despite the fact that
Fuji
fired shots that caused the Russian ship's magazines to explode and sink it.
At 18:04, a twelve-inch shell exploded prematurely in the front turret's right gun barrel, putting the gun out of action and knocking out the left gun until 18:40. Another twelve-inch shell exploded in the same barrel almost two hours earlier, but did not damage the gun. One six-inch gun jammed after firing 19 rounds, but the only other damage to any of the ship's guns was one six-inch gun that was disabled by a Russian shell of the same size that passed through the gun port. During the battle, she fired 124 twelve-inch shells, more than any other ship except Asahi
's 142. In total,
Mikasa
was hit over 40 times during the battle, including 10 twelve-inch and 22 six-inch shells, but none of them seriously did not damage it.[21]
While Mikasa
's casualties are not precisely known, the entire Japanese force combined suffered only 110 killed and 590 wounded from all causes during the battle.[22]
During the reconstruction, new 12-inch 45-caliber guns were added.
Six days after the Treaty of Portsmouth, which ended the war, was signed, Mikasa

sank at the pier after a fire and explosion of a store on Sasebo on the night of 11–12 September 1905, killing 251 crew members.[23]
She was refloated on August 7, 1906, reconstructed and repaired at the Sasebo Naval Arsenal. The Navy took the opportunity to upgrade its existing weapons to the more powerful 45 caliber. twelve inches and six-inch guns in two years to repair the ship. Mikasa
was restored to active duty on August 24, 1908.[13]
During the First World War, she served in coastal defence, based at Maizuru, during 1914–15, and was then assigned to the 2nd and 5th Squadrons, in that order, until the end of the war. The ship supported the Japanese intervention in Siberia during the Russian Civil War in 1921 and was reclassified on 1 September 1921 as a first-rate coastal defense ship.[4] On September 17, Mikasa
ran aground near Askold Island Vladivostok, but did not receive serious damage.[13]

Preservation

Battleship Mikasa
as a museum ship in Yokosuka

The ship was decommissioned on September 23, 1923, in accordance with the Washington Naval Treaty of 1922 and was to be destroyed. However, at the request of the Japanese government, each of the countries that signed the treaty agreed that Mikasa

could be preserved as a memorial ship with her hull encased in concrete.[
citation needed
] On November 12, 1926,
Mikasa
was opened for display in Yokosuka in the presence of Crown Prince Hirohito and that.
After Japan's surrender in 1945, the ship fell into disrepair under the control of the occupying forces. In 1955, Philadelphia businessman John Rubin, formerly of Barrow, England, wrote a letter to the Japan Times
about the ship's condition, which served as the catalyst for a new restoration campaign.[24]
With the support of the Japanese public, as well as Fleet Admiral Chester W. Nimitz, the restored battleship was reopened in 1961.[25][26][27] On August 5, 2009, Mikasa
was repainted by sailors from the USS
Nimitz
.[28]
Mikasa
is the only surviving example of a pre-dreadnought battleship in the world.[29]

Mikasa

is remembered in Barrow-in-Furness, the town of his building, along Mikasa Street on Walney Island.[30]

Flagship of Admiral Togo

Japan owes its victory in the Russo-Japanese War largely to its navy, the core of which consisted of six squadron battleships, very similar to each other in technical characteristics. The most famous of these six is ​​considered to be the battleship Mikasa.

–
flagship of Admiral Togo. In all the general battles of that war, he was the main target for Russian artillerymen, but, despite heavy damage, he remained in service until the very end and became a real legend.

The birth of the "Magnificent Six"

Having won a brilliant victory over China, in 1895 Japan announced to the whole world the birth of a new Asian power, claiming a leading role in the region. However, she did not get to enjoy the fruits of victory. The triple intervention, undertaken with the participation of Russia, forced Japan to return the Lushun fortress to China, which later became the Russian Port Arthur, and also to renounce its claims to Manchuria. Japan could not resist Russia, which began mobilizing troops of the Amur Military District and concentrating a powerful squadron in the Far East, but since then the Land of the Rising Sun has set a course for preparing for war with its northern neighbor.

The geographical features of the future theater of military operations indicated that the fleet would play a decisive role in the coming war. Already in 1894, two new squadron battleships, the Fuji and the Yashima, were ordered from England, but this clearly would not have been enough for a successful war with the Russian fleet. The ten-year shipbuilding program, adopted in 1895 and expanded a year later, provided for the construction of four more battleships, six armored cruisers and six armored cruisers, 23 fighters and 63 destroyers. Most of the ships were planned to be ordered abroad, since the Japanese shipbuilding industry was not yet sufficiently developed. There was money to pay for the order: Japan received an indemnity of 365 million yen from China, as well as large loans from the USA and Great Britain. In addition to purchasing ships abroad, ports were created in Japan for their basing, a program was launched to modernize its own shipyards, and reserves of coal, ammunition, and spare parts were increased. Particular attention was paid to the training of personnel.

Squadron battleship Fuji, 1898 tsushima.su

The basis of the Japanese Navy was to consist of six squadron battleships. And if the first two (Fuji and Yashima, which entered service in 1897) fully met the requirements of the time, then the next four ships were to surpass them in all respects, becoming the strongest in the world. To achieve this, the designers did not skimp on size, and the displacement of the new battleships exceeded 15,000 tons, while in most other countries, in order to save money, they tried to “keep within” 10,000–12,000 tons.

All four ships turned out to be very similar in technical characteristics. Only the last battleship from this program - the future Mikasa - was built with some changes, primarily related to the armor. Firstly, the armor itself was now hardened using the Krupp method, rather than Harvey, which increased its resistance to projectiles by about 15–20%. The 152-mm guns on the main deck were placed in a single battery, protected by a continuous (third) armor belt 152 mm thick, instead of individual casemates, as on its predecessors. The scheme for supplying ammunition for main caliber guns has changed slightly, which was divided into two stages in order to reduce the likelihood of fire penetrating the elevators from the guns into the cellar. In addition, the loading speed of guns has increased. Detailed tactical and technical characteristics of the battleship "Mikasa" are given in the table at the end of the article.

"Mikasa" off the coast of England, 1902 kreiser.unoforum.pro

The laying of the Mikasa took place at the shipyard on January 24, 1899, and acceptance tests were completed on March 1, 1902. The cost of construction was about 1 million pounds sterling, or about 9.5 million rubles at the then exchange rate. For comparison, in Russia the armored cruiser Gromoboy cost 9 million rubles, and each Borodino-class battleship cost the Russian treasury approximately 13 million rubles. At the end of 1902, all six new battleships were already in Japanese waters. The ten-year program was completed ahead of schedule, which allowed Japan to achieve an advantage over the Russian fleet in the Far East.

The Japanese fleet spent the entire year of 1903 in training voyages and firing. The training of artillerymen was facilitated by the fact that, in addition to the ships themselves, a complete set of spare barrels for main caliber artillery - 24 pieces - was purchased in England. In November, Vice Admiral Heihachiro Togo took the place of commander of the Japanese fleet. The Japanese fleet was divided into three squadrons, all six new battleships entered the 1st combat detachment of the 1st squadron. Togo flew his flag on the Mikasa, whose commander was Captain 1st Rank Hikojiro Ijichi. In addition, the headquarters of the fleet commander was located on the Mikasa. In January 1904, all ships were repainted in a protective dark gray color.

The emperor's decree to begin hostilities on the Mikasa was received on January 24, 1904, after midnight. On January 25, the main forces of the fleet left Sasebo and headed for Port Arthur. Their goal was to destroy or blockade the ships of the Port Arthur squadron under the command of Vice Admiral O. V. Stark. On the evening of January 26, three detachments of fighters separated from the Japanese squadron and, without declaring war, attacked Russian ships stationed in the outer roadstead of Port Arthur. As a result of this attack, the Japanese immediately seized superiority at sea: two Russian battleships and a cruiser were damaged and were out of action for a long time. On the morning of January 27, the first battle of the main forces at sea took place: the Japanese fleet approached Port Arthur to finish off the Russian squadron.

Baptism of fire

The first battle between the Japanese and Russian squadrons did not last long. The battle began at about 11:00 (according to other sources - at 11:07) and ended at 11:45. Despite the fact that the Japanese had superiority (six battleships and five armored cruisers against five Russian battleships and one armored cruiser), they failed to achieve success. Neither side received serious damage, despite the large number of shells fired. “Mikasa” was hit by two 254-mm shells fired from “Peresvet” or “Pobeda”. One of them, exploding at the base of the mainmast, injured 7 people and destroyed part of the stern bridge. Another shell cut off the top of the mainmast and knocked down the battle flag. Despite the retreat of the Japanese squadron, the morale of the Russian sailors fell, and they chose to take refuge in the harbor, giving the Japanese control of the sea.

Further participation of the main forces of the Japanese fleet was reduced to covering operations to block Port Arthur with fire ships. On February 25, "Mikasa" took part in a firefight with the Russian cruisers "Bayan", "Askold" and "Novik". On March 10, "Mikasa" with other battleships of the 1st combat detachment took part in the bombardment of Port Arthur, firing 21 main-caliber shells - the battleships "Retvizan", "Sevastopol" and the cruiser "Askold" were hit by one shell each (without significant damage) .

On March 22, the Japanese were going to repeat the attack, but this time they were in for a surprise. As soon as the Fuji and Yashima began bombing, shells from the Retvizan and Pobeda began to fall around them. One of the shells fell just a few meters from Fuji, after which the Japanese curtailed the operation out of harm's way. In addition, a Russian squadron appeared at sea and tried to force a battle on the Japanese under the cover of coastal batteries. Despite being outnumbered, the Japanese retreated. Such high activity of the Russian squadron was associated with the arrival in Port Arthur of Admiral S. O. Makarov, who began preparing ships for battle with the Japanese fleet. Alas, on March 31, Makarov died along with the battleship Petropavlovsk. The short period of activity of the Russian fleet gave way to complete apathy, thanks to which the Japanese equipped an anchorage for their fleet at the Elliot Islands, located next to Port Arthur. Now they could conduct a blockade more effectively, being near the fortress almost all the time.

"Mikasa" in July 1904 humus.livejournal.com

Battle of the Yellow Sea

The next general battle between the two fleets took place on July 28, when the Russian squadron made a breakthrough to Vladivostok. As the flagship, Mikasa was a prime target for Russian gunners and suffered the most severe damage of any Japanese ship taking part in the battle. It was hit by 20 to 22 shells, of which 13–14 were large calibers (305 and 254 mm).

In the first phase of the battle, the ship was hit by seven shells - all of large caliber, since the battle at that moment was fought at a long distance. Already at the very beginning of the battle, two shells, exploding on the spardeck, killed 12 people and wounded 5 people. At 12:55, a 305-mm shell hit the 178-mm armor plate on the starboard side (opposite the bow barbette). The slab split and an irregularly shaped hole about a meter in size appeared in it. The hole was close to the waterline and could have led to serious flooding, but fortunately for the Japanese the sea was calm.

In the second phase of the battle, the main caliber aft turret failed. According to the Japanese themselves, the right 305-mm gun of the aft turret was hit by a Russian shell, which destroyed the gun itself and disabled the neighboring one. The force of the impact was such that the 254 mm frontal plate cracked. However, according to the English naval attaché Captain Pakinham, who was on the Mikas during this battle, the gun failed due to the premature rupture of its own projectile in the barrel. Be that as it may, the rear turret was out of action until the end of the battle.

Repair of the Mikasa stern tower, August 1904 tsushima.su

At 17:35–17:45 another shell exploded on the bow bridge - 7 people were killed and 16 were wounded. Among the wounded were the ship's commander, Captain 1st Rank Ijichi, and two officers from the fleet commander's staff. Admiral Togo, who was standing openly on the bridge, was not injured. In total, 36 people were killed and 95 wounded on the Mikasa, which was approximately 13% of the total crew. Despite serious damage, the Japanese flagship remained in service until the very end of the battle. During the battle, she fired 172 305 mm and 1090 152 mm shells - more than any other Japanese battleship.

After the battle, the Japanese fleet arrived at its base at the Elliot Islands to resupply. Despite the damage, the ships continued to be in combat readiness, since the Russian squadron could again make a breakthrough. Only after it became completely clear that this would not happen, Japanese ships began to leave for Japan one after another for repairs. “Mikasa” went to the metropolis after the capitulation of Port Arthur (December 25), being the last to leave the theater of recent military operations.

Concluding the story about the battles near Port Arthur, it is necessary to mention the participation of steam boats from Japanese battleships in it. Like their Russian “colleagues,” they carried out many difficult, sometimes very risky tasks. Reconnaissance, laying minefields, trawling - this is not a complete list of tasks performed by small boats and their brave crews. The most striking episode involving steam boats from the Mikasa and Fuji was the night attack of Russian destroyers in Tahe Bay on July 11, 1904. Torpedoes fired by Japanese boats destroyed the destroyer "Lieutenant Burakov" and seriously damaged the destroyer "Boevoy" (later not restored). On August 29, one of the Mikasa boats, damaged by Russian artillery in White Wolf Bay, became a trophy of the landing party from the Brave gunboat.

Steam boats approach the battleship Mikasa. Reid Elliott, 1904 tsushima.su

By the spring of 1905, Mikasa had undergone renovations. Damaged guns and armor plates were replaced on the battleship, combat tops were removed from the masts, and signal semaphores were removed from the bridges. The ammunition capacity of main caliber guns increased from 90 to 110 shells per barrel, and the ammunition capacity of 152 mm guns increased to 175 shells per barrel. In addition, new rangefinders were installed on the ship, and some of the 152-mm guns were equipped with new optical sights.

“Mikasa” in Kura, February 1905 kreiser.unoforum.pro

After repairs, the Mikasa, along with the rest of the battleships, repeatedly went to sea for firing practice. To avoid premature wear of the guns, shooting was carried out mainly with rifle bullets from rifles inserted into the bore - the so-called barrel shooting, widespread at that time. The average percentage of hits during such shooting on the Mikasa was 31.38%. In addition to barrel shooting, regular shooting was also carried out. In April, the navy conducted major artillery exercises. During them, each ship fired at a small rocky island from a distance of approximately 2500–3000 m. Of the eight practical 305-mm shells fired from the Mikasa, five hit the target (62.5%), out of 84 152-mm shells - 14 (16.6%). You can compare the accuracy of Japanese and Russian gunners. From a letter from Lieutenant P.A. Vyrubov it is known that during the third training shooting in Madagascar on January 19, 1905, out of six shells fired by the bow turret of the battleship "Prince Suvorov", five (83%) hit the shield. Unfortunately, the distance to the shield is unknown.

"Mikasa" at sea shortly before the Battle of Tsushima kreiser.unoforum.pro

Tsushima

In the Battle of Tsushima on May 14, 1905, Mikasa, as usual, led the Japanese squadron, leading the line of warships. As during the previous battle of the main forces, it became the main target for Russian artillerymen. The only order that Admiral Rozhdestvensky managed to give before the start of the battle was to fire at the enemy’s lead ship, so a hail of shells immediately fell on the Mikasa. In the first 15 minutes of the battle, the Japanese flagship was hit by 19 shells, five of them of 305 mm caliber. However, taking advantage of their superior speed, the Japanese squadron quickly outpaced the Russian one, and the Mikasa moved out of the firing range of most Russian ships. The number of hits on the Mikasa dropped sharply, which allowed the Japanese to concentrate on shooting the lead ships of the Russian squadron.

As a result of the battle, the Mikasa was hit by about forty shells, of which ten were 305 mm and twenty-two were 152 mm. It is possible that an error crept into the well-known translation of the Mikasa's post-battle description of damage by its captain: some hits from 12-pounder (75 mm) shells were described as 12-inch (305 mm). Thus, the number of reliable hits from 305-mm shells should be reduced to six or seven.

The most serious damage was caused by the following hits:

• At approximately 13:56 (Russian time is given here and below), the roof of the right bow casemate of 152 mm gun No. 3 was pierced by a 305 mm shell, which exploded inside. A minute later, a 152-mm shell hit almost the same place and exploded. These hits disabled 25 people: two killed, 23 wounded. The gun was slightly damaged and was able to continue firing.
• Shortly after 14:00, a 305-mm shell hitting the bow bridge put 17 people out of action (among the wounded was senior officer Captain 2nd Rank Tatsuo Matsumura).
• At approximately 14:05, a 152 mm shell exploded in the front lower corner of the embrasure of 152 mm gun No. 5 (in the starboard battery). One person was killed, 14 were wounded, and the gun received minor damage.
• At 14:07, another 305-mm shell penetrated the 152-mm armor under the casemate of 152-mm gun No. 1 (the first bow gun on the starboard side) and exploded in a coal pit. A hole with a diameter of 700 mm was punched in the floor of the casemate, three people were injured. The coal pit was flooded.
• At approximately 14:30 (according to the commander’s report), a 305-mm shell hit the embrasure of 152-mm gun No. 7 (in the starboard battery) - three were wounded, the sight on the gun was broken. The medical report does not record such a hit, however, there is a hit in this place by a 152-mm shell at approximately 16:00, and the descriptions of the damage coincide with the commander’s report.
• At about 16:00, the armor below casemate No. 7 was pierced by a 305-mm shell, which led to the flooding of the coal pit located there - two killed, four wounded.
• After 18:00, a 152-mm shell, exploding in the embrasure of 152-mm gun No. 10 (in the left side battery), disabled it, killed one and wounded seven people.

In addition to Russian shells, the ship was also damaged by its own. At 15:49 a shell exploded prematurely in the right bow 305 mm gun. The gun itself was not damaged, since the shell managed to fly out of the barrel, but at 17:46 a shell exploded again in the same gun. This time the barrel was torn, and the neighboring gun was temporarily out of action, which was able to continue firing only at 18:22.

In total, 113 people were disabled on the battleship, of whom six were killed directly in the battle, and two more later died from their wounds. Such a small percentage of those killed is largely due to the fact that the Japanese took into account the experience of the battle in the Yellow Sea and minimized the number of people not under the cover of armor. Thus, from among the crews of 76-mm guns, 30 people were injured in the battle in the Yellow Sea, and only four at Tsushima.

From its guns, the Mikasa fired 124 305 mm shells (mostly high-explosive), 1069 152 mm and 1095 76 mm shells. The effectiveness of its fire is difficult to establish, since most of the ships of the Russian squadron, which bore the brunt of the battle, perished along with almost all their crew members. However, we can assume that the Mikasa’s hit percentage was no lower than the average for the entire Japanese squadron, and was approximately 8–10% for main caliber guns.

The starboard side of the battleship "Mikasa" after the Battle of Tsushima japbb.narod.ru

Post-war fate of a veteran

During May - June 1905, all battleships of the 1st combat detachment underwent repairs, during which the damaged guns were replaced with spare ones. After the signing of a peace treaty with Russia, the ships began to prepare for a grand naval parade in Tokyo Bay. However, “Mikasa” did not have to take part in it. On the night of September 11, 1905, a monstrous explosion occurred on board the battleship stationed in the port of Sasebo. 256 people were killed and another 343 were injured. The battleship sank on an even keel at a depth of 11 m.

According to the official version, the explosion in the aft cellar occurred due to the decomposition and spontaneous combustion of nitrocellulose gunpowder, but the real reason was a breakdown in discipline. Admiral Togo and his headquarters left for Tokyo, most of the officers went ashore. Taking advantage of this, ordinary sailors apparently decided to celebrate the long-awaited victory. During the investigation into the causes of the tragedy, it was found that several sailors tried to extract a drinkable alcohol-containing liquid made from signal rocket fuel by burning methanol. This product bore the slang name “picato” and was similar in quality to the Russian alcohol “bitch”. The process was carried out in a small bath, which the sailors accidentally overturned and poured burning fuel onto the closed but not battened down hatch of the charging cellar...

"Mikasa" during one of the attempts to lift it alternathistory.com

Despite the fact that the battleship was seriously damaged, it was decided to restore it. Japan did not yet have experience in lifting such large ships, so the first three attempts were unsuccessful. As a result, the battleship was raised in the following way: piles were driven into the ground around the hull, after which the gaps between them were sealed and water was pumped out from the resulting dry dock. After repairing the hole, the ship was afloat again - this happened on August 7, 1906. The restoration lasted more than two years, and on August 24, 1908, the former flagship was put into service again.

"Mikasa" in March 1908 blog.livedoor.jp/irootoko_jr

By that time, the Japanese fleet already had new, much stronger ships, and the world was swept by “dreadnought fever.” "Mikasa" and her "brothers", which until recently were one of the most powerful battleships in the world, found themselves on the sidelines, becoming artillery training ships. During the First World War, the Mikasa served as a guard ship for the naval base in Maizuru and did not participate in hostilities.

Together with other veteran ships of the Russo-Japanese War, the Mikasa took part in the intervention against Soviet Russia. On one of his visits to Vladivostok, September 17, 1921, he sat on the rocks near Askold Island. The situation was considered hopeless, but a storm helped save the heavily damaged battleship, which rocked it and made it possible to get off the rocks. In Vladivostok, the Mikasa was docked named after Tsarevich Nicholas, and after repairs it returned to Japan.

In the 1920s, the withdrawal of old ships from the fleet began. On the initiative of Prince Hirohito, they decided to turn the battleship Mikasa into a museum dedicated to the Russo-Japanese War. A huge pit was dug on the Yokosuka embankment, into which an old battleship was brought. After this, the pit was filled with earth along the waterline of the ship. The opening of the museum took place on November 12, 1926 - it is known that Admiral Togo himself was present at this event.

Memorial ship "Mikasa" in 1935 kinenkan-mikasa.or.jp

After the end of World War II, Japan was occupied by Allied occupation forces. At the decisive request of the Soviet representative, “Mikasa” had to be completely dismantled. The intervention of the commander of the US Navy, Admiral Chester Nimitz, helped save the ship - however, on the condition that superstructures, pipes, masts, bridges, gun turrets and much more were removed from it. As a result, having dismantled all of the above from the famous ship, they set up something like an entertainment center on it. A dance hall appeared on the spardeck, and an aquarium replaced the aft barbette. For some time the center flourished, but gradually fell into decay. “Mikasa” turned out to be of no use to anyone, turning into a pile of rusty scrap metal.

The wreck of the Mikasa in 1948. There is a dance hall in the center of the ship, and an aquarium in place of the aft barbette kreiser.unoforum.pro

Most likely, the legendary ship would have been cut to pieces, but there was a happy turn in its fate again. In 1955, the wreck of the Mikasa was visited by the Englishman John Rubin, who described his emotions in an angry letter to the editor of The Japan Times. This letter received wide public attention in Japan and marked the beginning of a campaign to raise funds to restore the former flagship.

And again, the American Admiral Nimitz played a significant role in the fate of the veteran ship. He donated a decommissioned tank landing ship to the Mikasa restoration fund, the proceeds from the sale of which for scrap covered a significant part of the costs of restoring the battleship. On May 27, 1967, the restored ship reopened to the public. Of course, the quality of the restoration is far from ideal: many things on the museum ship do not correspond to the historical prototype. Nevertheless, the Mikasa is the only surviving battleship in the world and one of two ships that took part in the Russo-Japanese War that have survived to this day.

Restored battleship Mikasa.
Yokosuka, our days kinenkan-mikasa.or.jp Tactical and technical characteristics of the battleship "Mikasa", 1902

Bibliography:

1. Belov A. A. Armadillos of Japan. - St. Petersburg, 1998.
2. Balakin S. A. “Mikasa” and others. Japanese ironclads 1897–1905. - Marine collection, No. 8, 2004.
3. Balakin S. A. Triumphants of Tsushima. Battleships of the Japanese fleet. - M.: Eksmo, Yauza, 2013.
4. Wright Sepping N.S. With Admiral Togo: Description of seven-month active service under his command / ed. N. L. Klado. - St. Petersburg: V. Berezovsky, 1907.
5. https://www.japantimes.co.jp.
6. https://www.kinenkan-mikasa.or.jp.
7. https://www.tsushima.su.

Footnotes

1. Evans and Peattie, pp. 15, 57–60.
2. ^ a b
   Brook 1999, p. 125
3. Forcik, p. 20
4. ^ a b c
   Preston, page 189
5. Jentschura, Jung & Mickel, page 18
6. ^ a b c d e
   Chesneau & Kolesnik, p. 222
7. Jentschura, Jung & Mickel, pp. 18–19.
8. Brook 1999, p. 126
9. Friedman, pp. 270–71.
10. Friedman, pp. 275–76.
11. Friedman, p. 114
12. Friedman, pp. 118–19.
13. ^ a b c d
    Jentschura, Jung & Mickel, page 19
14. Forcik, page 28
15. Jane, page 399
16. Silverstone, page 334
17. "Naval Intelligence". Times
    (36715). London. March 14, 1902 p. 9.
18. Forcik, pp. 24, 41–44
19. Forcsik, pp. 45–46.
20. Forcsik, pp. 48–53.
21. Campbell, pp. 128–135, 260, 262.
22. Warner & Warner, page 519
23. Warner & Warner, pp. 536–537.
24. Clarke, T. A Century of Shipbuilding: The Products of Barrow-in-Furness
    1971 pp. 33-34 ISBN 0852061234
25. Corkill, Ednan (18 December 2011). "How The Japan Times Saved the Founding Battleship Twice." The Japan Times
    . Retrieved August 2, 2012.
26. [1] Archived November 14, 2012 Wayback Machine
27. Jones, Jenkin Lloyd (1 May 1988). "Chester Nimitz is a good winner." Park City Daily News
    . clause 8A.
28. Timberlake, Amara R. (August 26, 2009). “Nimitz Retains Ties with Famous Japanese Warship” (Press Release). US Navy.
29. Morrison, Geoffrey (5 August 2016). "The 114-year-old Japanese battleship Mikasa
    : A relic of another time."
    CNET
    . Retrieved October 21, 2022.
30. "The Kurgan on Japanese Television". North-West Evening Post
    . April 14, 2009. Retrieved July 22, 2015.

Recommendations

• Brook, Peter (1999). Warships for export: Armstrong Warships 1867–1927
  . Gravesend, UK: World Shipping Society. ISBN 0-905617-89-4.
• Campbell, N. J. (1978). "Battle of Tsu-Shima". In Preston, Anthony (ed.). Warship II
  . London: Conway Maritime Press. pp. 46–49, 127–135, 186–192, 258–265. ISBN 0-87021-976-6.
• Croft, William H. (1983). "Question 41/82." Warship International
  .
  International Organization of Marine Records. XX
  (4): 427–428. ISSN 0043-0374.
• Chesneau, Roger & Kolesnik, Eugene M., eds. (1979). All Conway's World Warships 1860–1905
  . Greenwich, UK: Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 0-8317-0302-4.
• Forczyk, Robert (2009). Russian battleship versus Japanese battleship, Yellow Sea 1904–05
  . Oxford, UK: Osprey. ISBN 978 1-84603-330-8.
• Evans, David & Peattie, Mark R. (1997). Kaigun: Strategy, Tactics and Technology in the Imperial Japanese Navy, 1887–1941.
  . Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 0-87021-192-7.
• Friedman, Norman (2011). Naval weapons of the First World War
  . Barnsley, UK: Seaforth. ISBN 978-1-84832-100-7.
• Jane, Fred T. (1904). Imperial Japanese Navy
  . London, Calcutta: Thacker, Spink & Co. OCLC 1261639.
• Jentschura, Hansgeorg; Jung, Dieter and Mikel, Peter (1977). Warships of the Imperial Japanese Navy, 1869–1945
  . Annapolis, MD: United States Naval Institute. ISBN 0-87021-893-X.
• Lengerer, Hans and Ahlberg, Lars (2019). Capital Ships of the Imperial Japanese Navy 1868–1945: Ironclads, Battleships and Battle Cruisers: A Brief History of Their Design, Construction and Operation
  .
  Volume I: Fusō
  to
  Kongō
  Cool battle cruisers. Zagreb, Croatia: Despot Infinitus. ISBN 978-953-8218-26-2.
• Mikasa Memorial Ship
  . Yokosuka: Mikasa Preservation Society.
• Preston, Anthony (1972). Battleships of the First World War: An Illustrated Encyclopedia of the Battleships of All Nations 1914–1918.
  . New York: Galahad Books. ISBN 0-88365-300-1.
• Silverstone, Paul H. (1984). Directory of the World's Capital Ships
  . New York: Hippocrene Books. ISBN 0-88254-979-0.
• Warner, Denis and Warner, Peggy (2002). Tide at Dawn: A History of the Russo-Japanese War, 1904–1905.
  (2nd ed.). London: Frank Cass. ISBN 0-7146-5256-3.

Battle of Tsushima. Japan is part of the club of leading naval powers

Battleship "Hatsuse", June 24, 1905.
On the morning of February 9, when Togo's ships appeared in front of Port Arthur, he did not yet know about the results of the night torpedo attack. Having received news from the cruisers sent ahead that Russian ships were in the outer roadstead and some of them were apparently damaged, the Japanese admiral decided to engage in battle. At about 11-00 the Mikasa's bow turret fired the first shot. Suddenly, the Russian ships began to weigh anchor and soon five Russian battleships began approaching the enemy at low speed. They returned fire, which was joined by shore batteries. In just half an hour, the Japanese squadron received several direct hits. A 254-mm shell exploded at the mainmast of the Mikasa, wounding three officers, a midshipman and three sailors. A large-caliber shell hit the bridge and forward funnel of the Fuji, killing two officers and wounding 12 people. A 152-mm shell that hit the Shikishima immediately disabled 17 people, including two officers. But the Hatsuse, which brought up the rear, suffered the most, receiving three hits at once: 305-, 120- and 75-mm shells. It is interesting that Japanese data officially published after the war reported only two killed and 14 wounded on this ship. But, as it became known recently from declassified Japanese and British sources, these data are greatly underestimated. One way or another, deciding not to tempt fate, Admiral Togo at 11:45 ordered a ceasefire and disengage from the battle. A total of 14 shells hit the Russian ships, but only one of them - a 305 mm from the Mikasa, which hit the Pobeda, killing and wounding five people - could be described as a serious hit.

Realizing that there would be no easy victory, the Japanese prepared for a long siege of the fortress. After failure with fire ships to block the internal roadstead, the Japanese used another new tactical move. On March 10 (February 26), they for the first time undertook cross-fire at the internal roadstead through the Liaoteshan mountain range from a distance of 6.5–8 miles. A total of 154 305-mm shells were fired, which, due to the lack of proper adjustment, caused very minor damage to the Russians (7 killed and 20 wounded in the squadron and several civilians in the city). Togo chose the shooting location specifically to exclude return fire from Russian coastal batteries. But imagine his surprise on March 22 (9) during the second such bombing, when Russian shells from Retvizan and Pobeda began to fall in response. Unlike the Japanese, the Russians’ shooting was corrected from a post located on the Liaoteshan Mountains, and therefore, as soon as the Russian 305-mm projectile landed just 4–5 m from Fuji, Togo hurried to leave the battle.

Since the squadron in Port Arthur was seriously weakened by a sudden attack by Japanese destroyers at the beginning of the war, Togo decided to divide his battleships into two brigades, which, taking turns, could be on constant duty at the Russian fortress.

Battleship "ASAHI" (Japan, 1899) Displacement 15,200 tons. Dimensions 126.5 x 22.9 x 8.3 m. Engine power 15,000 l. s., speed 18 knots, coal reserve 700 tons. Reservation: main belt 102–229 mm, upper belt 152 mm, barbettes 203–356 mm, casemates 51–152 mm, deck 51–102 mm, wheelhouse 76–356 mm . Armament: 4 x 305 mm, 14 x 152 mm, 20 x 76 mm, 12 x 47 mm, 4 torpedo tubes. Crew 836 people. Laid down 08/01/1898, launched 03/13/1899, completed 07/31/1900.

The morning of May 15, 1904 did not foretell tragedy. But when the second brigade under the command of Rear Admiral Noshima, consisting of the battleships Hatsuse, Shikishima, Yashima, the cruiser Kasagi and the advice note Tatsuta, approached 11 miles to Port Arthur, at 9:55 under the stern of the flagship There was a powerful explosion from the Hatsusa. The ship's steering compartment was instantly flooded. Noshima ordered an immediate change of course, but while making the turn, the battleship Yashima encountered another mine. As a result of the explosion, he immediately received a list to starboard and a trim to the bow, and a few moments later a second explosion occurred under his hull, depriving the ship of its speed and enveloping it in a cloud of steam.

Since the Hatsuse also lost its steering and one propeller, the cruiser Kasagi approached it to help. For a long time, the Japanese battleships stood motionless, waging a desperate struggle for survivability.

Meanwhile, the Hatsuse, standing idle but drifting with the current, once again crossed the line of the Russian minefield. At 11:33 a new explosion was heard under its hull, causing the detonation of the aft magazines. A column of black and yellow smoke shot up, the chimney and mainmast fell overboard, and a cloud of steam escaped from the hull. After which, within just one minute, the battleship went to the bottom, raising its nose high. 36 officers and 457 lower ranks died along with the ship.

Battleship Asahi, July 31, 1900

Meanwhile, the Yashima continued to remain motionless and presented an excellent target. All this happened in sight of the Russian coastal batteries and observation posts, but the order for the destroyers to launch a mine attack came very late, and only around one o’clock in the afternoon did the Russians launch a torpedo attack. But all 16 destroyers returned empty-handed, having come under barrage fire from Japanese cruisers.

Despite the measures taken, the water on the Yashima kept rising. By 16-40 on the battleship towed to the island of Encounter Rock, the list reached 16.5°. Seeing the futility of his attempts to save the ship, its commander, Captain 1st Rank Sakamoto, gave the order to abandon the battleship. The evacuation was carried out in perfect order, so the only victims of the tragedy were four sailors wounded in the explosion. And again, the official Japanese version, going against conscience, claims that there was practically no chance of saving the ship. But, as it recently became known from declassified materials, the next day, May 16, the Yashima, abandoned by the crew, was still afloat!

And the cause of the death of both battleships was a minefield laid the day before by the Amur mine transport, which ultimately became the most effective minefield in the entire history of the Russian and Soviet fleets!

Battleship "MIKASA" (Japan, 1900) Displacement 15,140 tons. Dimensions 126.5 x 23.2 x 8.3 m. Machine power 15,000 l. s., speed 18 knots, coal reserve 700 tons. Reservation: main belt 102–229 mm, upper belt 152 mm, barbettes 203–356 mm, casemates 51–152 mm, deck 51–76 mm. Armament: 4 x 305 mm, 14 x 152 mm, 20 x 76 mm, 12 x 47 mm, 4 torpedo tubes. Crew 830 people. Laid down 01/24/1899, launched 11/08/1900, completed 03/01/1902.

The events of May 15 came as a real shock to the Japanese. In just one day, the linear forces of the empire were reduced by a third. Togo has only four ships of this class left, while after repairs the Russians will have six. In addition, in the Baltic, preparations were in full swing for the transfer of eight more battleships to the Far East, which, under favorable circumstances, could be in the theater of operations in just six months. And the Japanese could only respond to all this by completing the construction in England of the Kashima and Katori, which, at best, could join the fleet in a year and a half... The only thing the Japanese could do in the circumstances was to classify the very fact of the death of the Yashima. “, fortunately it sank far from the coast and there were no Russian ships nearby.

But thanks to the actions of the army in May-June, the situation around Port Arthur rapidly changed in favor of Japan: a direct siege of the fortress began. The squadron's stay there became simply dangerous, and its commander, Rear Admiral Vitgeft, decided to break through to Vladivostok. On August 10 (July 28) the first truly general battle of the two fleets took place. Against six battleships and four cruisers, Admiral Togo fielded four battleships, four armored cruisers and six armored cruisers. In addition, he had at his disposal a detachment of outdated slow-moving ships, the most powerful of which was the captured Chinese battleship Chin-Yen. Despite the advantage in speed, the Japanese squadron movement was limited by the slowest ship, the Fuji, which managed to produce only 15 knots, which was only half a knot higher than the speed of the Russian squadron. The Japanese ships sailed in the following order: Mikasa (flag of Admiral Togo), Asahi, Fuji, Shikishima (flag of Rear Admiral Nashiba), armored cruisers Kasuga and Nisshin (flag of Rear Admiral Kataoki).

The battle began at 12-20 from a distance of 80 cables with a sighting shot from the Nissin. Its course is well described both in military history and in fiction, so there is no point in dwelling on it. It is worth noting that, as always, the outcome of the battle was decided by an unfortunate accident. Two consecutive hits on the flagship "Tsesarevich" killed Admiral Vitgeft and upset the order of the Russian squadron. As a result, left without a single command, the Tsarevich, Askold and Diana were interned in neutral ports, the cruiser Novik was lost on Sakhalin while trying to break into the Sea of ​​Japan, and the remnants of the Russian squadron returned to Port Arthur. Togo could celebrate victory: some of the Russian ships dropped out of the game until the end of the war, and some returned to the Port Arthur trap, where only slow agony could await them.

Battleship "Mikasa", 1902

But the victory came at a high cost to the Japanese. The condition of the flagship Mikasa, which received over 20 hits, was simply deplorable. The armor protection was broken in several places, and the main caliber aft turret failed. The total loss of personnel amounted to 32 killed and 88 wounded. The Asahi's rear turret also failed, and the battleship suffered an underwater hole. And only on the Shikishima and Fuji there were almost no losses, except for the damage to one main caliber gun on the Shikishima. Moreover, most likely, the reason for the failure of five of the 16 main caliber guns of the Japanese squadron was the detonation of shells with “shimoza” directly in the bore.

Despite the more than serious damage to the Mikasa, Togo was afraid to send it to Japan for repairs. Although the Russians made no further attempts, the Japanese constantly expected a repeat of the breakthrough. Therefore, second place in the battle formation of Japanese ships began to be occupied by the Fuji, the only ship that had a full complement of main caliber artillery.

On October 26 (13), at approximately 9:35 a.m., the Asahi collided with a floating mine torn from its anchor. The column of water rose to the height of the main yard. Fortunately for the Japanese, the explosion hit the armor belt, and the battleship escaped with only minor damage.

Battleship "Mikasa", 1905

Mindful of the fatal damage to his ships from the danger of mines, Admiral Togo decided to take a chance and began rotating his ships on November 1 for repairs. And, of course, “Asahi” was the first to go to Kure. On November 29, after his return to the front line, the Shikishima set off for Japan, and only when it became clear that the Russian squadron was living out its last days did the Fuji and Mikasa leave for repairs.

By the spring of 1905, Japanese battleships were again ready to meet the enemy. They underwent repairs combined with modernization. First of all, they lost the majority of small-caliber artillery, which showed its complete ineffectiveness. Heavy combat tops were dismantled along with the artillery. But most importantly, based on the experience of previous battles, which showed an increase in combat range and ammunition consumption, the number of main caliber shells was increased from 90 to 110, and most of the ammunition now consisted of high-explosive shells, which, despite annoying gaps in the barrel, demonstrated their high combat effectiveness . In addition, all ships received new rangefinders.

As subsequent events showed, it was these four battleships that bore the brunt of the Tsushima battle. Having an undeniable advantage on paper, nevertheless, the Russian squadron carried an almost “unrafted” crew on its newest battleships. The ships themselves, due to additional coal reserves, sat in the water above the main armor belt. But even the Russian sailors, who had not really gone through the practice of firing their guns, were able to hit the Mikasa over 40 times, of which at least ten were 305-mm shells. Personnel losses amounted to 18 people killed and died from wounds, as well as 105 wounded. The next most damaged ship was Shikishima. It was hit by 11 shells, of which one was 305 mm and one was 254 mm. Six crew members were killed and another 16 were wounded. The Asahi was hit by 10 shells, but since there was not a single heavy caliber among them, the results of all of them can be assessed as insignificant. The battleship lost 8 people killed and 23 wounded. Finally, Fuji received 12 hits, at least two from 305 mm. One of these explosions put the battleship literally on the brink of death. The explosion completely destroyed the main caliber aft turret, igniting the charges located there and prepared for firing. Fortunately for the Japanese, the hydraulic system was pierced by the same explosion, and the water gushing under pressure stopped the spread of the flame into the powder magazines. According to official data, the ship lost 8 people killed and 21 wounded during the battle.

Mikasa Museum

As in the Battle of the Yellow Sea, the Japanese ships were much more threatened by their own shells. The first break occurred at Mikasa at 15:49. Fortunately, the projectile had already left the barrel, so the gun was practically undamaged. But at about 17-46, on the 28th shot, the barrel was blown apart so that not only the mechanism of this gun, but also the entire turret completely failed. Only at 18-22, after a desperate “struggle” of the Japanese sailors with their equipment, the left undamaged gun was able to open fire again. At 15-57, a similar incident occurred on the right gun of the Shikishima's bow turret. About one and a half meters of the barrel was simply torn off, the recoil mechanism was completely destroyed. However, fire from the left gun was resumed relatively quickly.

Many predicted a victory for the Japanese in Tsushima, but no one could have predicted such a “devastating score.” All 14 Russian battleships and armored cruisers were sunk and captured at the cost of just three tiny destroyers. After the victory over Russia, Japan unconditionally entered the club of leading naval powers.

The most interesting thing is that just six months after Tsushima, the fate of the Japanese battleships was overshadowed by a tragedy comparable in losses to all the events of the Russian-Japanese War. On September 11, 1905, on the Mikasa located in Sasebo, a severe fire broke out in the aft tower, causing detonation of the magazines. After a powerful explosion, the battleship sank to the bottom, taking 251 people with it. Another 343 people suffered burns and injuries. So, having withstood all the hardships and hardships of the war, two difficult battles, the battleship went to the bottom by the most absurd accident. Ship-lifting work and repairs continued for over two years, and only on August 24, 1908, Admiral Togo’s flagship returned to service.

With the advent of newer battleships in the Japanese fleet, the heroes of the Russo-Japanese War are gradually fading into the shadows. Initially, while their artillery was not yet sufficiently outdated, they were used as artillery training ships, providing much-needed personnel for the Mikado's fleet, which was growing by leaps and bounds. During one firing practice in Tokyo Bay, the Asahi was unlucky: its 305 mm gun exploded, killing four people and injuring five more.

As expected, Fuji was the first to be removed from the active roster. In 1910, she underwent a major overhaul with the replacement of artillery and boilers, after which she was reclassified as a coastal defense ship. The remaining battleships “de jure” received this status only in 1921, but “de facto” already during the First World War they were used exclusively to protect their bases. The only event worthy of mention is associated with "Asahi" and "Mikasa", who took part in the intervention against Soviet Russia. But even this completely ordinary operation almost ended in disaster. On September 17, 1921, “Mikasa” landed on rocks near Askold Island. It seemed that with the onset of storms, the Mikasa Museum would have no chance for the old ship, but, oddly enough, the elements unexpectedly came to the rescue. On September 26, "Mikasa" safely entered deep water, and after intermediate repairs in Vladivostok, she returned to Japan.

But even such sluggish service ended with the signing of the Washington Agreement in 1922. Although all four veterans were removed from the lists of the fleet, not one of them went “on pins and needles.” "Fuji" and "Sikishima", converted, respectively, into a barracks and blockhouse, successfully survived until the end of World War II, after which they were scrapped in 1948. The Asahi was converted into a submarine rescue vessel. But throughout his entire subsequent career, he never saved a single boat, but on May 25, 1942, he himself went to the bottom from the torpedoes of the American boat “Salmon.”

Unlike her brothers, “Mikasa” opened her cabins to everyone as a museum on November 12, 1926. The most interesting thing is that she survived the Second World War and the American occupation. Although all the weapons and some of the equipment were lost during the difficult wartime, restoration work began again on the battleship in 1959, and on May 27, 1961, the first visitors again climbed onto the deck of the museum. So to date, the Mikasa and the Aurora are the only ships that took part in the Russo-Japanese War.

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