Japanese cruiser Naniwa
Naniwa (浪速) was the lead ship of her class of two protected cruisers built for the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) in the 1880s. As Japan lacked the industrial capacity to construct such vessels, the ship was designed and built in the United Kingdom. She participated in the First Sino-Japanese War of 1894–1895, playing a major role in the Battle of the Yalu River and lesser roles in the Battles of Port Arthur, Weihaiwei, the Pescadores Campaign and the invasion of Taiwan. Naniwa played a minor role in the Russo-Japanese War of 1904–1905 where she participated in the Battle of Chemulpo Bay, briefly helped to blockade Port Arthur at the beginning of the war, helped to sink a Russian armored cruiser during Battle off Ulsan and participated in the climactic defeat of the Imperial Russian Navy in the Battle of Tsushima.
Naniwa in 1887 | |
| History | |
|---|---|
| Empire of Japan | |
| Name | Naniwa |
| Namesake | Naniwa-ku, Osaka |
| Ordered | 1883 Fiscal Year |
| Builder | Armstrong Mitchell, South Tyneside |
| Laid down | 27 March 1884 |
| Launched | 18 March 1885 |
| Completed | 15 February 1886 |
| Stricken | 5 August 1912 |
| Fate | Wrecked, 26 June 1912, and sold for scrap, 26 June 1913 |
| General characteristics (as built) | |
| Class and type | Naniwa-class protected cruiser |
| Displacement | 3,727 long tons (3,787 t) |
| Length | 320 ft (97.5 m) (o/a) |
| Beam | 46 ft (14 m) |
| Draught | 20 ft 3 in (6.2 m) (full load) |
| Installed power |
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| Propulsion | 2 shafts; 2 compound-expansion steam engines |
| Speed | 18 knots (33 km/h; 21 mph) |
| Range | 9,000 nmi (17,000 km; 10,000 mi) at 13 knots (24 km/h; 15 mph) |
| Complement | 338 |
| Armament |
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| Armour |
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After the war the ship was relegated to auxiliary roles and served as a survey and fisheries protection ship. Naniwa ran aground in the Kurile Islands north of the Japanese Home Islands in 1912 and could not be refloated before she was permanently wrecked a month later. Salvage rights to the wreck were sold a year later.