IJN Mikasa

IJN Mikasa was a pre-dreadnought battleship, which was in service with the Imperial Japanese Navy between 1902 and 1923. It got a firm place in naval history as Vice-Admiral Togo's flagship. From the bridge of Mikasa, he commanded a combined fleet at the Battle of Tsushima on May 27, 1905, when he thoroughly defeated the Pacific fleet of the Imperial Russian Navy. As a flagship, this Japanese battleship drew heavy enemy fire. However, her thick armor, sturdy construction, and skillful handling made her survive the battle, without suffering serious damage.

Mikasa was one of the four battleships ordered by the Imperial Japanese Navy from the British shipbuilding industry under the 1896 expansion program. Laid down in 1899, she was built by Armstrong shipyards at Elswick. She was armed with four 305-mm guns (12-inch) set up in two turrets, one on the fore portion of deck, the other aft. These guns could be loaded at any angle of elevation, as there were three alternative means of loading: electric, hydraulic, and manual, with the ship carrying a total of 240 rounds. She was powered by two reciprocating, triple-expansion steam engines.

During World War I, IJN Mikasa carried out coastal defense patrol missions. In 1922, she was stripped of her guns and, in 1923, her hull was encased in concrete and converted into a national museum. It miraculously survived World War II allied bombing of Japan.

Specifications

Type: battleship

Displacement: 15,370 tons

Length: 131.7 m (432 feet)

Beam: 23.2 m (76 feet)

Draft: 8.3 m (27 feet)

Propulsion: two reciprocating, vertical, triple-expansion, steam engines, with two shaft, and fed by 25 boilers, generating a total of 15,000 iHP (indicated horsepower).

Maximum Speed: 18 knots

Range: 8,000 nautical miles

Armament: four 305-mm (12-inch) guns; fourteen 152-mm (6-inch) and twenty 76.2-mm (3-inch) guns.

Armor: 229-mm-thick on belt; 51-mm on deck.

Below, photo of the IJN Mikasa in 1905, after the Battle of Tsushima.