The Satsuma class battleship was one of two pre-dreadnought battleships in service with the Imperial Japanese Navy between 1910 and 1922. They were both built locally, at Japanese shipyards, by the Japanese Navy industry and designed by their own engineers. They were fitted with four 305-mm (12-inch) and six 254-mm (10-inch) naval guns. Both IJN Satsuma and IJN Aki took part in World War I, but they saw limited war-time service. Satsuma was named in honor of one of the greatest Japanese clans. They succeeded the Kashima class battleships.
Designed in Japan, IJN Satsuma was laid down at the Kure Naval Yard, Honshu, on May 15, 1905, five months before the British HMS Dreadnought. IJN Aki would be laid down the following year, on March 15, 1906. After five years of sea trials, they were finally commissioned in 1910 and 1911 respectively. Although they are classified as pre-dreadnought battleships, they were modern capital ships, featuring the same type of propulsion system and armament as the British HMS Dreadnought. They were the first Japanese warships to be powered by modern steam machines. Both armored vessels would be disarmed in 1922; then they were used as targets for gunnery practice by other battleships. This is how they were sunk in 1924.
Technical Description
With an overall length of 147 m (482 feet), the Satsuma class battleship had a 230-mm-thick belt armor, with a 50-mm thick deck steel plates. The vessel was propelled by two, Japanese-made, vertical triple expansion steam engines, which were 3-cylinder, compound machines that expanded the steam in three stages, each driving two shafts. They were fed steam by 20 Miyabara, water-tube boilers. This propulsion system could deliver 17,300 sHP as it could reach the maximum speed of 18.50 knots. However, her sister ship, IJN Aki, was powered by two Curtiss steam turbines.
Specifications
Type: pre-dreadnought battleship
Displacement: 19,372 tons; 19,750 tons (full load)
Length: 147 m (482 feet)
Beam: 25.4 m (83 feet)
Draft: 8.4 m (27.5 feet)
Propulsion: two vertical triple expansion steam engines, with two shafts.
Maximum Speed: 18.5 knots
Range: 8,500 nautical miles
Compliment: 887 men
Armament: four 305-mm (12-inch) naval guns mounted in two twin turrets, one on the bow deck, the other on the stern deck; twelve 254-mm (10-inch) guns in six twin turrets, three on the starboard and three on the port deck; twelve 120-mm guns.
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| IJN Satsuma at anchor in 1914, the year World War I broke out. |
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| IJN Aki in 1911 |