Japanese battleship Katori

nihongo|Katori |香取 (戦艦)|Kashima (senkan) was the lead ship in the Katori class of pre-dreadnought battleships of the Imperial Japanese Navy, designed and built by Vickers shipyards, in the United Kingdom. The name "Katori" comes from a famous Shinto shrine in Katori City, Chiba, located to the northeast of Tokyo. Its sister ship was the battleship "Kashima".

Background

"Kashima" and "Katori" were ordered in response to the loss of "Hatsuse" and "Yashima" in the Russo-Japanese War. Although the armored cruisers "Nisshin" and "Kasuga" successfully held their own in the line of battle during the crucial Battle of Tsushima, the Japanese Navy projected that a fleet of six battleships was the minimum necessary against potential threats from China, Russia or the United States. Although construction was rushed, "Katori" was delivered only after the end of the Russo-Japanese War. Prince and Princess Arisugawa were on hand for the official launching ceremony. [New York Times, July 5 1905. A film of the launching is preserved at the British National Film Archives http://ftvdb.bfi.org.uk/sift/title/590663?view=synopsis]

Operational History

"Katori" arrived at Yokosuka on 1906-08-15 after her maiden voyage and shakedown cruise from Portsmouth, England.

During the visit of the United States Navy's Great White Fleet on its around-the-world voyage, "Katori" was part of the escort fleet through Japanese waters in October 1908. In a Naval Review off of Yokosuka on 1913-11-10, "Katori" had the honor of hosting the crown prince (the future Emperor Hirohito).

Although rendered obsolete by the development of the "Dreadnaught" class battleships, "Katori" participated World War I, albeit in a relatively minor role in the occupation of lightly defended German colonies in the Caroline Islands, Mariana Islands and Palau Islands groups.

After World War I, "Katori" served as part of the Japanese fleet involved in covering the landings of troops and coastal patrol during the Siberian Intervention of 1918-1921. On 1922-03-03, "Katori" departed Japan with Prince Regent Hirohito on a six month tour of the United Kingdom and five other European countries: (France, Italy, Vatican City, the Netherlands, and Belgium) thus making him the first Japanese crown prince to travel abroad. "Katori" returned to Japan on 1922-09-03, and a series of commemorative postage stamps depicting "Katori" were issued by the Japanese government to commemorate the safe voyage.

As a result of the Washington Naval Agreement, the "Katori" was decommissioned on 1923-09-20, and was sent to the breakers at Maizuru Naval Arsensal in 1924. However, some of its larger guns were salvaged, and re-used in coastal artillery batteries around Tokyo Bay.

The battleship "Katori" should not be confused with the light cruiser "Katori" of the Pacific War era.

References

*cite book
last = Brown
first = D. K.
year = 1999
title = Warrior to Dreadnought, Warship Development 1860-1906
publisher = Naval Institute Press
location =
id = ISBN 1-84067-529-2
*cite book
last = Evans
first = David
year = 1979
title = Kaigun: Strategy, Tactics, and Technology in the Imperial Japanese Navy, 1887-1941
publisher = US Naval Institute Press
location =
id = ISBN 0870211927
*cite book
last = Howarth
first = Stephen
year = 1983
title = The Fighting Ships of the Rising Sun: The Drama of the Imperial Japanese Navy, 1895-1945
publisher = Atheneum
location =
id = ISBN 0689114028
*cite book
last = Jentsura
first = Hansgeorg
year = 1976
title = Warships of the Imperial Japanese Navy, 1869-1945
publisher = Naval Institute Press
location =
id = ISBN 087021893X
*cite book
last = Schencking
first = J. Charles
year = 2005
title = Making Waves: Politics, Propaganda, And The Emergence Of The Imperial Japanese Navy, 1868-1922
publisher = Stanford University Press
location =
id = ISBN 0804749779

External links

* [http://homepage2.nifty.com/nishidah/e/stc0116.htm Materials of the Imperial Japanese Navy]
* [http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/japan/kashima-bb.htm Global Security site]
* [http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-free/pdf?_r=1&res=9E05E3DD103AE733A25756C0A9619C946497D6CF&oref=slogin New York Times July 5 1905 on launching of Katori]

Notes