Tatsuta 1894
| Name | No | Yard No | Builder | Laid down | Launched | Comp | Fate |
| 龍田 [Tatsuta] | Armstrong, Elswick, UK | 4.1893 | 6.4.1894 | 31.7.1894 | submarine depot ship Nagaura Maru 1918 |
|
Displacement normal, t |
850 |
|
Displacement full, t |
|
|
Length, m |
73.1 pp |
|
Breadth, m |
8.38 |
|
Draught, m |
2.89 |
|
No of shafts |
2 |
|
Machinery |
2 VTE, 4 cylindrical boilers |
|
Power, h. p. |
5500 |
|
Max speed, kts |
21 |
|
Fuel, t |
coal 200 |
|
Endurance, nm(kts) |
|
|
Armament |
2 x 1 - 120/40 Armstrong R, 4 x 1 - 47/40 3pdr Hotchkiss Mk I, 5 x 1 - 47/30 21/2pdr Hotchkiss Mk I, 2 x 2 - 350 TT, 1 - 350 TT (bow) |
|
Complement |
100 |
Project history: Tatsuta was ordered from Britain as a replacement for the lost Chishima. She was hurriedly built to be ready for the expected war with China, but was on her way to the Far East, refuelling at Aden when war broke out. She was at once interned as war contraband and did not finally reach Japan until December 1896, when the war was over.
Modernizations: 1903: boilers were replaced by 4 Kampon, three tall thin funnels were installed instead of olde one; - 4 x 1 - 47/40, 5 x 1 - 47/30, 2 x 2 - 350 TT, 1 - 350 TT; + 4 x 1 - 76/40 Armstrong N, 2 x 2 - 450 TT, 1 - 450 TT (bow).
Naval service: She was re-rated as a despatch vessel in 1898. The Tatsuta ran aground on the Elliot Islands on 15 May 1904, but was refloated and repaired. In 1918 she was renamed Nagaura Maru to allow the name Tatsuta to be used for a new light cruiser. She then served as a submarine depot and repair ship until 1926 when she was scrapped.
© Ivan Gogin, 2014