Japanese cruiser Hirado
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 Japanese light cruiser Hirado in 1916 |
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| Career |  |
|---|---|
| Builder: | Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Kobe, Japan |
| Ordered: | FY 1907 |
| Laid down: | August 10 1910 |
| Launched: | June 29 1911 |
| Commissioned: | June 17 1912 |
| Fate: | Scrapped April 1 1940 |
| General Characteristics (initial – final) | |
| Displacement: | 5,040 tons |
| Length: | 144.8 meters overall |
| Beam: | 14.2 meters |
| Draft: | 5.1 meters |
| Propulsion: | Two Shaft Turbine Engines; 16 boilers; 22,500 shp |
| Speed: | 26 knots |
| Fuel & Range: | 1128 tons coal 10,000 nm @ 10 knots |
| Complement: | 414 |
| Armament: |
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| Armor: |
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IJN Hirado (平戸) was the third vessel in the Chikuma class of 2nd class light cruisers of the Imperial Japanese Navy. Designed shortly after the Russo-Japanese War, it combined fairly heavy armament and displacement with newly-developed Curtis turbine engines, which gave it an incredible 26 knot speed. However, problems with material strength in the gears of the new engines created a maintenance nightmare, and the Hirado could seldom live up to its potential.
The Hirado had two sister ship, the IJN Chikuma and the IJN Yahagi. The Hirado is named for after the town of Hirado, Nagasaki.
The Hirado participated in World War I, and in the chase for the German Asiatic Squadron led by Admiral-Graf Maximilian von Spee in 1914. The Hirado and its sister ship Yahagi were in the 2nd Southern Squadron lead by the battleship Satsuma and commanded by Rear-Admiral Matsumura Tatsuo. On 26 March 1917, the British Admiralty further requested the deployment of the Chikuma and Hirado to Australia and New Zealand to protect shipping against the German raiding operations.
During the 1920s and 1930s, the Hirado was mostly assigned to guarding the southern approaches to Japan, and made frequent port calls to Manila and Macau. Considered a reserve vessel in 1933, it was primarily used as a moored training ship. Stricken on 01 April 1940, and re-designated Hai Kan Nr 11, it was moored as a barracks ship at Etajima, and then Kure. It was towed to Iwakuni in December 1943. The hulk was scrapped in 1947.
Imperial Japanese Navy  |
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