# Japanese cruiser Chihaya

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For other ships named Japanese ship Chihaya, see [Japanese ship Chihaya (disambiguation)](/source/Japanese_ship_Chihaya_(disambiguation)).

***Chihaya*** (千早) was an [unprotected cruiser](/source/Unprotected_cruiser) of the [Imperial Japanese Navy](/source/Imperial_Japanese_Navy).[1] The name *Chihaya* comes from [Chihaya Castle](/source/Chihaya_Castle), near [Osaka](/source/Osaka), the site of one of the battles of the [Genkō War](/source/Genk%C5%8D_War) of 1333.

## Background

*Chihaya* was based on previous designs for dispatch vessels made by the [French military advisor](/source/Foreign_government_advisors_in_Meiji_Japan) [Emile Bertin](/source/Emile_Bertin), and was built in Japan by the [Yokosuka Naval Arsenal](/source/Yokosuka_Naval_Arsenal). Due to her small size she is sometimes classified as a [corvette](/source/Corvette) or [gunboat](/source/Gunboat), but was used by the Imperial Japanese Navy primarily as an [aviso](/source/Aviso) ([dispatch boat](/source/Dispatch_boat)) for scouting, reconnaissance and delivery of his priority messages.

## Design

Similar in design to [Japanese cruiser *Yaeyama*](/source/Japanese_cruiser_Yaeyama) and [Japanese cruiser *Miyako*](/source/Japanese_cruiser_Miyako), *Chihaya* had a steel hull, and retained a full [barque](/source/Barque) [rigging](/source/Rigging) with two [masts](/source/Mast_(sailing)) for auxiliary sail propulsion in addition to her [steam engine](/source/Steam_engine), which was 2-shaft reciprocating vertical triple-expansion engine with 6 cylindrical [Normand boilers](/source/Three-drum_boiler#Normand_boiler) driving two shafts and developing 6,000 hp (4,500 kW). *Chihaya* was armed with two [QF 4.7-inch Gun Mk I–IVs](/source/QF_4.7-inch_Gun_Mk_I%E2%80%93IV) guns and four [QF 3 pounder Hotchkiss](/source/QF_3_pounder_Hotchkiss) guns. In addition, she carried two torpedoes, mounted on the deck.[2]

## Service record

*Chihaya* was [laid down](/source/Keel_laying) on 7 May 1898 and [launched](/source/Ceremonial_ship_launching) on 26 May 1900[3] in a ceremony attended by [Emperor Meiji](/source/Emperor_Meiji). She was completed on 9 September 1901.[3]

On the afternoon of 18 June 1901 while still on trials before formal commissioning, *Chiyaha* collided off [Tateyama, Chiba](/source/Tateyama,_Chiba) with the [destroyer](/source/Destroyer) [Japanese destroyer *Akebono*](/source/Japanese_destroyer_Akebono_(1899)), which was on a torpedo training exercise. Both vessels suffered from minor damage.

During the [Russo-Japanese War](/source/Russo-Japanese_War) of 1904–1905, *Chiyaha* participated in the naval [Battle of Port Arthur](/source/Battle_of_Port_Arthur) and subsequent [blockade](/source/Naval_blockade) of that port. She was subsequently at the [Battle of the Yellow Sea](/source/Battle_of_the_Yellow_Sea) and the [Battle of Tsushima](/source/Battle_of_Tsushima). As this latter battle, *Chiyaha* commanded a squadron of destroyers which sank the Russian battleship [Russian battleship *Knyaz Suvorov*](/source/Russian_battleship_Knyaz_Suvorov) and repair ship *Kamchatka*.[4]

On 26 August 1912, *Chiyaha* was re-classified as a first-class [gunboat](/source/Gunboat) .[3]

During the [First World War](/source/First_World_War), *Chiyaha* was assigned to patrols of [former German Micronesia](/source/South_Pacific_Mandate), which has been occupied by Japan during the early stages of the war.

From 1918 to 1923, *Chiyaha* was assigned to provide support for the [Japanese intervention in Siberia](/source/Japanese_intervention_in_Siberia) in support of the [White Movement](/source/White_Movement) armies against the [Bolshevik](/source/Bolshevik) [Red Army](/source/Red_Army) by making patrols of the eastern coast of Russia. From May to October 1928, *Chiyaha* was converted at the [Yokosuka Naval Arsenal](/source/Yokosuka_Naval_Arsenal) to be a training vessel, and was removed from the [navy list](/source/Navy_list) on 1 September 1928.[3] She was subsequently transferred to the [Imperial Japanese Naval Academy](/source/Imperial_Japanese_Naval_Academy), where she served as a training hulk until 25 July 1939. Her hulk was still afloat at [Etajima](/source/Etajima,_Hiroshima) at the end of [World War II](/source/World_War_II), when she was scrapped.[2]

## Notes

1. Jentsura, Hansgeorg (1976). *Warships of the Imperial Japanese Navy, 1869-1945*. Naval Institute Press. ISBN 0-87021-893-X. page 95

1. Chesneau, *Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1860–1905*, p. 234.

1. Nishida, *Ships of the Imperial Japanese Navy*

1. Willmott, H.P., Mark R. (2009). *The Last Century of Sea Power: From Port Arthur to Chanak, 1894–1922*. Indiana University Press. ISBN 978-0253003560.

## References

- Chesneau, Roger (1979). *Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1860–1905.*. Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 0-85177-133-5.
- Evans, David C. & [Peattie](/source/Mark_Peattie), Mark R. (1997). *Kaigun: Strategy, Tactics, and Technology in the Imperial Japanese Navy, 1887-1941*. Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 0870211927.
- Howarth, Stephen (1983). *The Fighting Ships of the Rising Sun: The Drama of the Imperial Japanese Navy, 1895-1945*. Atheneum. ISBN 0689114028.
- Jentsura, Hansgeorg (1976). *Warships of the Imperial Japanese Navy, 1869-1945*. Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 087021893X.
- Roberts, John (ed). (1983). '*Warships of the world from 1860 to 1905 - Volume 2: United States, Japan and Russia*. Bernard & Graefe Verlag, Koblenz. ISBN 3763754032.
- Roksund, Arne (2007). "The Jeune École: The Strategy of the Weak". *Navies in Northern Waters 1721-2000*. Leiden: Brill. ISBN 978-0-415-40774-8.
- Schencking, J. Charles (2005). *Making Waves: Politics, Propaganda, And The Emergence Of The Imperial Japanese Navy, 1868-1922*. Stanford University Press. ISBN 0804749779.

## External links

- [Materials of the IJN](http://admiral31.world.coocan.jp/e/stc0622.htm)

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Japanese cruiser Chihaya](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_cruiser_Chihaya) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_cruiser_Chihaya?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.