The Imperial Japanese Navy

1. Guns.

The early Japanese warships were equipped with Krupp guns, the Naniwa and Takachiho being so fitted. At a later date Canet guns were introduced, but only for the heavy pieces, and the Matsushima class carried a big 12.6 Canet and Elswick guns for the smaller pieces. Subsequently, with the Fuji and Yashima, Elswick guns alone were employed, and a factory for the construction of guns on the Elswick model was established in Japan. The pieces selected were the 12-in. 40-calibre, the 8-in. 40-calibre, the 40-calibre 6-in., and the 45-calibre 4.7-in. Up to and including the Mikasa, all ships were mounted with these guns.

In 1902-3 the Vickers 50-calibre 6-in. was experimented with and adopted.

The guns at present mounted in the Japanese fleet, excluding a few old pieces about to be replaced or already removed, are as follows:—

All guns of 40-calibres and over—that is to say, all the modern pieces—fire a smokeless nitro-cellulose powder of Japanese invention, and the maximum service velocities of all, save the 50-calibre Vickers, are now up to the nominal initial velocity.

A.P. shot, A.P. shell, and common shell are fired by all guns, and, in addition, those of 8 ins. or less calibre fire a special Japanese high explosive of the lyddite type.

In smaller pieces, a 2½-pounder exists, which is to a certain extent a Japanese invention; but it differs from models existing elsewhere only in a few minor details of a semi-automatic nature. From what I have seen of it, the piece would be better without these innovations.

The maximum penetrations of the larger pieces through Krupp cemented armour at 3000 yards are as follows:—

For coast defence, Schneider-Canet guns are mostly employed, many 9.4’s on disappearing mounting having been supplied for forts.

2. Gunnery Accessories.

The Barr and Stroud range-finder is used in all Japanese ships, and acted excellently at the bombardments of Port Arthur in February, 1904.

The Barr and Stroud transmitters are also fitted to all first-class warships. By means of these the range, projectile, and so forth is telegraphed from the conning-tower to a dial in each turret and casement. Without some such device a range-finder is of no particular service, as by the time the range is passed down it will have altered.

The Grenfell system of transmission is also understood to be under experiment. This differs in details from the Barr and Stroud, but in general principle is much the same thing.

The theoretical objection to the Barr and Stroud is that the electric leads may be cut by a hostile shot. They might be, but as the wires are carried in duplicate under the armour deck the chances of failure are about one in a million! Throughout the war with Russia all these instruments have worked perfectly, and proved particularly serviceable in the bombardments of Port Arthur.

3. Torpedoes.

The Japanese service has three torpedoes:—

This last torpedo has an effective range of over 3000 yards. It is not, however, carried on shipboard.

The Whiteheads are identical with those in the British service. So, too, are the above-water tubes. The submerged ones are of Elswick pattern—Mark I., which was not satisfactory at high speeds in the Fuji, Yashima, and Shikishima; Mark II., which delivers fairly well at all speeds in the later ships. All ships that carry submerged tubes—that is, all first-class battleships or cruisers—have four fitted: two forward on the broadside and two bearing 45° abaft the beam, just abaft the after barbette.

Above-water tubes are condemned, and several of those in existence were under orders of removal when the Russian war broke out.

Above-water bow tubes were condemned on account of the seas that they took in. As such as exist in armoured vessels are protected by 6-in. armour, they did not improve seaworthiness, the weight in the extreme bow being inconvenient.

4. Armour.

An armour-plate factory has been established at Kobé, but it is not yet in a position to turn out much except gun shields.

A characteristic of the Japanese has been their readiness to adopt new processes.

Thus the Fuji and Yashima were designed for compound armour, but the Harvey process coming in while the ships were building, it was at once adopted in preference to compound. So, too, in later ships the improved Harvey, “Harvey-Nickel,” was at once used, and in the Iwate and Idzumo belts were shortened a little and speed reduced, so that the Krupp process might be employed for the water-line plates.

In the Mikasa great expense was undertaken solely in order to apply Krupp cemented to curved surfaces instead of the non-cemented and less tough Krupp plates usually so employed. There is some doubt whether this experiment was successful; if Krupp cemented plates are “fiddled with” their special virtue departs. It is also stated, however, that the Mikasa’s plates were made on a special process somewhat analogous to the Krupp, but differing from it in certain details, and less liable to injury in bending.

5. Engines and Boilers.

The engines of Japanese warships are, save in the case of a few small vessels, of British manufacture, and the same as those of British ships.

In boilers, the Belleville type was adopted with the Shikishima, and several older vessels have been re-boilered with it. Almost the first warship to be fitted with this type was the Chiyoda.

With some remarkable exceptions, Japanese naval engineers have not succeeded very conspicuously in securing the very economical coal results which have been obtained with Bellevilles in the British Fleet. A remarkable instance to the contrary was the Idzumo; the Mikasa also did well. The Asahi, when first commissioned, did badly, but, when the art of coal spreading on scientific lines was mastered, suddenly became very economical.

No trouble of any sort has been experienced, and the Japanese have shown themselves singularly adapted to the management of water-tube boilers.

When the Yaeyama was re-boilered, Niclausse generators were fitted to her, but with indifferent success. Consequently, in order to continue experiments on the lines of the British Navy, this type was fitted to the Niitaka and Tsushima, and ordered for one of the new battleships. Apparently the experiment is to be continued to other types, following the example of the British Navy, though the majority of the engineers are averse to such a procedure, both on account of the success obtained with the Belleville and because of the extreme difficulty involved when many types exist, and many of the men sent to a ship are used to some other type of boiler than the one that they are called on to work.

A water-tube boiler of Japanese design exists—a species of cross between the Belleville and Yarrow, with a little Niclausse thrown in. It does not appear to promise well, and though designed to possess the virtues of each type, seems more likely to embody their weaker points than their strong ones. Such, at least, appears to be the general verdict.

There is also another water-tube boiler of Japanese origin, something like the Thornycroft, which is in the hands of the Temperley Transported Company; but I have not heard of any practical tests of it as yet, its invention being quite recent.

In any case, neither is likely to oust existing types, as most of the valuable points in a boiler are already patented all over the world. The inventors of new types are, therefore, hampered much like inventors of new systems of wireless telegraphy are—some one has been before them. In addition, a water-tube boiler requires some years of practical service before it can be classed as out of the experimental stage. The great advantage possessed by the Belleville, which “in theory” is one of the worst of boilers, lies in the numerous features introduced by years of practical experience. In rough-sea work theory and practice rarely go together; the thing that is ideal on paper is apt at sea to fail unexpectedly. The water-tube boilers fitted in Japanese ships are as follows:—

The Japanese boiler under experiment is the Miyabara, the invention of the Engineer-in-Chief of the Japanese Navy. It is to be fitted to the Otawa, and probably some other ships. It is also in the Hashidate. The inventor recently produced a paper showing its all-round advantages over every other type of water-tube boiler; but this, of course, may be taken cum grano salis. However, there is little doubt but that, should it be in any way successful, natural national vanity will lead to its general adoption in preference to European types, just as the 2½-pounder gun has been.