Japanese battleship Shikishima

Shikishima in a 1905 postcard
History
Japan
Name:	Shikishima
Namesake:	A stanza of Waka
Ordered:	1897
Builder:	Thames Iron Works, Blackwall, London
Laid down:	29 March 1897
Launched:	1 November 1898
Completed:	26 January 1900
Reclassified:	1 April 1923 as transport and training ship
Struck:	1923
Fate:	Scrapped 1948
General characteristics
Class and type:	Shikishima-class pre-dreadnought battleship
Displacement:	14,850 long tons (15,090 t) (normal)
Length:	438 ft (133.5 m)
Beam:	76 ft 6 in (23.3 m)
Draught:	27 ft 3 in (8.3 m)
Installed power:	14,500 shp (10,800 kW) 25 Belleville boilers
Propulsion:	2 shafts, 2 vertical triple-expansion steam engines
Speed:	18 knots (33 km/h; 21 mph)
Range:	5,000 nmi (9,300 km; 5,800 mi) at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph)
Complement:	741
Armament:	2 × 2 – 12 in (305 mm) guns 14 × 1 – 6 in (152 mm) QF guns 20 × 1 – 12-pounder guns 6 × 1 – 3-pounder guns 6 × 1 – 2.5-pounder Hotchkiss guns 4 × 18-inch torpedo tubes
Armour:	Harvey armour Belt: 4–9 in (102–229 mm) Deck: 2.5–4 in (64–102 mm) Gun turrets: 10 in (254 mm)

Shikishima (敷島^?) was the lead ship of the Shikishima class of pre-dreadnought battleships built for the Imperial Japanese Navy by British shipyards in the late 1890s. During the Russo-Japanese War of 1904–1905, the ship fought in the Battles of Port Arthur, the Yellow Sea and Tsushima and was lightly damaged in the latter action, although shells prematurely exploded in her main guns in the latter two engagements. Shikishima remained in home waters during World War I. The ship was reclassified as a coastal defence ship in 1921 and served as a training ship for the rest of her career. She was disarmed and hulked in 1923 and finally broken up for scrap in 1948.

Shikishima and her sister ship Hatsuse were designed in England as improved versions of the Royal Navy's Majestic-class battleships.Shikishima was 438 feet (133.5 m) long overall and had a beam of 75 feet 6 inches (23.0 m). She had a full-load draught of 27 feet 3 inches (8.3 m) and normally displaced 14,850 long tons (15,090 t) and had a crew of 741 officers and enlisted men. The ship was powered by two Humphrys Tennant vertical triple-expansion steam engines using steam generated by 25 Belleville boilers. The engines were rated at 14,500 indicated horsepower (10,800 kW), using forced draught, and were designed to reach a top speed of around 18 knots (33 km/h; 21 mph). Shikishima, however, reached a top speed of 19.027 knots (35.238 km/h; 21.896 mph) from 14,667 indicated horsepower (10,937 kW) on her sea trials. She carried a maximum of 1,700 long tons (1,700 t) of coal which allowed her to steam for 5,000 nautical miles (9,300 km; 5,800 mi) at a speed of 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph).