Japanese cruiser Takachiho

History
Takachiho depicted in a 1905 postcard
Empire of Japan
Name:	Takachiho
Ordered:	1883 Fiscal Year
Builder:	Armstrong Whitworth, United Kingdom
Laid down:	27 March 1884
Launched:	16 May 1885
Completed:	1 December 1885
Out of service:	17 October 1914
Struck:	29 October 1914
Fate:	Sunk during the Siege of Tsingtao, 17 October 1914
General characteristics
Class and type:	Naniwa-class protected cruiser
Displacement:	3,650 long tons (3,709 t)
Length:	91.4 m (299 ft 10 in)
Beam:	14 m (45 ft 11 in)
Draught:	6.4 m (21 ft 0 in)
Propulsion:	2-shaft reciprocating engines; 6 boilers; 7,604 hp (5,670 kW); 7,604 horsepower (5,670 kW)
Speed:	18.5 knots (21.3 mph; 34.3 km/h)
Range:	9,000 nmi (17,000 km) at 13 kn (24 km/h)
Complement:	325
Armament:	2 × 260 mm (10 in) L/35 Krupp guns 6 × 152 mm (6.0 in) L/35 Krupp guns 6 × QF 6 pounder Hotchkiss 10 × 1-inch Nordenfelt guns 4 × 11-mm, 10-barrel Nordenfelt guns 4 × 356 mm (14.0 in) torpedo tubes
Armour:	Deck: 50–75 mm (2–3 in) Gun shields: 37 mm (1.5 in) Conning tower: 37 mm (1.5 in)

Takachiho (高千穂^?) was the second and final Naniwa-class protected cruiser built for the Imperial Japanese Navy by the Newcastle upon Tyne-based Armstrong Whitworth Elswick shipyard in the United Kingdom. The name Takachiho comes from a mountain in the volcanic Kirishima range between Kagoshima and Miyazaki prefectures in Japan, which was a prominent location in Japanese mythology. Takachiho played a major role in the First Sino-Japanese War of 1894–1895, but was lost in combat in World War I.

The revolutionary design of the "Elswick" protected cruiser, initially developed as a private-venture by Armstrong Whitworth in the mid-1880s, and implemented in the cruiser Esmeralda for the Chilean Navy (subsequently purchased by Japan as Izumi) was of great interest to Japan because of its high speed, powerful armament, armor protection and relatively low cost, especially since the Imperial Japanese Navy lacked the resources at the time to purchase modern pre-dreadnought battleships. Pioneering Japanese naval architect Sasō Sachū requested that Armstrong Whitworth make modifications to the Esmeralda design to customize it for Japanese requirements, and two vessels, Naniwa and Takachiho were ordered under the 1883 fiscal year budget. When completed, Naniwa and Takachiho were considered the most advanced and most powerful cruiser in the world.

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