Japanese minelayer Itsukushima
Itsukushima, circa 1935.
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| History | |
|---|---|
 Japan
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| Name: | Itsukushima |
| Ordered: | fiscal 1923 |
| Builder: | Uraga Dock Company |
| Laid down: | February 2, 1928 |
| Launched: | May 22, 1929 |
| Commissioned: | December 26, 1929 |
| Struck: | January 10, 1945 |
| Fate: | Sunk by a Dutch submarine, October 7, 1944 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type: | minelayer |
| Displacement: | 1,970 long tons (2,002 t) standard, 2080 tons normal |
| Length: |
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| Beam: | 11.83 m (38 ft 10 in) |
| Draught: | 3.22 m (10 ft 7 in) |
| Propulsion: | 3-shaft diesel engine, 3 boilers, 39,000 hp (29,000 kW) |
| Speed: | 17 knots (20 mph; 31 km/h) |
| Range: | 5,000 nmi (9,300 km) at 10 knots (19 km/h) |
| Complement: | 221 |
| Armament: |
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| Armour: | none |
Itsukushima (厳島?) was a medium-sized minelayer of the Imperial Japanese Navy, which was in service during the Second Sino-Japanese War and World War II. She was named after the First Sino-Japanese War-era cruiser Itsukushima, which in turn was named after Itsukushima, a sacred island in Hiroshima Prefecture of Japan. She was the first warship in the Imperial Japanese Navy with all diesel engine propulsion.
Under the fiscal 1923 budget, the Imperial Japanese Navy authorized a minelayer to supplement its aging minelayers, the former cruisers Aso, and Tokiwa. The new vessel was designed to carrying 500 Type 5 naval mines, and to incorporate design features developed through operational experience gained in World War I. Initial plans to procure a 3000-ton vessel were scaled back to 2000-tons due to budget limitations.
Itsukushima was launched by the Uraga Dock Company on May 22, 1929, and was commissioned into service on December 26, 1929.
After commissioning, Itsukushima was assigned to the Yokosuka Naval District as a reserve and training vessel, making occasional cruises to the South Pacific Mandate and Bonin Islands. She was commanded by Captain (Prince) Teruhisa Komatsu from December 1930 to November 1931. During the Combined Fleet Maneuvers of 1935, she was attached to the IJN 4th Fleet and suffered damage due to a typhoon in what was termed the "Fourth Fleet Incident". The damage required several months of extensive repairs, resulting in an almost complete rebuild by May 1936. She was commanded by Captain (Prince) Prince Fushimi Hiroyoshi from November 1935 to December 1936. Itsukushima was assigned to the IJN 3rd Fleet from 20 October 1936, but is reassigned directly to the Combined Fleet after the Marco Polo Bridge Incident and the start of the Second Sino-Japanese War. After patrols off the Chinese coast until October 1937, Itsukushima was reassigned back to the IJN 3rd Fleet and stationed at Ryojun Guard District. From December 1937 to 20 March 1938, Itsukushima was assigned to the IJN 4th Fleet, and then back to Yokosuka Naval District, but based at Sasebo. From August 1938, under the command of the IJN 3rd Fleet,Itsukushima began patrols of the Yangzi River in China. However, at the end of 1938, she was removed from active duty and placed on reserve status and returned to Yokosuka.
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