Naniwa-class cruiser
Japanese cruiser Naniwa
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| Class overview | |
|---|---|
| Name: | Naniwa class |
| Builders: | Armstrong Whitworth, United Kingdom |
| Operators: |
 Imperial Japanese Navy
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| Preceded by: | Izumi |
| Succeeded by: | Unebi |
| Built: | 1884–1885 |
| In commission: | 1886–1914 |
| Completed: | 2 |
| Lost: | 2 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type: | 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) |
| 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: | 357 |
| Armament: |
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| Armour: |
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The two Naniwa-class cruisers (浪速型防護巡洋艦 Naniwa-gata bōgojun'yōkan?) were protected cruisers operated by the Imperial Japanese Navy. Both participated in numerous actions during the First Sino-Japanese War and in the Russo-Japanese War.
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 her 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. This was a period of increasing tension with the Empire of China prior to the First Sino-Japanese War, and Japan lacked the ships necessary to counter the Chinese Beiyang Fleet.
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, by Naval Minister Kawamura Sumiyoshi. When completed, Naniwa was considered the most advanced and most powerful cruiser in the world. However, the extremely fast development of technology, weaponry and armor in this field of ship design meant that the supremacy of this design was very short.
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