Lewin of Greenwich Naval History & Forum

Lead Ship,Matsushima Class Protected Cruiser IJNS Itsukushima pictured when visiting Fremantle,West Australia in 1903.Forming the backbone of the Imperial Japanese Navy during the First Sino-Japanese War, the Matsushima-Class Cruisers were based on the principles of Jeune Ecole, as promoted by French military advisor and naval architect Louis-Émile Bertin.The Japanese government did not have the resources or budget to build a Battleship navy to counter the various foreign powers active in Asia; instead, Japan adopted the radical theory of using smaller, faster warships, with light armour and small caliber long-range guns, coupled with a massive single 12.6 inch Canet gun. The design eventually proved impractical, as the recoil from the huge cannon was too much for a vessel of such small displacement, and its reloading time was impractically long; however, the Matsushima-Class Cruisers served their purpose well against the poorly equipped and poorly led Imperial Chinese Beiyang Fleet.
Itsukushima was built by the Société Nouvelle des Forges et Chantiers de la Méditerranée Naval Shipyards at La Seyne-sur-Mer, and was launched on June 18th 1889. She underwent trials by the builder in September and October, and achieved an average maximum speed of 16.78 knots on October 15th 1890...Images courtesy of the Western Australia State Library.

Matsushima Class Protected Cruiser IJNS Hashidate pictured in 1916.

Apparently these rarely reached their maximum speed, per notes on the class. Also, at a reported 2 shots per hour their 12.6" were unlikely to score a hit even at the very short range this weapon was reportedly capable of: @ 4 miles IIRC! Another strange French design that left a bit to be desired.......... DFO

Matsushima Class Protected Cruiser Itsukushima pictured post the Battle in the Sea of Japan at Sasebo,on the left is the Transport Ship Kyoto Maru,June 30th 1905.

Here she is at Kobe in 1897. Look at that HUGE Ensign!............DFO

Matsushima Class Protected Cruiser Hashidate pictured c1906.

MATSUSHIMA from port. This class with their single big gun were almost useless, given the incredibly S L O W rate of fire the BIG GUN had! Fortunately the smaller guns made up for that with a very intense volume of fire. At the close ranges of those days the small guns proved adequate to make them fairly useful at that time. DFO

Lead Ship,Protected Cruiser Matsushima pictured at Sasebo on April 13th 1905...After the end of the Russo-Japanese war, Matsushima reverted to her former role as a Training Vessel, making long-distance navigational training cruises with Imperial Japanese Naval Academy cadets to Southeast Asia and Australia in 1906, 1907 and 1908...On April 30th 1908, while anchored at Mako in the Pescadores islands off of Taiwan while returning from a training cruise, an accidental explosion occurred in her ammunition magazine. Matsushima rolled over onto her starboard side and then sank stern-first. The accident killed 206 of her 350-member crew, including 33 midshipmen of the newly graduated 35th Class of the Imperial Japanese Naval Academy. She was struck from the navy list on July 31st 1908. Later, her wreckage was raised and scrapped.

Matsushima Class Cruiser Itsukushima pictured at Wellington, NZ in 1907.

Lead Ship, Protected Cruiser Matsushima pictured at Kobe Naval Arsenal in 1897...She differed from her sister ships primarily in the location of her main 12.6 inch Canet gun, which was situated behind the superstructure instead of in the bow. On April 30th 1908, while anchored at Mako in the Pescadores Islands off Taiwan while returning from a training cruise, an accidental explosion occurred in her ammunition magazine. Matsushima rolled over onto her starboard side and then sank stern-first. The accident killed 206 of her 350-member crew, including 33 midshipmen of the newly graduated 35th Class of the Imperial Japanese Naval Academy. She was struck from the Navy List on July 31st 1908, later, her wreckage was raised and scrapped.