Japanese battleship Yashima

Yashima before the Russo-Japanese War
History
Empire of Japan
Name	Yashima
Namesake	"Many Islands", a name for Japan
Ordered	1894 Naval Programme
Builder	Armstrong Whitworth, Elswick
Cost	¥10,500,000
Yard number	625
Laid down	6 December 1894
Launched	28 February 1896
Completed	9 September 1897
Fate	Sank 15 May 1904 after striking two mines
General characteristics
Class and type	Fuji-class pre-dreadnought battleship
Displacement	12,230 long tons (12,430 t) (normal)
Length	412 ft (125.6 m) (o/a)
Beam	73 ft 6 in (22.4 m)
Draught	26 ft 3 in (8 m) (deep load)
Installed power	13,500 ihp (10,100 kW) 10 cylindrical boilers
Propulsion	2 shafts, 2 triple-expansion steam engines
Speed	18.25 knots (34 km/h; 21 mph)
Range	4,000 nmi (7,400 km; 4,600 mi) at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph)
Complement	650
Armament	2 × twin 12 in (305 mm) guns 10 × single 6 in (152 mm) guns 14 × single 3-pdr (47 mm (1.9 in)) guns 10 × single 2.5-pdr (47 mm (1.9 in)) guns 5 × 18 in (450 mm) torpedo tubes
Armour	Harvey armour Belt: 14–18 in (356–457 mm) Deck: 2.5 in (64 mm) Gun turrets: 6 in (152 mm)

Yashima (八島, Yashima) was a Fuji-class pre-dreadnought battleship built for the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) in the 1890s. As Japan lacked the industrial capacity to construct such vessels, the ship was designed and built in the United Kingdom. She participated in the early stages of the Russo-Japanese War of 1904–1905, including the Battle of Port Arthur on the second day of the war. Yashima was involved in subsequent operations until she struck two mines off Port Arthur in May 1904. The ship did not sink immediately, but capsized while under tow later that day. The Japanese were able to keep her loss a secret from the Russians for over a year.