View source for Japanese cruiser Tsukushi

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{{Infobox ship image
|Ship image= Japanese gunboat Tsukushi.jpg
|Ship caption= Japanese cruiser ''Tsukushi''
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{{Infobox ship career
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|Ship country=Chile
|Ship flag={{shipboxflag|Chile|navy}}
|Ship name=''Arturo Prat''
|Ship awarded=
|Ship builder=[[Armstrong Whitworth|Armstrong]]
|Ship original cost=
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|Ship laid down=10 February 1879
|Ship launched=11 August 1880
|Ship fate= Purchase cancelled, incomplete hull sold to Japan
}}
{{Infobox ship career
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|Ship country=[[Empire of Japan]]
|Ship flag={{shipboxflag|Empire of Japan|naval}}
|Ship name=''Tsukushi''
|Ship ordered=1883 Fiscal Year
|Ship acquired= 
|Ship commissioned=18 June 1883
|Ship recommissioned=
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|Ship struck=26 May 1906
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|Ship captured=
|Ship fate= Scrapped 1910
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{{Infobox ship characteristics
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|Header caption=
|Ship class= {{sclass|Tsukushi|cruiser}}
|Ship displacement= {{convert|1350|LT|t|abbr=on}}
|Ship length= {{convert|64|m|ft|abbr=on}}
|Ship beam= {{convert|9.7|m|ftin|abbr=on}}
|Ship height=
|Ship draught={{convert|4.4|m|ftin|abbr=on}}
|Ship propulsion=*reciprocating [[steam engine]]
*2 shaft, 4 boilers
*2,887 shp
|Ship speed= {{convert|16.5|kn|mph km/h|lk=in}}
|Ship range=300 tons coal
|Ship boats=
|Ship complement=186
|Ship armament=*2 × [[BL 10 inch gun Mk I – IV|254 mm guns]] (fore and aft)
*4 × {{convert|120|mm|in|abbr=on}} guns (side)
*2 × 9-pounder guns
*1 × [[Hotchkiss gun]]
*2 × {{convert|450|mm|in|abbr=on}} [[torpedo tube]]s
|Ship armour=
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{{nihongo|'''''Tsukushi'''''|筑紫}} was an early [[unprotected cruiser]], serving in the fledgling [[Imperial Japanese Navy]]. Its name is a traditional name for [[Kyūshū]] island. Its [[sister ship]]s {{ship|Chinese cruiser|Chaoyong||2}} and {{ship|Chinese cruiser|Yangwei||2}} were acquired by the [[Qing dynasty|Chinese]] [[Beiyang Fleet]].

==Background==
The design for ''Tsukushi'' was advertised by its designer British [[naval architect]] Sir [[George Wightwick Rendel]]<ref>Richard N.J. Wright: ''The Chinese Steam Navy, 1862–1945''. London: Chatham Publishing, 2001. {{ISBN|1-86176-144-9}}. p.47 and ''Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1860–1905'', p.411. Sources often credit erroneously [[Edward James Reed]] as her designer (e.g. ''Conway's...'' p.233).</ref> at the [[Armstrong Whitworth|Armstrong]] shipyards at [[Newcastle upon Tyne]] in [[England]] as an example of a low-cost [[cruiser]] able to withstand larger [[Ironclad warship]]s. In theory, the ship would rely on its small size and higher speed, along with a higher muzzle velocity [[main battery]] to attack larger, more cumbersome foes – very similar to the principles of [[Jeune Ecole]], as promoted by French naval architect [[Émile Bertin]]. However, the [[British Admiralty]] was very skeptical of the idea, and had concerns over the seaworthiness of the design in the [[North Sea]], and did not order any of the design for the [[Royal Navy]]. Armstrong turned to overseas clients instead; however, rapid technological advances in ship design and [[naval artillery]] (with the advent of large calibre [[quick-firing gun]]s) rendered the design with its weak armor and small guns obsolete within a few years.

==Design==
''Tsukushi'' had an all-steel construction with waterproof bulkheads, a single smokestack, and twin masts, which could also be used for sails. The [[prow]] was reinforced for [[Naval ram|ramming]]. The power plant was a double expansion reciprocating steam engine with four cylindrical boilers driving twin screws. The ship had a number of technical innovations, including a hydraulic steering system and electrical [[incandescent light]] fixtures. The ship's main armament were two [[breech-loading weapon|breech-loading]] [[BL 10 inch gun Mk I – IV|10-inch Armstrong cannons]], one on the bow and one on the stern, mounted in stationary [[gun shield]]s. The ship also had four 5.1-inch guns (two to each side), two 57-mm long guns, and one [[Gatling gun]], as well as two [[torpedo tube]]s.

==Service record==
{{other ships|Chilean ship Capitán Prat}}

''Tsukushi'' was laid down as ''Arturo Prat'' on 10 February 1879 for the [[Chilean Navy]] and launched on 11 August 1880. However, in the middle of construction, the [[War of the Pacific|Chilean-Peruvian War]] ended, and [[Chile]] cancelled the order. The Imperial Japanese Navy picked up the contract for the semi-completed vessel. ''Tsukushi'' arrived in Japan after its shakedown cruise from England on 16 June 1883.

''Tsukushi'' did not see combat in the [[First Sino-Japanese War]], but was used for patrolling between [[Korea]], [[Dairen]] and [[Weihai]]wei in a reserve capacity in the Western Fleet.  It was assigned as a [[flagship]] for [[gunboat]] squadrons used to support ground troops, and in this capacity led the gunboats {{ship|Japanese gunboat|Banjō||2}}, {{ship|Japanese gunboat|Maya||2}}, and {{ship|Japanese gunboat|Chōkai||2}} up the [[Taedong River]] in Korea in September 1894 to provide support for the [[Battle of Pyongyang (1894)|Battle of Pyongyang]]. After the war, ''Tsukushi'' was designated a first-class [[gunboat]].
The ship was rearmed in 1898, with its Armstrong cannon replaced by four {{convert|120|mm|in|abbr=on}} quick-firing guns, and its lighter weaponry replaced by one 76-mm, and two 27-mm guns, and two [[machine gun]]s.
During the [[Boxer Rebellion]] of 1900 ''Tsukushi'' was stationed at [[Amoy]] and [[Shanghai]] to protect Japanese civilians and interests at the [[treaty port|Japanese concession]]s.

During the [[Russo-Japanese War]], ''Tsukushi'' served as a guard ship patrolling the [[Tsushima Straits]] between Korea and Kyūshū, and as an escort vessel covering the transport of Japanese troops to the [[Korean Peninsula]]. It was present as the [[Battle of Tsushima]]. Afterwards, ''Tsukushi'' was assigned to the [[Kure Naval District]] and served as a guard ship at the [[Port of Kobe]].

After the war, ''Tsukushi'' was used briefly as a torpedo training vessel, and was struck from the [[navy list]] on 25 May 1906. It was scrapped in 1910.

==Notes==
{{commons category|Tsukushi (ship, 1880)}}
{{reflist}}

==References==
*{{cite book| last = Jentschura| first = Hansgeorg| first2 = Dieter |last2=Jung|first3=Peter |last3=Mickel| year = 1977| title = Warships of the Imperial Japanese Navy, 1869–1945| publisher = United States Naval Institute| location = Annapolis, Maryland| isbn = 978-0-87021-893-4|name-list-style=amp}}
*{{cite book |title=Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1860–1905 |editor1-last=Chesneau |editor1-first=Roger |editor2-last=Kolesnik |editor2-first=Eugene M. |publisher=Conway Maritime Press |location=Greenwich |year=1979 |isbn=0-8317-0302-4 |name-list-style=amp|chapter=Japan|author1-last=Watts|author1-first=A. J. |pages=216–239}}

{{Tsukushi class cruisers}}
{{Chilean cruisers}}
{{IJNOrder1894-95}}
{{Russo-JapaneseWarJapaneseShips}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tsukushi}}
[[Category:Tsukushi-class cruisers]]
[[Category:Cruisers of the Imperial Japanese Navy]]
[[Category:Ships built on the River Tyne]]
[[Category:1880 ships]]
[[Category:First Sino-Japanese War naval ships of Japan]]
[[Category:Russo-Japanese War naval ships of Japan]]
[[Category:Naval ships of Japan]]
[[Category:Ships built by Armstrong Whitworth]]