View source for Engineering:Japanese battleship Asahi

{{short description|Battleship of the Imperial Japanese Navy}}
{{other ships|Japanese ship Asahi}}
{|{{Infobox ship begin}}
{{Infobox ship image
|Ship image=Japanese battleship Asahi.jpg
|Ship caption=''Asahi'' at anchor about 1906
}}
{{Infobox ship class overview
|Builders=
|Operators={{navy|Empire of Japan}}
|Class before=''Shikishima'' class
|Class after={{ship|Japanese battleship|Mikasa||2}}
|Built range=1897–1900
|In commission range=1900–1942
|Total ships completed=1
|Total ships lost=1
}}
{{Infobox ship career
|Hide header=
|Ship country=
|Ship flag=
|Ship name= ''Asahi''
|Ship namesake= A stanza of waka
|Ship ordered=1897 Naval Programme
|Ship builder=John Brown & Company, Clydebank
|Ship laid down=1 August 1898
|Ship launched=13 March 1899
|Ship commissioned=28 April 1900
|Ship reclassified=*As 1st-class [[Engineering:Coastal defence ship|coastal defence ship]], September 1921
* as submarine depot ship, 1 April 1923
* as [[Engineering:Repair ship|repair ship]], 16 August 1937
|Ship struck=15 June 1942
|Ship fate=Torpedoed and sunk by {{USS|Salmon|SS-182|6}}, 25/26 May 1942
|Ship notes=
}}
{{Infobox ship characteristics
|Hide header=
|Header caption =(as built)
|Ship type =[[Engineering:Pre-dreadnought battleship|Pre-dreadnought battleship]]
|Ship displacement= {{convert|15200|LT|t|lk=on}} (normal)
|Ship length={{convert|425|ft|3|in|m|abbr=on|1}}
|Ship beam={{convert|75|ft|m|abbr=on|1}}
|Ship draught={{convert|27|ft|3|in|m|abbr=on|1}}
|Ship power=*25 Belleville boilers
* {{convert|15000|ihp|lk=on|abbr=on}}
|Ship propulsion=2 shafts, 2 [[Engineering:Marine steam engine#Triple or multiple expansion|triple-expansion steam engines]]
|Ship speed={{convert|18|kn|lk=in}}
|Ship range={{convert|9000|nmi|lk=in|abbr=on}} at {{convert|10|kn}}
|Ship complement=773
|Ship armament=*2 × twin {{convert|12|in|mm|0|abbr=on}} guns
* 14 × single {{convert|6|in|mm|0|abbr=on}} QF guns
* 20 × single 12-pdr ({{cvt|3|in}}) guns
* 6 × single 3-pdr ({{cvt|47|mm|order=flip}}) guns
* 6 × single 2.5-pdr ({{cvt|47|mm|order=flip}}) Hotchkiss guns
* 4 × 18 in (450 mm) torpedo tubes
|Ship armour=*Harvey armour
* Belt: {{convert|4|-|9|in|mm|0|abbr=on}}
* [[Engineering:Deck (ship)|Deck]]: {{convert|2.5|-|4|in|mm|0|abbr=on}}
* [[Engineering:Gun turret|Gun turret]]s: {{convert|6|in|mm|0|abbr=on}}
* [[Engineering:Barbette|Barbette]]s: {{convert|10|-|14|in|mm|abbr=on|0}}
* [[Engineering:Conning tower|Conning tower]]: {{convert|14|in|mm|0|abbr=on}}
* [[Engineering:Casemate|Casemate]]s: {{convert|2|-|6|in|mm|0|abbr=on}}
|Ship notes=
}}
|}

{{nihongo|'''''Asahi'''''|朝日|Morning Sun}} was a [[Engineering:Pre-dreadnought battleship|pre-dreadnought battleship]] built for the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) in the late 1890s. As Japan lacked the industrial capacity to build such warships itself, the ship was designed and built in the United Kingdom. Shortly after her arrival in Japan, she became [[Engineering:Flagship|flagship]] of the Standing Fleet, the IJN's primary combat fleet. She participated in every major naval battle of the Russo-Japanese War of 1904–1905 and was lightly damaged during the Battle of the Yellow Sea and the Battle of Tsushima. ''Asahi'' saw no combat during World War I, although the ship participated in the [[History:Siberian Intervention|Siberian Intervention]] in 1918.

Reclassified as a [[Engineering:Coastal defence ship|coastal defence ship]] in 1921, ''Asahi'' was disarmed two years later to meet the terms of the Washington Naval Treaty, after which she served as a [[Engineering:Training ship|training]] and submarine depot ship. She was modified into a submarine salvage and rescue ship before being placed in [[Engineering:Reserve fleet|reserve]] in 1928. ''Asahi'' was recommissioned in late 1937, after the start of the Second Sino-Japanese War, and used to transport Japanese troops. In 1938, she was converted into a [[Engineering:Repair ship|repair ship]] and based first at Japanese-occupied [[Place:Shanghai|Shanghai]], China, and then Cam Ranh Bay, French Indochina, from late 1938 to 1941. The ship was transferred to occupied [[Place:Singapore|Singapore]] in early 1942 to repair a damaged [[Engineering:Light cruiser|light cruiser]] and ordered to return home in May. She was sunk en route by the American submarine {{USS|Salmon|SS-182|6}}, although most of her crew survived.

==Background==
Combat experience in the First Sino-Japanese War of 1894–95 convinced the Imperial Japanese Navy of weaknesses in the Jeune École naval philosophy, which emphasized [[Engineering:Torpedo boat|torpedo boat]]s and commerce raiding to offset expensive heavily armoured ships. Therefore, Japan promulgated a ten-year naval build-up in early 1896, to modernize and expand its fleet in preparation for further confrontations, with the construction of six battleships and six armoured cruisers at its core.<ref>Evans & Peattie, pp. 15, 57–60</ref> These ships were paid for from the £30,000,000 [[Company:Indemnity|indemnity]] paid by China after losing the First Sino-Japanese War. As with the earlier {{sclass|Fuji|battleship|5}} and {{sclass|Shikishima|battleship|4}}es, Japan lacked the technology and capability to construct its own battleships, and turned again to the United Kingdom for the four remaining battleships of the programme.<ref name=b5>Brook, p. 125</ref> ''Asahi'', the fifth Japanese battleship to be built in Britain, was ordered from the Clydebank Engineering & Shipbuilding Company shipyard in Clydebank, Scotland<ref name=hk>Hackett & Kingsepp</ref> in the 1897 annual naval programme.<ref name=l0/>

==Design and description==
[[File:Asahi&ShikishimaDrawing.jpg|thumb|left|Right elevation and plan of the ''Shikishima''-class battleships and the battleship ''Asahi'' from Brassey's Naval Annual 1915. Unlike the drawing, ''Asahi'' had only two funnels.]]
''Asahi''{{'}}s design was a modified version of the {{sclass|Formidable|battleship|2}}s of the Royal Navy, with two additional {{convert|6|in|0|adj=on}} guns.<ref name=p9>Preston, p. 189</ref> The ship had an [[Engineering:Length overall|overall length]] of {{convert|425|ft|3|in|m|1}}, a [[Engineering:Beam (nautical)|beam]] of {{convert|75|ft|m|1}}, and a normal [[Engineering:Draft (hull)|draught]] of {{convert|27|ft|3|in|m|1}}. She displaced {{convert|15200|LT|t|lk=on}} at normal load.<ref name=j8>Jentschura, Jung & Mickel, p. 18</ref> ''Asahi'' had a complete double bottom with 55 watertight compartments. Her hull was also subdivided into 223 watertight compartments. She was fitted as a flagship and her crew numbered about 773 officers and enlisted men, including the admiral's staff.<ref>Lengerer 2009, pp. 26, 52</ref>

The ship was powered by two [[Engineering:Marine steam engine#Triple or multiple expansion|vertical triple-expansion steam engines]] built by Humphrys, Tennant, each driving one propeller, using steam generated by 25 Belleville boilers at a working pressure of {{convert|17.03|bar|kPa psi|0|abbr=on|lk=on|order=flip}}.<ref>Lengerer 2008, pp. 22, 24, 26</ref> The engines were rated at {{convert|15000|ihp|lk=on}}, using forced draught, and designed to reach a top speed of {{convert|18|kn}}<ref name=j8/> although ''Asahi'' reached {{convert|18.3|kn}} from {{cvt|16335|ihp}} during her [[Engineering:Sea trial|sea trial]]s on 23 March 1900.<ref name=l7>Lengerer 2008, p. 27</ref> She carried a maximum of {{convert|2000|LT|t|0}} of coal which allowed her to steam for {{convert|9000|lk=in|nmi}} at a speed of {{convert|10|kn}}.<ref name=j8/> The ship was fitted with three steam-driven {{convert|4.8|kW|adj=on}} [[Engineering:Dynamo|dynamo]]s.<ref>Lengerer 2009, p. 50</ref>

''Asahi''{{'}}s [[Engineering:Main battery|main battery]] consisted of the same four Elswick Ordnance Company 40-[[Engineering:Caliber (artillery)|calibre]] twelve-inch guns used in all of Japan's preceding battleships. They were mounted in twin-[[Engineering:Gun turret|gun turret]]s fore and aft of the [[Earth:Superstructure|superstructure]]. The hydraulically powered mountings allowed the guns to be loaded at all angles of traverse, at a fixed elevation of +13.5°.<ref name=b6>Brook, p. 126</ref> Each mount could traverse a total of 240 degrees.<ref>Lengerer 2009, p. 26</ref> They fired {{convert|850|lb|kg|adj=on|0}} projectiles at a [[Physics:Muzzle velocity|muzzle velocity]] of {{convert|2400|ft/s|m/s|abbr=on}}.<ref>Friedman, pp. 270–71</ref>

The ship's secondary armament consisted of fourteen 40-calibre {{convert|6|in|adj=on|0}} quick-firing (QF) guns mounted in [[Engineering:Casemate|casemate]]s. Eight of these guns were positioned on the main deck and the other six guns were placed above them in the superstructure. They fired {{convert|100|lb|kg|adj=on|0}} shells at a muzzle velocity of {{convert|2300|ft/s|m/s|abbr=on}}.<ref>Friedman, pp. 275–76</ref> Protection against torpedo-boat attacks was provided by twenty QF 12-pounder 12 cwt<ref group=Note>"Cwt" is the abbreviation for [[Hundredweight|hundredweight]], 12 cwt referring to the weight of the gun.</ref> guns.<ref name=ck2>Chesneau & Kolesnik, p. 222</ref> The 12-pounders fired {{convert|3|in|adj=on|0}}, {{convert|12.5|lb|adj=on}} projectiles at a muzzle velocity of {{convert|2359|ft/s|m/s|abbr=on}}.<ref>Friedman, p. 114</ref> Lighter guns consisted of eight {{convert|47|mm|adj=on}} three-pounder Hotchkiss guns and four 47-millimetre 2.5-pounder Hotchkiss guns. The former were mounted in the superstructure and the latter in the [[Engineering:Top (sailing ship)|fighting tops]].<ref>Lengerer 2009, p. 28</ref> The three-pounder gun fired {{convert|3.19|lb|kg|adj=on}} projectiles at a muzzle velocity of {{convert|1927|ft/s|m/s|abbr=on}}, while the 2.5-pounder fired {{convert|2.5|lb|kg|adj=on}} shells at a muzzle velocity of {{convert|1420|ft/s|m/s|abbr=on}}.<ref>Friedman, pp. 118–19</ref> The ship was also equipped with four submerged 18-inch torpedo tubes, two on each broadside.<ref name=p9/>

The [[Engineering:Waterline|waterline]] main belt of ''Asahi'' consisted of Harvey armour {{convert|2.44|m|ft|0|order=flip}} high, of which {{convert|1.11|m|ftin|0|order=flip}} was above the waterline at normal load, and had a maximum thickness of {{convert|9|in|mm|0}} for the middle {{convert|68.28|m|ft|0|order=flip}} of the ship. It was only {{convert|4|in|mm|0}} thick at the ends of the ship and was surmounted by a six-inch [[Engineering:Strake|strake]] of armour that ran between the [[Engineering:Barbette|barbette]]s.<ref name=l7/> The barbettes were {{convert|14|in|mm|0}} thick, but only {{convert|10|in|mm|0}} behind the upper armour strake.<ref name=c7>Campbell, p. 47</ref> The barbette hoods were protected by 10 inches of armour on their face while their sides were 6 inches thick and the roof was {{convert|1.5|in}} thick.<ref>Lengerer 2009, p. 25</ref> Diagonal [[Engineering:Bulkhead (partition)|bulkhead]]s connecting the barbettes to the side armour were 12–14 inches thick, but only 6 inches thick at the lower deck level.<ref name=l7/> The frontal armour of the casemates protecting the secondary armament was also 6 inches thick with the rear protected by {{convert|2|in|mm|0|adj=on}} armour plates. The flat portion of the [[Engineering:Deck (ship)|deck]] armour was {{convert|2.5|in|mm|0}} thick and {{convert|4|in|mm|0}} thick where it sloped down to the sides of the ship. The [[Engineering:Conning tower|conning tower]] was protected by 14 inches of armour.<ref name=c7/>

''Asahi'', like all the other Japanese battleships of the time, was fitted with four [[Engineering:Barr and Stroud|Barr and Stroud]] FA3 [[Engineering:Coincidence rangefinder|coincidence rangefinder]]s that had an effective range of {{convert|7300|m|yd|order=flip}}. The ships were also fitted with 24-power [[Physics:Magnification|magnification]] telescopic gunsights.<ref>Forczyk, p. 28</ref>

==Construction and career==
[[File:Asahi on the stocks.png|thumb|''Asahi'' shortly before her launch]]
''Asahi'', meaning "rising sun", a poetic name for Japan from a stanza of waka poetry,<ref group="Note">{{lang|ja|敷島の やまと心を 人問わば 朝日ににほう 山ざくら花}} ''{{transliteration|ja|Shikishima-no Yamatogokoro-wo Hito-Towaba '''Asahi'''-ni-niwou Yamazakurabana}}'' by [[Biography:Motoori Norinaga|Motoori Norinaga]].</ref> was [[Engineering:Keel laying|laid down]] on 1 August 1898 in Clydebank, Scotland, by the Clydebank Engineering & Shipbuilding Co. and completed by John Brown & Company, which purchased the firm before ''Asahi'' was completed.<ref name=s6>Silverstone, p. 326</ref> She was [[Engineering:Ceremonial ship launching|launched]] on 13 March 1899 and completed on 31 July 1900. Her completion was delayed by about three months when her bottom plating required repairs after running aground off Southsea following sea trials. The ship departed England, after repairs in Portsmouth, on the day of her completion,<ref name=l0>Lengerer 2008, p. 30</ref> and arrived at Yokosuka, Japan, on 23 October 1900.<ref name=hk/> ''Asahi'' became flagship of the Standing Fleet on 22 May 1901 and was assigned to the 1st Battleship Division of the 1st Fleet when the Combined Fleet was re-formed on 28 December 1903.<ref name=l0/>

At the start of the Russo-Japanese War, ''Asahi'', commanded by Captain Hikohachi Yamada, was assigned to the 1st Division of the 1st Fleet. She participated in the Battle of Port Arthur on 9 February 1904, when Vice Admiral Tōgō Heihachirō led the 1st Fleet in an attack on the Russian ships of the Pacific Squadron anchored just outside Port Arthur. Tōgō had expected the surprise night attack by his destroyers to be much more successful than it was, anticipating that the Russians would be badly disorganized and weakened, but they had recovered from their surprise and were ready for his attack. The Japanese ships were spotted by the [[Engineering:Protected cruiser|protected cruiser]] {{ship|Russian cruiser|Boyarin|1901|2}}, which was patrolling offshore and alerted the Russian defences. Tōgō chose to attack the Russian coastal defences with his main armament and engage the ships with his secondary guns. Splitting his fire proved to be a poor decision as the Japanese {{convert|8|in|0|adj=on|spell=in}} and six-inch guns inflicted little damage on the Russian ships, which concentrated all their fire on the Japanese ships with some effect. Although many ships on both sides were hit, Russian casualties numbered only 17, while the Japanese suffered 60 killed and wounded before Tōgō disengaged. ''Asahi'' was not hit during the engagement.<ref>Forczyk, pp. 24, 41–44</ref>

[[File:Асахи.jpg|thumb|left|''Asahi'' on completion in 1900]]

The ship participated in the action of 13 April, when Tōgō successfully lured out a portion of the Pacific Squadron, including Vice Admiral Stepan Makarov's [[Engineering:Flagship|flagship]], the battleship {{ship|Russian battleship|Petropavlovsk|1894|2}}. When Makarov spotted the five battleships of the 1st Division, he turned back for Port Arthur and ''Petropavlovsk'' struck a minefield laid by the Japanese the previous night. The Russian battleship sank in less than two minutes after one of her [[Engineering:Magazine (artillery)|magazine]]s exploded, and Makarov was one of the 677 killed. Emboldened by his success, Tōgō resumed long-range bombardment missions, prompting the Russians to lay more minefields, which sank two Japanese battleships the following month.<ref>Forczyk, pp. 45–46</ref>

During the Battle of the Yellow Sea on 10 August, ''Asahi'', now commanded by Captain Tsunaakira Nomoto, was second in line of the column of Japanese battleships, behind ''Mikasa'', and was one of the primary targets of the Russian ships. She was only hit by a single 12-inch shell that wounded two crewmen. Both guns in her aft 12-inch gun turret, however, were disabled by shells that detonated prematurely in their barrels. In turn she concentrated most of her fire upon the battleships {{ship|Russian battleship|Poltava|1894|2}} and {{ship|Russian battleship|Tsesarevich||2}} although both ships were only lightly damaged by the Japanese shells, which generally failed to penetrate any armour and detonated on impact. The ship made the critical hits of the battle, however, when two of her 12-inch shells struck the [[Engineering:Bridge (nautical)|bridge]] of ''Tsesarevich'', killing the Russian squadron commander, Vice Admiral Wilgelm Vitgeft, two of his staff officers and the ship's [[Engineering:Quartermaster|quartermaster]]. The ship's wheel was jammed to [[Port and starboard|port]] by wreckage and then slowed to a halt which threw the rest of the Russian ships into total confusion. The second-in-command, Rear Admiral Prince Pavel Ukhtomsky, eventually gained control of the remainder of the squadron and headed back to Port Arthur.<ref>Forczyk, pp. 48–53</ref> Slightly more than two months later, on 26 October, ''Asahi'' struck a mine off Port Arthur while on blockade duty. Severely damaged, she was under repair at Sasebo Naval Arsenal from November 1904 to April 1905. Russian naval forces in the Far East had been destroyed or neutralized by this time and the Russians were forced to transfer ships from the Baltic Fleet that did not arrive until May.<ref name=hk/>

===Battle of Tsushima===
At the Battle of Tsushima on 27 May 1905, ''Asahi'' again followed the battleship {{ship|Japanese battleship|Mikasa||2}} into combat, this time against the Second and Third Pacific Squadrons. ''Mikasa'' opened fire at the battleship {{ship|Russian battleship|Knyaz Suvorov||2}}, the Russian flagship, at 14:10, and was joined by ''Asahi'' and the armoured cruiser {{ship|Japanese cruiser|Azuma||2}} shortly afterwards. Within an hour the Japanese ships had started a serious fire aboard the Russian ship, badly wounded the fleet commander, Vice Admiral Zinovy Rozhestvensky, knocked out her rear 12-inch gun turret, and jammed ''Knyaz Suvorov''{{'}}s steering so that she fell out of formation. The Russian ships were concentrating their fire on ''Mikasa'' during the early part of the battle and ''Asahi'' was not damaged during this time. Tōgō was able to cross the T of the Russian squadrons. ''Knyaz Suvorov''{{'}}s steering was later repaired, but she blundered between the Japanese and Russian fleets several times later in the battle and was heavily damaged. ''Asahi'' seems to have mostly engaged the battleships {{ship|Russian battleship|Borodino||2}} and {{ship|Russian battleship|Oryol||2}} in the late stages of the battle, although {{ship|Japanese battleship|Fuji||2}} fired the shots that caused the ''Borodino''{{'}}s magazines to explode and sink her. ''Asahi'' fired more twelve-inch shells, 142, than any other ship during the battle. In total, the ship was hit six times during the battle, but none of them damaged her significantly.<ref>Campbell, pp. 128–35, 260, 262</ref> ''Asahi'' lost 1 officer and 6 men, 5 men seriously wounded, 1 officer and 18 men lightly wounded.<ref>"Battle of the Sea of Japan as seen from Battleship Asahi" page 105 Imperial Japanese Navy Records, 1905 (in Japanese) https://dl.ndl.go.jp/info:ndljp/pid/774142/97?tocOpened=1</ref> In total, the Japanese only lost 110 men killed and 590 wounded to all causes during the battle. The battle was a total Japanese victory with four Russian battleships captured and incorporated into the IJN.<ref>Warner & Warner, p. 519</ref>

Captain W. C. Pakenham, the Royal Navy's official military observer under the Anglo-Japanese Alliance, took notes of the battle's progress from a deck chair on ''Asahi''{{'}}s exposed [[Engineering:Quarterdeck|quarterdeck]]. His report confirmed the superiority of Japanese training and tactics and publicized the victory in the West.<ref name=hk/>

===Later career===
[[File:Japanese repair and depot ship Asahi off Shanghai in the late 1930s.jpeg|thumb|alt=Black and white photo of a warship with a small amount of smoke coming out of its funnel. Several smaller ships are moored near the warship, and land is visible in the background.|''Asahi'' off Shanghai in the late 1930s]]
In 1908, ''Asahi'' was part of the Japanese fleet that escorted the American [[Engineering:Great White Fleet|Great White Fleet]] through Japanese waters during its round-the-globe voyage.<ref name=j8/> The ship was assigned to the 1st Fleet in 1908 and 1910–11.<ref name=l0/> ''Asahi'' became a gunnery training ship in 1914, and was re-armed in 1917 with Japanese guns replacing her original British-made guns. The same year, she was assigned to the 5th Division of the 3rd Fleet.<ref name=l0/> In 1918, ''Asahi'' became flagship of her division and participated in the Japanese intervention in the Russian Civil War. She escorted troop convoys to the [[Place:Russian Far East|Russian Far East]] and was [[Engineering:Guard ship|guard ship]] at Kamchatka from January to August 1918. ''Asahi'' was reclassified as a first-class coastal defence ship on 1 September 1921,<ref name=l0/><ref>Head, p. 58</ref> and began disarmament in 1922 at Yokosuka in compliance with the terms of the Washington Naval Treaty. She was reclassified as a training and submarine depot ship on 1 April 1923 and her disarmament was completed in July of that same year. Her displacement dropped to {{convert|11441|LT|t}} with the loss of her armour and guns, and her speed was limited to {{convert|12|kn}}.<ref name=j8/>

The navy decided to convert ''Asahi'' into a submarine salvage ship and she began the first stage of her conversion with the installation of specialized salvage equipment from February to August 1925.<ref name=l0/> From 1926 to October 1927, the ship's 25 Belleville boilers were replaced with four Kanpon Type RO boilers at Kure Naval Arsenal. One of her two funnels was also removed,<ref name=hk/> and two large lifting frames were installed<ref name=j8/> as part of the second stage of her conversion. The ship conducted experiments in submarine rescue using the old German submarine ''0-1'' (ex-{{SMU|U-125||2}}). In May 1928, ''Asahi'' was fitted with a {{convert|62|ft|4|in|m|adj=on|0}} compressed-air aircraft catapult on her [[Engineering:Forecastle|forecastle]] and successfully launched an [[Engineering:Nakajima E2N|E2N1]] Type 15 [[Engineering:Seaplane|seaplane]]. After repeated accidents, the catapult was replaced by one powered by [[Chemistry:Gunpowder|gunpowder]]. On the completion of testing in 1928, ''Asahi'' was placed in reserve.<ref name=hk/>

Reclassified as a repair ship on 16 August 1937,<ref name=l0/> ''Asahi'' was taken out of reserve in November, after the Marco Polo Bridge Incident that started the Second Sino-Japanese War, and was used as a transport to land troops in an [[Social:Amphibious warfare|amphibious landing]] at Hangzhou Bay. Afterwards she began conversion at Kure, Japan, into a repair ship; this was completed on 18 December 1938. ''Asahi'' was fitted with a dummy wooden main battery fore and aft to resemble an old battleship after her arrival in [[Place:Shanghai|Shanghai]] on 29 December. In May 1939 she was modified to act as a torpedo depot ship and carried out patrols between 29 May and 7 November 1940. She was transferred to Camranh Bay, French Indochina, on 15 November 1940 and later transported the 11th Base Unit from Kure to Camranh Bay 19 November – 7 December 1941.<ref name=hk/>

From 13 March 1942, ''Asahi'' was stationed at Singapore, and in April her crew performed repairs on the light cruiser {{ship|Japanese cruiser|Naka||2}}, which had been [[Engineering:Torpedo|torpedo]]ed by the submarine {{USS|Seawolf|SS-197|6}} off Christmas Island. Departing Singapore for Kure on 22 May, escorted by the subchaser ''CH-9'', ''Asahi'' was sighted by the submarine {{USS|Salmon|SS-182|6}} on the night of 25/26 May 1942, {{convert|100|mi|km}} southeast of Cape Padaran, Indochina.<ref group="Note">Now Mũi Dinh {{coord|11|22|0|N|109|1|0|E|region:VN_type:waterbody}}, Vietnam</ref> Of ''Salmon''{{'}}s four torpedoes, two hit the ship in her port central boiler room and aft spaces. At 01:03, moments after being hit, ''Asahi'' sank at {{coord|10|00|N|110|00|E|display=inline,title}}.<ref name=hk/> Sixteen men were killed in the attack; the ship's captain and 582 crewmen were rescued by ''CH-9''.<ref>Hackett, Sander & Cundall</ref>

==Notes==
{{reflist|group=Note}}

==Footnotes==
{{Reflist|20em}}

==References==
* {{cite book|last=Brook|first=Peter|title=Warships for Export: Armstrong Warships 1867–1927|publisher=World Ship Society|location=Gravesend, Kent, UK|year=1999|isbn=0-905617-89-4}}
* {{cite book|last=Campbell|first=N.J.M.|title=Warship II|chapter=The Battle of Tsu-Shima|editor=Preston, Antony|publisher=Conway Maritime Press|location=London |year=1978|pages=46–49, 127–135, 258–265|isbn=0-87021-976-6|}}
* {{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, UK|year=1979|isbn=0-8317-0302-4|name-list-style=amp|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/conwaysallworlds0000unse_l2e2}}
* {{cite book
 | last1 = Evans
 | first1 = David| first2 = Mark R. |last2=Peattie
 | year = 1997
 | title = Kaigun: Strategy, Tactics, and Technology in the Imperial Japanese Navy, 1887–1941
 | publisher =Naval Institute Press
 | location =Annapolis, Maryland
 | isbn = 0-87021-192-7|name-list-style=amp
}}
* {{cite book|title=Russian Battleship vs Japanese Battleship, Yellow Sea 1904–05|last=Forczyk|first=Robert|publisher=Osprey|year=2009|isbn=978-1-84603-330-8|location=Oxford, UK}}
* {{cite book|last=Friedman|first=Norman|title=Naval Weapons of World War One|publisher=Seaforth |location=Barnsley, UK|year=2011|isbn=978-1-84832-100-7|}}
* {{cite web
| last1 = Hackett
| first1 =Bob | first2 = Sander |last2=Kingsepp
| year = 2010
| url = http://www.combinedfleet.com/Asahi_t.htm
| title = IJN Repair Ship Asahi: Tabular Record of Movement
| work=Kido Butai
| publisher=Combinedfleet.com
| access-date =2 August 2012|name-list-style=amp
}}
* {{cite web|url=http://www.combinedfleet.com/CH-9_t.htm|title=IJN Subchaser CH-9: Tabular Record of Movement|last1=Hackett|first1=Bob|last2=Kingsepp|first2=Sander|last3=Cundall|first3=Peter|year=2013|work=Kusentei!|publisher=Combinedfleet.com|access-date=10 November 2013|name-list-style=amp}}
* {{cite journal |last1=Head |first1=Michael |title=Siberia |journal=Warship International |date=2019 |volume=LVI |issue=1 |pages=55–74|issn=0043-0374}}
* {{cite book| last1 = Jentschura| first1 = 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 =0-87021-893-X|name-list-style=amp}}
* {{cite journal
  | last1        = Lengerer
  | first1       = Hans
  | editor1-last = Ahlberg
  | editor1-first= Lars
  | title        = Japanese Battleships and Battlecruisers – Part II
  | date         = September 2008
  | pages        = 6–32
  | journal      = Contributions to the History of Imperial Japanese Warships
  | issue        = Paper V}}{{subscription required}}(contact the editor at lars.ahlberg@halmstad.mail.postnet.se for subscription information)
* {{cite journal
  | last1        = Lengerer
  | first1       = Hans
  | editor1-last = Ahlberg
  | editor1-first= Lars
  | title        = Japanese Battleships and Battlecruisers – Part III
  | date         = March 2009
  | pages        = 7–55
  | journal      = Contributions to the History of Imperial Japanese Warships
  | issue        = Paper VI
  }}
* {{cite book|last=Preston|first=Antony|title=Battleships of World War I: An Illustrated Encyclopedia of the Battleships of All Nations 1914–1918|publisher=Galahad Books|location=New York|year=1972|isbn=0-88365-300-1}}
* {{cite book|last=Silverstone|first=Paul H.|title=Directory of the World's Capital Ships|year=1984|publisher=Hippocrene Books|location=New York|isbn=0-88254-979-0}}
* {{cite book|last=Warner|first=Denis|author2=Warner, Peggy|title=The Tide at Sunrise: A History of the Russo-Japanese War, 1904–1905|publisher=Frank Cass|location=London|year=2002|edition=2nd|isbn=0-7146-5256-3|name-list-style=amp}}


{{DEFAULTSORT:Asahi}}
[[Category:Coastal defence ships]]

{{Sourceattribution|Japanese battleship Asahi}}