Japanese battleship Kawachi

Kawachi at anchor
History
Japan
NameKawachi
NamesakeKawachi Province
Ordered22 June 1907
BuilderYokosuka Naval Arsenal
Laid down1 April 1909
Launched15 October 1910
Commissioned31 March 1912
Stricken21 September 1918
FateSunk by magazine explosion, 12 July 1918 (34°00′N 131°36′E / 34.00°N 131.60°E / 34.00; 131.60)
General characteristics
Class and typeKawachi-class battleship
Displacement21,833 long tons (22,183 t) (normal)
Length526 feet (160.32 m) (o/a)
Beam84 feet 2 inches (25.65 m)
Draft27 feet 8 inches (8.43 m)
Installed power
Propulsion2 shafts, 2 steam turbine sets
Speed21 knots (39 km/h; 24 mph)
Range2,700 nmi (5,000 km; 3,100 mi) at 18 knots (33 km/h; 21 mph)
Complement999
Armament
Armor

Kawachi (河内) was the lead ship of her class of two Kawachi-class dreadnought battleships built for the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) in the 1910s. Completed in 1912, she often served as a flagship. Her only combat action during World War I was when she bombarded German fortifications in China during the Battle of Tsingtao in 1914. She sank in 1918 after an explosion in her ammunition magazine with the loss of over 600 officers and crewmen.