Japanese battleship Settsu

Settsu at anchor
History
Japan
NameSettsu
NamesakeSettsu Province
Ordered22 June 1907
BuilderKure Naval Arsenal
Laid down18 January 1909
Launched30 March 1911
Completed1 July 1912
Recommissioned1924
ReclassifiedConverted to target ship, 1924
Stricken
  • 1 October 1923
  • 20 November 1945
FateScrapped, 1946–1947
General characteristics
Class and typeKawachi-class battleship
Displacement21,443 long tons (21,787 t) (normal)
Length533 ft (162.5 m)
Beam84 ft 2 in (25.7 m)
Draft27 ft 10 in (8.5 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)
Complement999–1100
Armament
Armor

Settsu (摂津) was the second and last of the Kawachi-class dreadnought battleships built for the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) in the first decade of the 20th century. Following the Japanese ship-naming conventions, Settsu was named after Settsu Province,[1] now a part of Osaka prefecture. During World War I she bombarded German fortifications at Qingdao during the siege of Qingdao in 1914, but saw no other combat. She was placed in reserve in 1919 and was disarmed in 1922 in accordance with the terms of the Washington Naval Treaty.

Two years later, Settsu was converted into a target ship and she played a minor role at the beginning of the Second Sino-Japanese War in 1937. At the beginning of the Pacific War in 1941, the ship was used in an attempt to deceive the Allies as to the locations and activities of the Japanese aircraft carriers. Settsu reverted to her normal role as a target ship for the rest of the war; she was badly damaged when Allied aircraft carriers struck the naval base at Kure Naval District in July 1945. The ship was refloated after the war and scrapped in 1946–1947.

  1. ^ Silverstone, p. 336