Japanese cruiser Iwate

A postcard of Iwate at anchor, 1905
History
Empire of Japan
NameIwate
NamesakeMount Iwate
Ordered19 July 1898
BuilderArmstrong Whitworth, United Kingdom
Laid down11 November 1898
Launched29 March 1900
Completed18 March 1901
Reclassified
Stricken30 November 1945
Fate
  • Sunk by air attack, 25 July 1945
  • Raised and scrapped, 1946–1947
General characteristics
Class and typeIzumo-class armored cruiser
Displacement9,423 t (9,274 long tons)
Length132.28 m (434 ft) (o/a)
Beam20.94 m (68 ft 8 in)
Draft7.21 m (23 ft 8 in)
Installed power
Propulsion2 Shafts; 2 triple-expansion steam engines
Speed20.75 knots (38.43 km/h; 23.88 mph)
Range7,000 nmi (13,000 km; 8,100 mi) at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph)
Complement672
Armament
Armor

Iwate (磐手) was the second and last Izumo-class armored cruiser (Sōkō jun'yōkan) built for the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) in the late 1890s. As Japan lacked the industrial capacity to build such warships herself, the ship was built in Britain. She participated in most of the naval battles of the Russo-Japanese War of 1904–1905. The ship was moderately damaged during the Battle of Port Arthur, the Battle off Ulsan, and the Battle of Tsushima. Iwate played a minor role in World War I and began the first of her many training cruises for naval cadets in 1916, a task that would last until the end of 1939. The ship continued to conduct training in home waters throughout the Pacific War. Iwate was sunk by American carrier aircraft during the attack on Kure in July 1945. Her wreck was refloated and scrapped in 1946–1947.