Imperial Cruisers

SOKO-JUNYOKAN!

(IJN IZUMO on Shanghai's Bund by Takeshi Yuki scanned from "Color Paintings of Japanese Warships")

HIJMS IZUMO: Tabular Record of Movement

© 2007-2008 Bob Hackett and Sander Kingsepp

May 1898:
Newcastle upon Tyne, Elswick, England. Laid down at Sir W. G. Armstrong, Whitworth & Co., Ltd's shipyard.
3 December 1898:
Captain (later Admiral) Misu Sotaro (5) is appointed Chief Bringing Officer and travels to Great Britain.
19 September 1899:
Launched and named IZUMO.
29 September 1899:
Captain (later Rear Admiral) Inoue Toshio (5) is appointed Chief Bringing Officer and travels to Great Britain.
14 March 1900:
Captain Inoue assumes command.
25 September 1900:
Rated a first-class cruiser and registered in the Sasebo Naval District.
8 December 1900:
IZUMO arrives at Sasebo.
12 March 1902:
Captain (later Vice Admiral) Miyaoka Naoki (6) assumes command.
26 September 1903:
Captain (later Vice Admiral) Ijichi Suetaka (7) assumes command.
8 February 1904: The Russo-Japanese War:
IZUMO is flagship of Vice Admiral Kamimura Hikonojo’s (4) Second Fleet. Without waiting for a declaration of war, Japan opens hostilities with a surprise attack on the main Russian fleet base at Port Arthur (Lushun), Manchuria.
22 April 1904:
Departs Motoyama for Vladivostok, but because of thick fog reverses course without reaching Vladivostok.
26 April–7 May 1904:
Arrives at Motoyama and lays over.
28 May–9 June 1904:
Attacks Vladivostok.
14 August 1904: The Battle off Ulsan:
The Russian command orders Rear Admiral Nikolai Essen to depart Vladivostok with his cruisers and rendezvous with the main Russian Port Arthur Squadron in the Sea of Japan.. However, the fleet had not been sighted by the following morning. As the Russian squadron approached Pusan, Korea Admiral Yessen orders his squadron back to Vladivostok. During the night, Vice Admiral Kamimura Hikonjo’s fleet of armored cruisers IZUMO, AZUMA, TOKIWA and IWATE and protected cruisers NANIWA and TAKACHINO pass close to the Essen’s squadron, but on opposite courses. Neither is aware of the other.
14 August 1904:
At dawn, soon after Admiral Essen starts back to Vladivostok, the four Japanese armored cruisers are sighted. At 0520, the fleets had closed to 8,500 yards, and the Japanese ships open fire.Russian armored cruiser RURIK, subjected to heavy bombardment loses most of her officers. The Japanese take some hits, but the Russians sheer away. Strangely, Admiral Kamimura holds his course during the Russian turn, and when he turns, it is to a new course that lengthens the range. The Russian cruisers try to cover RURIK, but at 0830, Admiral Essen orders RURIK scuttled and heads back to Vladivostok. Kamimura’s cruisers chase them, but at 1115, after less than three hours pursuit, Admiral Kamimura the chase, turns back to Pusan.
27-28 May 1905: The Battle of Tsushima:
In October 1904, Russian Admiral Zinovi P. Rozhdestvenski’s Baltic fleet departed on an epic eight-month journey to the Far East. Rear Admiral Nikolai Nebogatov's Third Pacific Squadron joins Rozhdestvenski's fleet in May 1905. On 26 May, the 45-ship Russian fleet is sighted entering Japanese waters. The next day, the Combined Fleet under Admiral Togo sorties from Chinhae, Korea to engage the Russians.
In a running gun battle off Okinoshima, Togo's fleet of battleships, cruisers, including IZUMO, and smaller ships battle Rozhdestvenski. Thirty-four Russian vessels are sunk, scuttled or captured. Only two Russian destroyers and a light cruiser reach Vladivostock, Siberia. Six other smaller ships reach neutral ports and are interned. 4,830 Russian officers and men are KIA and 5,917 captured. Togo loses three torpedo boats and several capital ships are damaged.
2 November 1905:
Captain (later Vice Admiral) Saito Koshi (7) assumes command.
12 December 1905:
Captain (later Admiral, the Baron) Kato Sadakichi (10) assumes command.
2 February 1906:
Captain (later Admiral) Nawa Matahachiro (10) assumes command.
12 October 1906:
Captain (later Rear Admiral) Okumiya Mamoru (10) assumes command.
5 August 1907:
Captain (later Vice Admiral) Kamaya Tadamichi (11) assumes command.
20 February 1908:
Captain (later Vice Admiral) Yajima Junkichi (12) assumes command.
15 September 1908:
Captain (later Rear Admiral) Sayama Toyonari (12) assumes command.
22 May 1909:
Captain (later Vice Admiral) Yamaguchi Kujuro (13) assumes command.
10 July 1907:
Captain (later Admiral) Takeshita Isamu (15) assumes command.
20 September 1907:
Sasebo Naval District guard ship. Departs Yokohama to visit six countries in the Americas and to attend the commemoration of the 140th anniversary of California in San Francisco.
11 October 1907:
Arrives at San Francisco Bay.
19-23 October 1907:
Participates in the festivities with 15 other warships.
24 October -6 November 1907:
Visits Monterey Bay, California.
11 November–4 December 1907:
Visits Santa Barbara and San Diego, California.
8 December 1907:
Departs Honolulu for Yokosuka.
9 April 1910:
Captain (later Vice Admiral) Akiyama, Saneyuki (17) assumes command.
1 December 1910:
Captain (later Vice Admiral) Sekino Kenkichi (13) assumes command.
23 May 1911:
Captain (later Vice Admiral) Tadokoro Hiromi (17) assumes command.
1 December 1911:
Captain Tadokoro assumes command of battleship HIZEN as an additional duty.
1 April 1912:
Captain Tadokoro is relieved of the additional duty of command of HIZEN.
1 December 1912:
Captain (later Rear Admiral) Takeuchi Jiro (14) assumes command of IZUMO.
12 November 1913:
Captain (later Vice Admiral) Moriyama Keizaburo (17) assumes command.
19 November 1914:
An unknown captain assumes command.
25 January 1915:
Captain (later Rear Admiral) Mimura Kinsaburo (18) assumes command.
13 December 1915:
Captain (later Vice Admiral) Kawada Katsuji (17) assumes command.
6 November 1916:
Captain (later Vice Admiral) Kobayashi Kenzo (19) assumes command.
June 1917:
Malta, Mediterranean Sea. IZUMO arrives and relieves cruiser AKASHI as flagship of Rear Admiral (later Vice Admiral) Admiral Sato Kozo’s (18)(former CO of FUSO) Second Special Mission Squadron. Destroyers KASHI, HINOKI, MOMO and YANAGI also arrive to reinforce Sato's Squadron.
5 July 1918:
Captain (later Rear Admiral) Masuda Koichi (23) assumes command.
December 1918:
After the armistice, IZUMO and destroyers HINOKI and YANAGI depart Malta for Scapa Flow to help guard the German fleet and prepare for the voyage of seven surrendered German submarines to Japan.
5 January 1919:
Arrives at Portland, England.
March 1919:
IZUMO, HINOKI, YANAGI and the seven German U-boats arrive back at Malta. They are joined by destroyers UME and KUSUNOKI. Tender KWANTO services the U-boats, then joins cruiser NISSHIN and two destroyer flotillas in escorting the submarines to Japan. All arrive at Yokosuka on 18 Jun '19.
10 April 1919:
IZUMO departs Malta with the last destroyer detachment for various ports including Naples and Genoa, Italy and Marseilles, France.
5 May 1919:
Arrives back at Malta .
15 May 1919:
Departs Malta for Japan.
2 July 1919:
Arrives at Yokosuka.
9 July 1919: The 11th Naval Review:
Yokosuka. Emperor Taisho reviews 26 warships that participate in the review.
20 November 1919:
Captain (later Rear Admiral) Miyamura Rekizo (27) assumes command.
15 February 1921:
Captain Koizumi Chikaharu (27), CO of battleship HIZEN, assumes additional duty as CO of IZUMO.
14 April 1921:
Captain (later Rear Admiral) Uemura Nobuo (26) assumes command.
20 August 1921:
Flagship of Vice Admiral Saito Hanroku’s Training Fleet. Departs Yokosuka.
1 September 1921:
Rerated a first-class coast defense ship.
25 September 1921:
Flagship of the Training Squadron with YAKUMO.
15 October 1921:
Passes through the Panama Canal.
15 April 1922:
Captain (later Vice Admiral) Hara Kanjiro (28) assumes command.
26 June 1922:
IZUMO, IWATE, ASAMA and the Training Squadron depart Yokosuka with the 50th class of Etajima bound for Honolulu, Los Angeles, the Panama Canal, Rio de Janeiro (to attend a naval review commemorating the 100th anniversary of Brazil’s independence), Buenos Aires, Argentina, Capetown and Durban, S Africa. Lays over at Colombo, Ceylon, Singapore and Hong Kong.
17 February 1923:
Arrives back at Yokosuka.
1 March 1923:
The CO of TOKIWA, Captain (later Rear Admiral) Shiraishi Nobunari (26) assumes additional duty as CO of IZUMO.
20 November 1923:
Captain (later Vice Admiral) Shigeoka Nobujiro (30) assumes command.
15 April 1924:
Flagship of the Commander, Training Fleet, Vice Admiral (later Admiral) Hyakutake Saburo (19).
10 November 1924:
Departs Yokosuka for Acapulco, Balboa and Manzanillo, Mexico, San Francisco and Vancouver.
25 February –3 March 1924:
Visits Honolulu, Jaluit, Truk and Saipan in the Ogasawara (Bonins) archipelago.
3 March 1924:
Arrives at Yokosuka after steaming 20, 231 nms.
10 November 1924:
Departs Yokosuka with ASAMA and YAKUMO for the North American continent with the cadets of the Naval Academy’s 52nd class.
7 February 1925:
Vancouver, Canada. At night, while entering port, IZUMO’s steam launch collides with a tugboat owned by the Canadian Pacific Ocean Railroad and sinks. Eleven enlisted men are drowned.
4 April 1925:
Arrives at Yokosuka.
2 July 1925:
Captain Shigeoka assumes additional duty as CO of light cruiser YURA.
25 August 1925:
Captain Shigeoka is relieved of the additional duty as CO of YURA.
1 December 1925:
Captain (later Vice Admiral) Inoue Tsugumatsu (32) assumes command.
1 December 1927:
Captain (later Rear Admiral) Hirota Minoru (32) assumes command.
30 November 1929:
The CO of light cruiser YUBARI, Captain (Rear Admiral, posthumously) Kawana Takeo (34) assumes additional duty as CO of IZUMO.
5 February 1930:
Captain (later Rear Admiral) Hoshino Shuichi (35) assumes command.
1 June 1931:
Rerated a coast defense ship.
2 November 1931:
Captain (later Rear Admiral) Matsuno Seizo (36) assumes command.
2 February 1932:
The China Area Fleet’s Third Fleet is reestablished under Vice Admiral (later Admiral, Ambassador to U.S.) Nomura Kichisaburo (26).
15 November 1932:
Captain (later Rear Admiral) Nakamura Shigekazu (37) assumes command.
15 November 1933:
Captain (later Vice Admiral) Takasu Sanjiro (37) assumes command.
16 April 1934:
Sasebo. Begins airborne equipment work.
20 July 1934:
Construction is completed.
1 November 1934:
Captain (later Rear Admiral) Oshima Shiro (36) assumes command.
10 July 1935:
Captain (later Rear Admiral) Iwagoe Kanki (38) assumes command.
16 November 1936:
Captain (later Vice Admiral) Kamata Michiaki (39) assumes command.
7 July 1937: The Marco Polo Bridge (The First "China") Incident:
Hun River, Lugouqiao, China. Japanese troops are on night maneuvers at the bridge. They fire blank cartridges. Chinese troops fire back, but do not cause injuries. Later, the Japanese discover a soldier missing and assume the Chinese captured him. They demand entry to Beijing to look for him, but the Chinese refuse. The Japanese shell the city and an undeclared war on China begins.

That same day, IZUMO is assigned as flagship of the 10th Squadron of Vice Admiral Hasegawa Kiyoshi’s (31) Third Fleet and based at Mako, Pescadores.
11 July 1937:
Arrives at Shanghai.
14 August 1937: "Bloody Saturday":
Shanghai. Flagship USS AUGUSTA (CA-31), carrying the CINC, U.S. Asiatic Fleet, Admiral Harry E. Yarnell (former CO of SARATOGA, CV-3), arrives from Tsingtao after battling a typhoon and anchors in the Whangpoa River.
That same day, the Chinese Air Force (CAF) under acting CO, retired Captain (later MajGen) Claire L. Chennault, launches more than 10 aircraft to attack IJN flagship IZUMO and the Japanese fleet. The CAF mistakenly bombs British cruiser HMS CUMBERLAND, but their bombs fall wide. Two bombs also fall close alongside AUGUSTA, but no one is killed. The CAF accidentally drops bombs into Shanghai city, killing more than 1700 civilians and wounding 1800 others. A Type 90 scout floatplane from IZUMO attacks the CAF formations and shoots down a fighter. A Type 95 floatplane from light cruiser KAWAUCHI shoots down another Chinese plane.

16 August 1937:
Huangpu River, Shanghai. Assigned as flagship of Vice Admiral Hasegawa’s Third Fleet. That same day, Chinese torpedo boat No. 102 is sunk after a failed attempt to torpedo IZUMO.
25 September 1937:
Shanghai. Three German Heinkel He-111s in the service of the Chinese 19th Bomb Squadron (Heavy) and five Martin B-10s of the 10th and 30th Squadrons escorted by seven Boeing fighters of the 17th squadron attack about 30 Japanese ships including IZUMO anchored in the Huangpu River. Two bombers are heavily damaged and crash. IZUMO is not damaged in the raid.
20 October 1937:
Assigned as a support ship for the Emperor’s Imperial Headquarters. Later, as flagship.
1 December 1937:
Captain (later Vice Admiral) Oka Arata (40) assumes command.
1 September 1938:
Captain (later Vice Admiral) Harada Seiichi (39) assumes command.
15 November 1939:
Captain (later Rear Admiral) Yoshitomi Setsuzo (39) assumes command.
1 November 1941:
Captain (later Rear Admiral) Akiyama Katsuzo (40) assumes command.
13 September 1941:
Captain (later Rear Admiral) Uozumi Jisaku (42) assumes command.
8 December 1941:
Shanghai. Whangpoo (Huangpu) River. About 0400, Captain Otani Inaho (51) and a detachment of Special Naval Landing Force troops arrive and board British river gunboat moored HMS PETEREL. Otani informs her CO, Royal Navy Volunteer Reserve Lt Stephen Polkinghorn, that their countries are at war and demands the surrender of the ship. Polkinghorn refuses and orders the Japanese off at gunpoint. Illuminated by IZUMO’s searchlights, gunboats SETA and ATAMI, a destroyer and artillery pieces ashore then sink PETEREL by gunfire. Six of PETEREL’s crew of 21 men are lost, but Polkinghorn, although wounded, and the others survive and are made POWs.
31 December 1941:
Lingayen, Philippines. IZUMO hits a mine and is damaged.
1 July 1942:
Rerated as a first-class cruiser.
7 October 1942:
Captain Murayama Seiroku (42) assumes command.
1943:
Rerated a Training Ship.
12 September 1943:
Captain Nishioka Shigeyasu (40) assumes command.
30 December 1943:
Captain Kato Yoshiro (43) assumes command.
20 February 1944:
Assigned to the Kure Naval District. Attached to the Kure Training Squadron as a training and guard ship.
10 August 1944:
Recalled retired Captain (Vice Admiral, posthumously) Kusakawa Kiyoshi (38) assumes command.
1 March 1945:
Captain Torii Takemi (47) assumes command.
19 March 1945:
Vice Admiral (later Admiral) Marc A. Mitscher's (former CO of HORNET, CV-8) Task Force 58 carriers USS ESSEX (CV-9), INTREPID (CV-11), HORNET (CV-12), WASP (CV-18), HANCOCK (CV-19), BENNINGTON (CV-20) and BELLEAU WOOD (CVL-24) make the first carrier attack on the Kure Naval Arsenal. More than 240 aircraft attack battleships HARUNA, YAMATO, ISE, HYUGA, carriers RYUHO, KAIYO, AMAGI, KATSURAGI and other ships.
The fleet is defended vigorously, but unsuccessfully, by 54 Kawanishi N1K2-J Shiden-Kai ("George") fighters of Captain (later General and CINC, JSDF) Genda Minoru's (of AKAGI at Pearl Harbor) 343rd NAG based at Matsuyama airfield. The 343rd NAG pilots claim 52 aircraft shot down against 16 losses.
IZUMO, standing off Etajima, is attacked by two aircraft that bomb and strafe the ship, but inflict no damage.
March 1945:
IZUMO is moved to Imishima where she is drydocked. All main guns and the secondary batteries are removed and replaced by Type 89 127-mm AA, and Type 96 25 mm MGs.
April 1945:
Undocked. Returns to Kure.
9 April 1945:
Off Okurokami Island. Mines damage training ship IZUMO and fast transport T.19.
10 July 1945:
Assigned to the Kure Naval District.
24 July 1945: The Final Destruction of the Imperial Japanese Navy:
Aircraft from Vice Admiral (later Admiral) John S. McCain's (former CO of RANGER, CV-4) Task Force 38 attack Kure. In their last major action, 343rd NAG "George" fighters attack the retiring American carrier planes over the Bungo Straits and claim 19 aircraft shot down against four losses.
Etajima. IZUMO is heavily camouflaged and is not attacked. Task Force 38’s aircraft concentrate their attacks on HARUNA.
28 July 1945:
From 0800 to 1700, Kure is attacked again by USS WASP's (CV-18) Air Group 86, SHANGRI-LA (CV-38) and other aircraft from Task Force 38. IZUMO is attacked by 20 aircraft. They get three near misses with heavy bombs, but she takes no direct hits. Two of the attacking planes are shot down and crash on the nearby beach. The near misses cause under-water damage to the old ship’s seams and plates. IZUMO floods and takes on a 15-degree list to port. About an hour after the attack, IZUMO capsizes and sinks off Eta Jima, 34-14N, 132-30E.
15 August 1945:
Rerated a Fourth Class Reserve warship.
20 November 1945:
Removed from the Navy List.
1947:
Kure Dockyard. Dismantled and scrapped by Harima.

- Bob Hackett and Sander Kingsepp.

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