Her Japanese name means Rising Sun. She was ordered in 1896, laid down by the Clydebank Engineering & Shipbuilding Company, Glasgow, Scotland and completed by John Brown & Company 1 August 1897, launched 13 March 1899 and commissioned 23 April 1900.She played an important roll in the Russian-Japanese war of 1905-1905 where the Russian fleet was destroyed. She was torpedoed by the USS Salmon 25 May 1942, 100 miles South West of Cape Paderas and sunk due to two hits. Dimensions 425 x 75 x 27 and a displacement of 15.200 tons (original). Two engines and 25 boilers provided 15.000 shp. The original armament was 4-12”guns, 14-6”quick firing guns, 20-3pdrs, 12-2,5 pdr and 5-18”torpedo tubes. In 1917 were 2-3”anti aircraft guns added. The original armour consisted of: 100-229 mm main belt, 63-100 mm deck, 50-254 mm turret, 200-360 mm barbette and 75-356 mm conning tower. Reclassified as a 1st-class Coastal defence ship in 1921, Due to the Washington Naval Agreement, her armament and armour was in 1923 removed and she was fitted out as a training ship. with a new displacement of 11,441 tons and a maximum speed of 12 knots. Between 1926-October 1927 she was rebuilt on a large scale becoming a submarine salvage ship. The original 25 boilers were replaced by just 4, one funnel was removed and she was fitted out with a crane. In 1928 she was first fitted out with a compressed air aircraft catapult and later with a gunpowder propelled one and trials were made using a E2N1 Type 15 seaplane. She was however transferred to the reserve. Thanks to the war between Japan and China she was in 1937 recommissioned and used as a transport when troops were landed at the Hangzhou Bay. She served as a submarine tender and floating barracks until she was converted into a repair vessel and commissioned in this role 18 December 1938. In the period 29 May-7 November 1940 she pretended being a battleship with as port Shanghai. For this purpose she was fitted out with dummy wood-built main batteries.
Sources
Andidora, Ronald (2000). Iron Admirals: Naval Leadership in the Twentieth Century.
Brown, D. K. (1999). Warrior to Dreadnought, Warship Development 1860-1906.
Conway’s All the World Fighting Ships 1860-1946.
Evans, David (1979). Kaigun: Strategy, Tactics, and Technology in the Imperial Japanese Navy, 1887-1941.
Howarth, Stephen (1983). The Fighting Ships of the Rising Sun: The Drama of the Imperial Japanese Navy, 1895-1945.
Jane, Fred T. The Imperial Japanese Navy.
Jentsura, Hansgeorg (1976). Warships of the Imperial Japanese Navy, 1869-1945.
Schencking, J. Charles (2005). Making Waves: Politics, Propaganda and The Emergence Of The Imperial Japanese Navy, 1868-1922.
source http://www.search.com/reference/Japanese_battleship_Asahi
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_battleship_Asahi
