View source for Suma-class cruiser

{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2020}}

{|{{Infobox ship begin}}
{{Infobox ship image
|Ship image= Japanese cruiser Suma.jpg
|Ship caption=Japanese cruiser ''Suma'' around 1905
}}
{{Infobox ship class overview
|Name=''Suma'' class
|Builders=[[Yokosuka Naval Arsenal]], [[Japan]]
|Operators={{navy|Empire of Japan}}
|Class before={{Ship|Japanese cruiser|Akitsushima||2}}
|Class after={{Ship|Japanese cruiser|Takasago||2}}
|Subclasses=
|Cost=
|Built range=1892&ndash;1899
|In service range=
|In commission range=1896&ndash;1930
|Total ships planned=
|Total ships completed=2
|Total ships cancelled=
|Total ships retired=2
|Total ships preserved=
}}
{{Infobox ship characteristics
|Hide header=
|Header caption=
|Ship type=[[Protected cruiser]]
|Ship displacement= {{convert|2657|LT|t|0|lk=in}}
|Ship length= {{convert|93.5|m|ftin|abbr=on}} 
|Ship beam= {{convert|12.3|m|ftin|abbr=on}} 
|Ship draught= {{convert|4.6|m|ftin|abbr=on}} 
|Ship propulsion=2-shaft VTE reciprocating engines; 8 boilers; {{convert|8500|hp|abbr=on}}
|Ship speed= {{convert|20|kn|mph km/h|lk=in}}
|Ship range= {{convert|11000|nmi|km|abbr=on|lk=in}} at {{convert|10|kn|km/h|abbr=on}}
|Ship complement=256
|Ship sensors=
|Ship EW=
|Ship armament=*2 × [[QF 6 inch /40 naval gun]]s
*6 × [[QF 4.7 inch Gun Mk I–IV]]
*10 × [[QF 6 pounder Hotchkiss]] guns
*4 × [[QF 3 pounder Hotchkiss]] guns
*4 × [[Maxim gun]]s
*2 × {{convert|380|mm|in|0|abbr=on}} [[torpedo tube]]s
|Ship armour=*[[Deck (ship)|Deck]]: {{convert|50|mm|in|0|abbr=on}} (slope), {{convert|25|mm|in|0|abbr=on}} (flat)
*[[Gun shield]]: {{convert|115|mm|in|1|abbr=on}} (front)
|Ship aircraft= 
|Ship aircraft facilities=
|Ship notes=
}}
|}

The two {{nihongo|'''''Suma''-class cruisers'''|須磨型防護巡洋艦|Suma-gata bōgojun'yōkan}} were [[protected cruiser]]s operated by the [[Imperial Japanese Navy]]. While more lightly armed and armored than many of its contemporaries, their small size and relatively simple design facilitated their construction and their relatively high speed made them useful for many military operations. Both participated in combat during the [[Russo-Japanese War]] and [[World War I]].

==Background==
The ''Suma''-class cruisers were designed and built in Japan at the [[Yokosuka Naval Arsenal]], as part of an Imperial Japanese Navy program to end its dependence on foreign powers for modern warships, using an all-Japanese design and all-Japanese materials.<ref name=Schencking>Schencking, ''Making Waves'';</ref> Although the Yokosuka Naval Arsenal had experience gained in the construction of the cruisers {{ship|Japanese cruiser|Hashidate||2}} and {{ship|Japanese cruiser|Akitsushima||2}}, albeit with assistance from French [[naval engineer]]s and imported components, construction of ''Suma'' still took four years and resulted in a vessel with questionable stability and seaworthiness. However, her construction gave Japanese designers and shipbuilders valuable experience which was applied to her [[sister ship]] ''Akashi'' and which was applied in designs for larger and more powerful vessels in the future.<ref name=Jentsura>Jentsura, ''Warships of the Imperial Japanese Navy'' page 99</ref>

==Design==
The overall dimensions and layout of armaments on the ''Suma''-class cruisers was almost the same as on ''Akitsushima''.<ref name=Conway>Chesneau, '' Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1860–1905'', page 229.</ref> The design incorporated an all-steel, double-bottomed hull, with an armored deck, divided underneath by watertight bulkheads. The armor, of the [[Harvey armor]] variety, covered only vital areas, such as the boilers, [[Magazine (artillery)|gun magazines]] and critical machinery, with a thickness of {{convert|25|mm|in}} on the deck.

Her [[main battery]] consisted of two [[QF 6 inch /40 naval gun]]s, one set in the [[forecastle]] and one in the [[stern]]. The main guns had a range of up to {{convert|9100|m|nmi}} with a nominal firing rate of 5.7 shots/minute. Secondary armament consisted of six [[QF 4.7 inch Gun Mk I–IV]] mounted in [[sponson]]s on the upper deck. These guns had a range of up to {{convert|9,000|m|yd}} with a nominal firing rate of 12 shots/minute. She also had ten [[QF 3 pounder Hotchkiss]] guns, with a range of up to {{convert|6,000|m|yd}} with a nominal firing rate of 20 shots/minute, mounted four on the upper deck, two on the poop, two on the after bridge and one each on the bow and stern, as well as four [[1-inch Nordenfelt gun]], which was later replaced by four 7.62&nbsp;mm [[Maxim gun|Maxim machine guns]]. She also was equipped with two {{convert|356|mm|in|abbr=on}} [[torpedo]]es, mounted on the deck .<ref name=Conway/>

The ''Suma''-class cruisers were slightly smaller in displacement than ''Akitsushima'', and consequently had lighter weaponry (two six-inch guns instead of four) to reduce issues with weight and design lessons learned with ''Akitsushima'' (such as the need to locate the secondary battery lower to the center of gravity to improve stability were implemented. Nevertheless, as with most Japanese designs of the period, the design remained top-heavy and had issues with seaworthiness and stability.

The second ship of the class, ''Akashi'' differed from ''Suma'' in that its torpedo launch tubes were moved from the bow to the rear of the ship, and had a high foremast with a radio antenna. On ''Akashi'' the fighting top was eliminated from the mast from the start, resulting in a sleeker, "more modern" design. This was also eliminated from ''Suma'' at a later date.

Propulsion was by two vertical [[triple expansion steam engine|triple steam reciprocating engines]], 2-shafts, with eight cylindrical boilers (on ''Suma'', and nine single-ended boilers on ''Akashi'') yielding a speed of {{convert|20|kn|km/h}} and a range of {{convert|11000|nmi|km|-3}} at {{convert|10|kn|km/h|0}} based on its capacity for 544 tons of [[coal]].

==Ships in class==
[[File:Japanese cruiser Akashi.jpg|thumb|Japanese cruiser ''Akashi'']]

;{{Ship|Japanese cruiser|Suma||2}}
Ordered in 1891, launched 9 March 1895, and completed 12 December 1896,<ref name= Nishidah>Nishida, '' Ships of the Imperial Japanese Navy''</ref> ''Suma'' served in the [[Boxer Rebellion]] and in the [[Russo-Japanese War]]. She also served patrol duty during [[World War I]] primarily in the Southeast Asia theater. She was removed from the [[navy list]] on 4 April 1923, and scrapped in 1928.<ref name= Nishidah/>

;{{Ship|Japanese cruiser|Akashi||2}}
Ordered in 1893, launched 18 December 1897 and completed 30 March 1899,<ref name= Nishidah/> ''Akashi'' was plagued in its early career with numerous problems with its engines, especially its boilers. Once these issues were resolved, she served in the [[Boxer Rebellion]] and in the [[Russo-Japanese War]]. In [[World War I]], ''Akashi'' served in the [[Battle of Tsingtao]], and subsequently patrolled the [[sea lane]]s in [[Southeast Asia]] and the [[Mediterranean Sea]]. She was based out of [[Malta]] as [[flagship]] of a destroyer group as part of Japan's assistance to the [[Royal Navy]] under the [[Anglo-Japanese Alliance]]. She was expended as a target for [[dive bomber]]s south of [[Izu Ōshima]] on 3 August 1930.<ref name= Nishidah/>

==Notes==
{{commons category|Suma class protected cruisers}}

{{reflist}}

==References==
* {{cite book|last= Chesneau |first= Roger|title= Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1860–1905. |publisher= Conway Maritime Press |year=1979|isbn=0-85177-133-5}}
* {{cite book|vauthors=Evans DC, Peattie MR|title=Kaigun: Strategy, Tactics, and Technology in the Imperial Japanese Navy, 1887-1941|publisher=Naval Institute Press|location=Annapolis, MD|year=1997|isbn=0-87021-192-7}}
* {{cite book|last=Howarth|first=Stephen|title=The Fighting Ships of the Rising Sun: The Drama of the Imperial Japanese Navy, 1895-1945|publisher=Atheneum|year=1983|isbn=0-689-11402-8}}
* {{cite book|last=Jane|first=Fred T.|title=The Imperial Japanese Navy|publisher=Thacker, Spink & Co|year=1904}}
* {{cite book|last=Jentsura|first=Hansgeorg|title=Warships of the Imperial Japanese Navy, 1869-1945|publisher=Naval Institute Press|location=Annapolis, MD|year=1976|isbn=0-87021-893-X}}
* {{cite book|last= Roberts |first= John (ed). |title='Warships of the world from 1860 to 1905 - Volume 2: United States, Japan and Russia  |publisher= Bernard & Graefe Verlag, Koblenz |year=1983|isbn=3-7637-5403-2}}
* {{cite book|last=Schencking|first=J. Charles|title=Making Waves: Politics, Propaganda, And The Emergence Of The Imperial Japanese Navy, 1868-1922|publisher=Stanford University Press|year=2005|isbn=0-8047-4977-9}}

{{Suma class cruiser}}
{{Russo-JapaneseWarJapaneseShips}}
{{WWI Japanese ships}}
{{Imperial Japanese Navy}}

[[Category:Cruiser classes]]
[[Category:Suma-class cruisers| ]]