1/700 IJN Matsushima and Hashidate (Seals Model, Combrig)

10.08.1904 - 115 years battle in the Yellow Sea

Protected cruisers Matsushima and Hashidate, torpedo boat No. 40

On the 10 August 1904, 115 years ago, the Japanese and Russian fleets clashed in the Battle of the Yellow Sea . This was the first major naval battle of the Russian-Japanese War. The Russian fleet had been besieged in Port Arthur since the outbreak of war. Eventually, the Russian fleet under Admiral Withöft ventured out with six battleships, four protected cruisers and 14 destroyers. This succeeded, but during the day they were intercepted by the Japanese fleet under Admiral Togo with four battleships, two armored cruisers, eight protected cruisers, 18 destroyers and 30 torpedo boats. On both sides several ships were badly damaged. The Russian battle order collapsed when Withöft and the bridge crew of the Russian flagship Zessarewitsch were killed. The Russian fleet then retreated to Port Arthur, where it remained until the capitulation of the port. The Japanese Navy managed to turn off the Russian Pacific Fleet. On the Japanese side 226 men died, on Russian 343. To the Japanese ships belonged the protected cruisers Matsushima and Hashidate as well as the torpedo boat No. 40.
 

History of Matsushima and Hashidate

The ships of the Matsushima class included three protected cruisers. They were built in response to the Chinese battleships Dingyuan and Zhenyuan. Since Japan could not afford battleships, the idea of ??the French designer Bertin was taken up. He favored fast, lightly armored ships with a strong main gun. The use of such a large gun on the small ships, however, led to problems with the recoil. The reloading times were very long. When the first doubts arose, they planned and built the fourth ship again as a cruiser after then customary construction in the UK.

The three ships Matsushima, Hashidate and Itsukushima were named after famous vantage points. That's why they got the nickname Sankeikan (three-view ships).

The ships were 91.81 m long. The main armament consisted of a 320 mm Canet gun. The rate of fire was two rounds per minute. In the Hashidate and Itsukushima this was installed on the foredeck. At the Matsushima, the gun was located at the stern. The secondary armament included eleven 120mm Armstrong Rapid Fire Guns. In the Matsushima, in contrast, twelve were installed. In addition there were six 3-pounders and several 1-pounders. Likewise, four torpedo tubes were installed. This led to a top-heavy execution, which one tried to compensate with a lower armor. According to the then customary construction of a protected cruiser were only the deck over the ammunition chambers and engine rooms and the gun shields made of hardened armor steel. The rest of the ship was made of soft steel.

Matsushima was laid on 17 February 1888 at La Seyne-sur-Mer in France on keel and the launching took place on January 22, 1890. The completion was in 1892. The Itsukushima were laid in the same shipyard on January 7, Kiel and the launching was already on 18 July 1889. The completion was in 1891, but retarded because of a boiler damage on the trip to Japan the Arrivals. Hashidate was the only ship built in Japan. However, many components were imported. It was laid on the keel at the Yokosuka Naval Yard on August 6, 1888 and due to the inexperience of the shipyard the launch did not take place until March 24, 1891, in the presence of the Emperor. Due to further problems, the commissioning took place in 1894, just in time for the beginning of the Japanese-Chinese War.

Operational history of Matsushima and Hashidate

The three ships of the Matsushima class were ready with the beginning of the Chinese-Japanese War. Together with the Chiyoda they formed the main forces during the Battle of Yalu. The Matsushima was the flagship of Admiral Ito Sukeyuki. The problems with the construction came to light. So Matsushima was only able to fire her main gun four times. In return, she received several serious hits, but for the most part did not explode. So the Matsushima had to withdraw from the battle and be repaired in Japan. But she could be put back into service 26 days later. The Hashidate became the new flagship and remained so at the Battle of Lüshunkou. The Matsushima was back from Japan and together the ships took part in the battle of Weiheiwei.

After the war in 1898, the ships were reclassified as a cruiser Second Class. 1901 a major conversion was made to the ships. The tripod mast was replaced by a simple mast. Four of the 120 mm guns were moved from the lower gun deck to the center gun deck. The light armament was also renewed. Also, the boiler system was renewed.

With the beginning of the Russo-Japanese War in 1904, the three ships were hopelessly outdated. Together with the captured Chinese battleship Chin'en, formerly Zhenyuan, these formed the Fifth Squadron of the Third Fleet. Initially, the squadron patrolled Korea Street. In May, the ships were used for the blockade of Port Arthur. At the Battle of the Yellow Sea on 10 August, the squadron was there, but could not catch up on gun range. Hashidate was one of the first ships the Russian squadron spied. At the Battle of Tsushima, the ships were also involved. The Matsushima could attack the Russian cruiser Oleg and Aurora. However, she was damaged by a hit the control system and had to be repaired. The Hashidate was also able to attack the cruiser Oleg and scored there hits. Later during the battle, the Hashidate also participated in the sinking of the damaged Russian battleship Knjas Suvorov. The capitulation of the remaining Russian ships the next day accompanied the Matsushima. The Matsushima then became the flagship of the newly formed Fourth Fleet, and along with the Hashidate participated in the invasion of Sakhalin Island in July and August 1905.

After the war, the Matsushima and the Hashidate were used as a training ship. In 1908, however, there was an accident with the ammunition and the ship exploded and sank in a port in Taiwan. 206 of the 350-strong crew died. The Hashidate was reclassified in 1912 as a coastal tanker Second Class and ten years later deleted from the naval list and scrapped.

The kit of Matsushima and Hashidate

The kits of Hashidate and Matsushima come from the Japanese manufacturer Seals Model. The Hashidate is a plastic kit and comes with a second identical sprue from which you can build the sister ship, Itsukushima. The kit of Matsushima is a Resinbausatz, but in which the sprue from the plastic kit of the sister ships enclosed. Accordingly, only the hull and the superstructure are made of resin. For parts that are the same under all three ships, such as the armament or the chimney, you take the plastic parts.

Unfortunately, the plank joints on the wooden deck of the plastic hull are not sunk, but raised. In the Resinrumpf turn these are sunk. That's why I re-engraved the bumps on the Hashidate. It is not perfect yet for the first try and can be upgraded for the next time. The fit was very good. Only with the Hashidate it came to the joints usual in plastic kits. The casting and the accuracy of fit of the Matsushima, however, were almost perfect. I added the hatches from etched parts. In addition came davits and companions also from Ätzteilen. The dinghies from the kit look good, but unfortunately have some ejection points on the inside. Add to that the sprues for the davits, which are very difficult to remove. As far as possible I replaced the dinghies with those of Kombrig and S-Modell. I rebuilt the masts from brass pipes. The bulwark of the lookout I removed and exchanged it for a railing. I painted the ships in a light gray. Accurate color data from this period are difficult to find, but the ships were painted gray during the war.
 
 

Development history of the torpedo boat No. 40

Finding information about the early Japanese ships is difficult, even harder for the smaller units like this torpedo boat. The Type 39 class of torpedo boats corresponded to the design of the Viper class of the K.u.K. Kriegsmarine and was designed and built by Yarrow shipyard in the UK. It included ten boats with the names No. 39 to 42 and 62 to 66. These were built between 1899 and 1902. The length was 46.5 m and the speed 26 knots. The armament consisted of two 3-pound Hotchkiss guns and three 350 mm single torpedo tubes. These were all used in the Russo-Japanese War.
 

Operation history of the torpedo boat No. 40

Boats # 62-65 were grouped together at the beginning of the war in Division 20, Boats # 40-42 in Division 10. The boat No.66 was used in the 16th Division. During the Battle of the Yellow Sea, the 10th torpedo boat division drove parallel with the fifth squadron for a while with the Matsushima and Hashidate. In an attack on the battleship Sevastopol in the night of 14 to 15 December 1904, the boat No. 42 was sunk. All other boats survived the war, but were scrapped before the First World War.

The kit of the torpedo boat No. 40

The torpedo boat of type 39 is a fine but small kit of Kombrig (see kit discussion). It is very well presented and impressed by the good detailing. I only added the railing and platform around the bridge. I painted it in a dark gray. Accurate color data from this period are unfortunately hard to find out. A Japanese model maker mentioned that the boats had probably subsequently received a wooden deck. This was important because of the heat in Japan's waters. Accordingly, I painted the deck wood-colored, I have no proof of this, because the pictures show the boats only from the waterline.

Gallery updated 8/20/2019

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