IJN Asahi Class Battleship

The Asahi battleship was virtually of the same design as the Shikishima class. She was laid down by J. Brown Shipbuilders at Clydebank, UK, on 1 August 1898 and completed in a day short of two years. Differentiated visually by her two funnels, rather than three of the Shikishima battleships, the Asahi had an effective range of 4,000 nautical miles at an average ten knots. Her engines were powered by 25 boilers and she had an upgraded 288 water tight compartments.

The Asahi participated in the Russo-Japanese War, but was damaged when she struck a mine on 26 October 1904. She was repaired and returned in time for the Battle of Tsushima. She suffered twenty-three wounded and eight killed in the battle as a result of multiple hits. The Asahi served as a gunnery training ship during the First World War and was disarmed soon after due to the Washington Naval Treaty of 1922. Soon after she was converted into a submarine salvage vessel, and then converted into a repair ship at the time of the Pacific War. She was sunk by the USS Salmon on 25 May 1942 off Cape Paderas in French Indo-China.