Japanese Minelayer Itsukushima

Japanese Minelayer Itsukushima

Itsukushima (厳島?) was a medium-sized minelayer of the Imperial Japanese Navy, which was in service during the Second Sino-Japanese War and World War II. She was named after the First Sino-Japanese War-era cruiser Itsukushima, which in turn was named after Itsukushima, a sacred island in Hiroshima Prefecture of Japan. She was the first warship in the Imperial Japanese Navy with all diesel engine propulsion.