Japanese Battleship Yashima

Japanese Battleship Yashima

Yashima (八島, Yashima?) was a Fuji-class pre-dreadnought battleship built for the Imperial Japanese Navy by the British firm of Armstrong Whitworth in the late 1890s. The ship participated in the early stages of the Russo-Japanese War of 1904–1905, including the Battle of Port Arthur the day after the start of the war. She was involved in the subsequent operations until she struck a mine off Port Arthur in May 1904. She did not sink immediately, but capsized while under tow a number of hours later. The Japanese were able to keep her loss a secret from the Russians for over a year so they did not try to take advantage of her loss.