Japanese battleship Hatsuse Description . " Hatsuse " was long overall and had a beam of . She had a full - load draught of and normally displaced and had a crew of 849 officers and enlisted men when serving as a flagship . The ship was powered by two Humphrys Tennant vertical triple - expansion steam engines using steam generated by 25 Belleville boiler s . The engines were rated at , using forced draught , and were designed to reach a top speed of around . " Hatsuse " , however , reached a top speed of from on her sea trials . She carried a maximum of of coal which allowed her to steam for at a speed of . The ship ' s main battery consisted of four guns mounted in two twin gun turret s , one forward and one aft . The secondary battery consisted of fourteen quick - firing gun s , mounted in casemate s on the sides of the hull and in the superstructure . A number of smaller guns were carried for defence against torpedo boat s . These included 20 QF 12 - pounder 12 cwt guns , eight 3 - pounder guns and ten 2 . 5 - pounder Hotchkiss gun s . She was also armed with four submerged 18 - inch torpedo tube s . " Hatsuse " s waterline armour belt consisted of Harvey armour and was thick . The armour of her gun turrets had a maximum thickness of and her deck ranged from in thickness . Construction and career . " Hatsuse " , named after Hase - dera Temple , which was famous for its maple tree s , was ordered as part of the 10 Year Naval Expansion Programme and paid for from the £30 , 000 , 000 indemnity paid by China after losing the Sino - Japanese War of 1894 – 1895 . The ship was laid down by Armstrong Whitworth at their Elswick shipyard on 10 January 1898 . She was launched on 27 June 1896 and completed on 18 January 1901 . Before sailing to Japan , she represented the Meiji Emperor at Queen Victoria ' s funeral . At the start of the Russo - Japanese War , " Hatsuse " , commanded by Captain Yu Nakao , was assigned to the 1st Division of the 1st Fleet . She participated in the Battle of Port Arthur on 9 February 1904 when Admiral Tōgō Heihachirō led the 1st Fleet in an attack on the Russian ships of the Pacific Squadron anchored just outside of Port Arthur . Tōgō had expected his surprise night attack on the Russians by his destroyers to be much more successful than it actually was and anticipated that they would be badly disorganized and weakened , but the Russians had recovered from their surprise and were ready for his attack . The Japanese ships were spotted by the cruiser which was patrolling offshore and alerted the Russian defences . Tōgō chose to attack the Russian coastal defences with his main armament and engage the Russian ships with his secondary guns . Splitting his fire proved to be a bad idea as the Japanese and six - inch guns inflicted little damage of significance on the Russian ships who concentrated all their fire on the Japanese ships with some effect . Although a large number of ships on both sides were hit , Russian casualties numbered only 17 while the Japanese suffered 60 killed and wounded before Tōgō disengaged . " Hatsuse " was hit twice during the battle , losing seven crewmen killed and 17 wounded . " Hatsuse " participated in the action of 13 April when Tōgō successfully lured out a portion of the Pacific Squadron , including Vice Admiral Stepan Makarov ' s flagship , the battleship . When Makarov spotted the five battleships of the 1st Division , he turned back for Port Arthur and " Petropavlovsk " struck a minefield laid by the Japanese the previous night . The Russian battleship sank in less than two minutes after one of her magazine s exploded , Makarov one of the 677 killed . Emboldened by his success , Tōgō resumed long - range bombardment missions , which prompted the Russians to lay more minefields . On 14 May 1904 , Admiral Nashiba put to sea with the battleships " Hatsuse " ( flag ) , , and , the protected cruiser " Kasagi " , and the dispatch boat to relieve the Japanese blockading force off Port Arthur . On the following morning , the squadron encountered a minefield laid by the Russian minelayer " Amur " . " Hatsuse " struck one mine that disabled her steering at 10 : 50 a . m . and " Yashima " struck another when moving to assist " Hatsuse " . At 12 : 33 p . m . , the latter drifted onto another mine that detonated one of her magazines , killing 496 of her crew , and sinking the ship at . " Tatsuta " and " Kasagi " managed to save the Admiral and Captain Nakao with 334 other officers and enlisted men . " Yashima " s flooding could not be controlled and she foundered about eight hours later , after her crew had abandoned ship .