Japanese battleship Katori Design and description . The " Katori " - class ships were ordered just before the start of the Russo - Japanese War in 1904 as improved versions of the Royal Navy ’ s s . " Katori " was long overall and had a beam of . She had a full - load draught of and normally displaced and had a crew of 864 officers and enlisted men . The ship was powered by two vertical triple - expansion steam engines using steam generated by 20 Niclausse boiler s . The engines were rated at , using forced draught , and were designed to reach a top speed of . " Katori " , however , reached a top speed of from on her sea trials . She carried a maximum of of coal and of fuel oil which was sprayed on the coal to increase their power . This allowed her to steam for at a speed of . The ship ' s main battery consisted of four 12 - inch guns mounted in two twin - gun turret s , one forward and one aft . The secondary armament consisted of four 10 - inch guns mounted in four single - gun turrets positioned on each side of the superstructure . " Katori " also carried 12 quick - firing ( QF ) QF 6 - inch guns , 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 a dozen QF 12 - pounder guns and three 3 - pounder Hotchkiss gun s . She was also armed with five submerged 18 - inch torpedo tube s , two on each broadside and one in the stern . " Katori " s waterline armour belt consisted of Krupp cemented armour and was thick . The armour of her main gun turrets had a maximum thickness of and her deck ranged from in thickness . Construction and career . " Katori " , named for a Shinto shrine in Katori City , was ordered in January 1904 from Vickers . The ship was laid down at their Barrow - in - Furness shipyard on 27 April 1904 . She was launched on 4 July 1905 , Prince and Princess Arisugawa were on hand for the official launching ceremony . and completed on 20 May 1906 . " Katori " departed Britain on 7 June on her maiden voyage and shakedown cruise and arrived at Yokosuka on 15 August . In a naval review off Yokosuka on 10 November 1913 , she served as the flagship for the Taishō Emperor . " Katori " occupied the German colony of Saipan , shortly after the start of World War I , on 14 October 1914 . Afterward the ship began a refit in 1914 that lasted until late 1916 and was assigned to the 2nd Battleship Squadron upon its completion . During this refit , two 12 - pounder anti - aircraft gun s were replaced two of the low - angle 12 - pounders . She became the flagship of the 5th Battleship Squadron in 1917 – 18 and served as the flagship for the Japanese commander - in - chief at Nikolayevsk - on - Amur in late 1918 as Japan decided to intervene in the Russian Civil War . On 3 March 1921 , " Katori " , escorted by " Kashima " , departed Yokohama bound for Great Britain carrying Crown Prince Hirohito , the first Japanese crown prince to travel abroad . The ships arrived at Portsmouth on 9 May and Hirohito left the ship to tour Europe ; he boarded the battleship again in Naples several months later for the voyage home . The ship was disarmed in April 1922 , stricken from the Navy List on 20 September 1923 and scrapped at Maizuru Naval Arsensal by 29 January 1925 to comply with the terms of the Washington Naval Treaty .