th Russia, slightly heavier than their sister ships but not as fast.
None of this type has been added to the Japanese navy since 1907. Japan
has, instead, given attention to scouting cruisers, with the result that
she possessed three excellent vessels of this class, the _Yahagi_,
_Chikuma_, and _Hirato_, with the good speed of 26 knots and displacing
5,000 tons. They were built in 1912. And not so efficient were the other
ships of similar design, the _Soya_, built in America, _Tone_ and
_Tsugaru_.

The veteran Japanese navy was supplemented with 52 destroyers and 15
submarines, all built since the war with Russia, and a number of heavier
vessels. Among the latter were the first-class battleships _Kashima_ and
_Katori_, completed in 1906, and displacing 16,400 tons. Their heavy
guns measured 12 inches, and they made a speed of 19.5 knots. There were
also the vessels _Ikoma_ and _Tsukuba_, individual in type, with
corresponding kinds in no other navy, and which might be called a cross
between an armored cruiser and battle cruiser. Though displacing no more
than 13,766 tons, they carried four 12-inch guns, and made the
comparatively low speed of 20.5 knots. In 1909 and 1910 the Japanese
added two more ships of this kind to their navy, the _Ibuki_ and
_Kurama_, slightly heavier and faster and with the same armament.

The dreadnought _Satsuma_ also came in 1910--a vessel displacing 19,400
tons, but making a speed of only 18.2 knots, and with an extraordinarily
heavy main battery consisting of four 12-inch guns and twelve 10-inch
guns. The _Aki_, launched in 1911, was 400 tons heavier than the
_Satsuma_, and was more than 2 knots faster, and her main battery was
equally strong. The dreadnoughts _Settsu_ and _Kawachi_, completed in
1913 and 1912 respectively, displaced 21,420 tons, but were able to make
not more than 20 knots. At this time the Japanese admiralty, perhaps on
account of lessons learned in the war with Russia, was building
dreadnoughts with less speed than those in the other navies, but with
much heavier main batteries. These two vessels carried a unique main
battery of twelve 12-inch guns, along with others of smaller
measurement. What the dreadnoughts lacked in speed was made up in that
of four battle cruisers launched after 1912. These were the _Kirishima_,
_Kongo_, _Hi-Yei_, and _Haruna_, with the good speed of 28 knots. Their
displacement was 27,500 tons, and they carried in their primary
batteries eight 14