Unidentified Photos

Japanese crews and ships which are unidentified from a series of photographs from the 1920s with Japanese text on rear of photographs. If you can help us translate and identify them contact us at mail@militaryart.freeserve.co.uk

The following are my "best guesses" at 2 of the ships:

	Second Row, Left: 3 evenly-spaced funnels of same height and pole masts suggest "battle cruiser" IBUKI; her sister-ship KURAMA had tripod masts. Other 3-funnelled Japanese ships of the era were HIZEN (ex-Russian RETVIZAN), but she looks a lot "chunkier" with a less substantial bridge structure; SUWO (ex-Russian POBIEDA) but she was even "chunkier" still and the bridge was totally different; SHIKISHIMA, who would be my second guess, but she did not have the searchlight platform on the foremast and also had a smaller bridge structure; ADZUMA, whose funnels were unevenly spaced; IDZUMO and IWATE (who were still in service in WW2), whose funnels were thinner and taller; YAKUMO (ditto SHIKISHIMA); TONE, who had a "clipper" bow, raked funnels and masts and was much smaller; OTOWA, NIITAKA and ITSUKUSHIMA who had raked funnels; and TSUGARU, whose masts were very different.
	Fourth Row, Left - with a British or Australian "Chatham" class light cruiser on the other side of the pier: 2 funnels, pole masts, suggest "First Class Cruisers" either ASAMA or TOKIWA. The "ram" bow excludes SATSUMA and IKOMA; the bridge, masts and height of funnels excludes KATORI; the bridge and height of the funnels excludes KASHIMA; numerous other differences exclude all other 2-funnelled ships with the possible exception of the famous MIKASA, but her funnels appear to be slightly closer together than the ship in the photo.
	Fourth Row, Right - looks very similar to the ship in the adjoining photo.
	The Japanese script I cannot translate. Some of the symbols - e.g., those for "ya", "ka", "mu", "me", "ro", "ru" and "so" are the same as those used on the sides of Japanese destroyers (they are the 'simple" ones), but the majority are a mystery to me. And remember - you have to read right to left!

Our thanks to Bruce T. Swain for the above information.

Unknown Japanese Battleship. If you can help to identify it: military@military-art.com

A visit from Admiral [Revson] Commander in Chief of the British Fleet in China.

Unknown Japanese Battleship.

A reproduction of this original photo / photo-postcard size 10" x 7" approx available. Order photograph here © Walker Archive. Order Code PAN148

Entering Port

3 evenly-spaced funnels of same height and pole masts suggest "battle cruiser" IBUKI; her sister-ship KURAMA had tripod masts. Other 3-funnelled Japanese ships of the era were HIZEN (ex-Russian RETVIZAN), but she looks a lot "chunkier" with a less substantial bridge structure; SUWO (ex-Russian POBIEDA) but she was even "chunkier" still and the bridge was totally different; SHIKISHIMA, who would be my second guess, but she did not have the searchlight platform on the foremast and also had a smaller bridge structure; ADZUMA, whose funnels were unevenly spaced; IDZUMO and IWATE (who were still in service in WW2), whose funnels were thinner and taller; YAKUMO (ditto SHIKISHIMA); TONE, who had a "clipper" bow, raked funnels and masts and was much smaller; OTOWA, NIITAKA and ITSUKUSHIMA who had raked funnels; and TSUGARU, whose masts were very different.