|
or was a steam warship of the former navy of the Bakufu during the Boshin War of 1868-1869. She had been seized from the navy of the fief of Akita. She was originally built in New York as , a screw steam revenue cutter built for the United States Revenue Marine during the American Civil War. She was purchased by Akita Domain (秋田藩) and named ''Takao Maru'', then transferred to the , a short-lived state established by former Tokugawa retainers (Bakufu), and renamed ''Kaiten No.2''. She was armed with four smoothbore cannon on the side, and a powerful Armstrong cannon with explosive shells, installed on a rotating base.〔"Une aventure au Japon", Eugene Collache, p51〕 She participated in the Battle of Miyako Bay, when three Bakufu warships were dispatched for a surprise attack against Imperial forces. For the battle, Eugene Collache, a French navy officer, was put in command of the ''Kaiten No.2'', on which were sailing 40 seamen and 30 samurai. The two other ships were the ''Kaiten No.1 (Kaiten Maru)'' and the . The ships encountered bad weather, in which the ''Kaiten No.2'' suffered engine trouble, and the ''Banryu'' was separated. The ''Banryu'' eventually returned to Hokkaido, without joining the battle. To create surprise, the ''Kaiten No.1'' planned to enter Miyako harbour with an American flag. Unable to achieve more than 3 knots due to engine trouble, the ''Kaiten No.2'' trailed behind, and the ''Kaiten No.1'' first joined battle. The ''Kaiten No.1'' approached the enemy ships and raised the Bakufu flag seconds before boarding the French-built ''Kōtetsu'', of the opposing Imperial navy (the first Japanese ironclad). The ''Kōtetsu'' managed to repel the attack with a Gatling gun, with huge loss on the attacking side. The ''Kaiten No.1'', pursued by the Imperial fleet, steamed out of Miyako Bay just as the ''Kaiten No.2'' was entering it. The ''Kaiten No.1'' eventually escaped to Hokkaido, but the ''Kaiten No.2'' was unable to leave the pursuers and wrecked herself voluntarily. The ''Kaiten No.2'' was set on fire by the escaping rebels and exploded. Collache was imprisoned by the Japanese, judged and condemned to death, but he was finally pardoned. At the end of the conflict, he was sent to Tokyo where he rejoined Jules Brunet, and later left for France. ==Notes== 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Japanese steam warship Kaiten No. 2」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
|