 FA3 coincidence rangefinders that had an effective range of 8 @,@ 000 yards ( 7 @,@ 300 m ) . The ships were also fitted with 24 @-@ power magnification telescopic gunsights .   = = Construction and career = =   Asahi , meaning " rising sun " , a poetic name for Japan from a stanza of waka poetry , was laid down on 1 August 1898 in Clydebank , Scotland , by the Clydebank Engineering & Shipbuilding Co. and completed by John Brown & Company , which purchased the firm before Asahi was completed . She was launched on 13 March 1899 and completed on 31 July 1900 . Her completion was delayed by about three months when her bottom plating required repairs after running aground off Southsea following sea trials . The ship departed England , after repairs in Portsmouth , on the day of her completion , and arrived at Yokosuka , Japan , on 23 October 1900 . Asahi became flagship of the Standing Fleet on 22 May 1901 and was assigned to the 1st Battleship Division of the 1st Fleet when the Combined Fleet was re @-@ formed on 28 December 1903 .   At the start of the Russo @-@ Japanese War , Asahi , commanded by Captain Hikohachi Yamada , was assigned to the 1st Division of the 1st Fleet . She participated in the Battle of Port Arthur on 9 February 1904 , when Vice Admiral Tōgō Heihachirō led the 1st Fleet in an attack on the Russian ships of the Pacific Squadron anchored just outside Port Arthur . Tōgō had expected the surprise night attack by his destroyers to be much more successful than it was , anticipating that the Russians would be badly disorganized and weakened , but they had recovered from their surprise and were ready for his attack . The Japanese ships were spotted by the protected cruiser Boyarin , which was patrolling offshore and alerted the Russian defences . Tōgō chose to attack the Russian coastal defences with his main armament and engage the ships with his secondary guns . Splitting his fire proved to be a poor decision as the Japanese eight @-@ inch ( 203 mm ) and six @-@ inch guns inflicted little damage on the Russian ships , which concentrated all their fire on the Japanese ships with some effect . Although many ships on both sides were hit , Russian casualties numbered only 17 , while the Japanese suffered 60 killed and wounded before Tōgō disengaged . Asahi was not hit during the engagement .   The ship 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 Petropavlovsk . 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 magazines exploded , and Makarov was one of the 677 killed . Emboldened by his success , Tōgō resumed long @-@ range bombardment missions , prompting the Russians to lay more minefields , which sank two Japanese battleships the following month .   During the Battle of the Yellow Sea on 10 August , Asahi , now commanded by Captain Tsunaakira Nomoto , was second in line of the column of Japanese battleships , behind Mikasa , and was one of the primary targets of the Russian ships . She was only hit by a single 12 @-@ inch shell that wounded two crewmen . Both guns in her aft 12 @-@ inch gun turret , however , were disabled by shells that detonated prematurely in their barrels . In turn she concentrated most of her fire upon the battleships Poltava and Tsesarevich although both ships were only lightly damaged by the Japanese shells , which generally failed to penetrate any armour and detonated on impact . The ship made the critical hits of the battle , however , when two of her 12 @-@ inch shells struck the bridge of Tsesarevich , killing the Russian squadron commander , Vice Admiral Wilgelm Vitgeft , two of his staff officers and the ship 's quartermaster . The ship 's wheel was jammed to port by wreckage and then slowed to a halt which threw the rest of the Russian ships into total confusion . The second @-@ in @-@ command , Rear Admiral Prince Pavel Ukhtomsky , eventually gained control of the remainder of the squadron and headed back to Port Arthur . Slightly more than two months later , on 26 October , Asahi struck a mine off Port Arthur while on blockade duty . Severely damaged , she was under repair at Sasebo Naval Arsenal from November 1904 to April 1905 . Russian naval forces in the Far East had been destroyed or neutralized by this time and the Russians were forced to transfer ships from the Baltic Fleet that did not arrive until May .   = = = Battle of Tsushima = = =   At the Battle of
ĠFA 3 Ġcoincidence Ġrange find ers Ġthat Ġhad Ġan Ġeffective Ġrange Ġof Ġ8 Ġ@ , @ Ġ000 Ġyards Ġ( Ġ7 Ġ@ , @ Ġ300 Ġm Ġ) Ġ. ĠThe Ġships Ġwere Ġalso Ġfitted Ġwith Ġ24 Ġ@ - @ Ġpower Ġmagnification Ġtelesc opic Ġguns ights Ġ. Ġ Ġ Ġ= Ġ= ĠConstruction Ġand Ġcareer Ġ= Ġ= Ġ Ġ ĠAs ahi Ġ, Ġmeaning Ġ" Ġrising Ġsun Ġ" Ġ, Ġa Ġpoetic Ġname Ġfor ĠJapan Ġfrom Ġa Ġst anza Ġof Ġw aka Ġpoetry Ġ, Ġwas Ġlaid Ġdown Ġon Ġ1 ĠAugust Ġ1898 Ġin ĠCly deb ank Ġ, ĠScotland Ġ, Ġby Ġthe ĠCly deb ank ĠEngineering Ġ& ĠShip building ĠCo . Ġand Ġcompleted Ġby ĠJohn ĠBrown Ġ& ĠCompany Ġ, Ġwhich Ġpurchased Ġthe Ġfirm Ġbefore ĠAs ahi Ġwas Ġcompleted Ġ. ĠShe Ġwas Ġlaunched Ġon Ġ13 ĠMarch Ġ1899 Ġand Ġcompleted Ġon Ġ31 ĠJuly Ġ1900 Ġ. ĠHer Ġcompletion Ġwas Ġdelayed Ġby Ġabout Ġthree Ġmonths Ġwhen Ġher Ġbottom Ġpl ating Ġrequired Ġrepairs Ġafter Ġrunning Ġag round Ġoff ĠSouth sea Ġfollowing Ġsea Ġtrials Ġ. ĠThe Ġship Ġdeparted ĠEngland Ġ, Ġafter Ġrepairs Ġin ĠPortsmouth Ġ, Ġon Ġthe Ġday Ġof Ġher Ġcompletion Ġ, Ġand Ġarrived Ġat ĠYok os uka Ġ, ĠJapan Ġ, Ġon Ġ23 ĠOctober Ġ1900 Ġ. ĠAs ahi Ġbecame Ġflagship Ġof Ġthe ĠStanding ĠFleet Ġon Ġ22 ĠMay Ġ1901 Ġand Ġwas Ġassigned Ġto Ġthe Ġ1 st ĠBattles hip ĠDivision Ġof Ġthe Ġ1 st ĠFleet Ġwhen Ġthe ĠCombined ĠFleet Ġwas Ġre Ġ@ - @ Ġformed Ġon Ġ28 ĠDecember Ġ1903 Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠAt Ġthe Ġstart Ġof Ġthe ĠRusso Ġ@ - @ ĠJapanese ĠWar Ġ, ĠAs ahi Ġ, Ġcommanded Ġby ĠCaptain ĠHik oh achi ĠYam ada Ġ, Ġwas Ġassigned Ġto Ġthe Ġ1 st ĠDivision Ġof Ġthe Ġ1 st ĠFleet Ġ. ĠShe Ġparticipated Ġin Ġthe ĠBattle Ġof ĠPort ĠArthur Ġon Ġ9 ĠFebruary Ġ1904 Ġ, Ġwhen ĠVice ĠAdmiral ĠT Åį g Åį ĠHe ih ach ir Åį Ġled Ġthe Ġ1 st ĠFleet Ġin Ġan Ġattack Ġon Ġthe ĠRussian Ġships Ġof Ġthe ĠPacific ĠSquadron Ġanchored Ġjust Ġoutside ĠPort ĠArthur Ġ. ĠT Åį g Åį Ġhad Ġexpected Ġthe Ġsurprise Ġnight Ġattack Ġby Ġhis Ġdestroy ers Ġto Ġbe Ġmuch Ġmore Ġsuccessful Ġthan Ġit Ġwas Ġ, Ġanticipating Ġthat Ġthe ĠRussians Ġwould Ġbe Ġbadly Ġdis organized Ġand Ġweakened Ġ, Ġbut Ġthey Ġhad Ġrecovered Ġfrom Ġtheir Ġsurprise Ġand Ġwere Ġready Ġfor Ġhis Ġattack Ġ. ĠThe ĠJapanese Ġships Ġwere Ġspotted Ġby Ġthe Ġprotected Ġcruiser ĠBoy arin Ġ, Ġwhich Ġwas Ġpatrolling Ġoffshore Ġand Ġalerted Ġthe ĠRussian Ġdefences Ġ. ĠT Åį g Åį Ġchose Ġto Ġattack Ġthe ĠRussian Ġcoastal Ġdefences Ġwith Ġhis Ġmain Ġarm ament Ġand Ġengage Ġthe Ġships Ġwith Ġhis Ġsecondary Ġguns Ġ. ĠSpl itting Ġhis Ġfire Ġproved Ġto Ġbe Ġa Ġpoor Ġdecision Ġas Ġthe ĠJapanese Ġeight Ġ@ - @ Ġinch Ġ( Ġ203 Ġmm Ġ) Ġand Ġsix Ġ@ - @ Ġinch Ġguns Ġinflicted Ġlittle Ġdamage Ġon Ġthe ĠRussian Ġships Ġ, Ġwhich Ġconcentrated Ġall Ġtheir Ġfire Ġon Ġthe ĠJapanese Ġships Ġwith Ġsome Ġeffect Ġ. ĠAlthough Ġmany Ġships Ġon Ġboth Ġsides Ġwere Ġhit Ġ, ĠRussian Ġcasualties Ġnumbered Ġonly Ġ17 Ġ, Ġwhile Ġthe ĠJapanese Ġsuffered Ġ60 Ġkilled Ġand Ġwounded Ġbefore ĠT Åį g Åį Ġdiseng aged Ġ. ĠAs ahi Ġwas Ġnot Ġhit Ġduring Ġthe Ġengagement Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠThe Ġship Ġparticipated Ġin Ġthe Ġaction Ġof Ġ13 ĠApril Ġ, Ġwhen ĠT Åį g Åį Ġsuccessfully Ġlured Ġout Ġa Ġportion Ġof Ġthe ĠPacific ĠSquadron Ġ, Ġincluding ĠVice ĠAdmiral ĠStep an ĠMak arov Ġ' s Ġflagship Ġ, Ġthe Ġbattles hip ĠPet rop av lov sk Ġ. ĠWhen ĠMak arov Ġspotted Ġthe Ġfive Ġbattles hips Ġof Ġthe Ġ1 st ĠDivision Ġ, Ġhe Ġturned Ġback Ġfor ĠPort ĠArthur Ġand ĠPet rop av lov sk Ġstruck Ġa Ġmine field Ġlaid Ġby Ġthe ĠJapanese Ġthe Ġprevious Ġnight Ġ. ĠThe ĠRussian Ġbattles hip Ġsank Ġin Ġless Ġthan Ġtwo Ġminutes Ġafter Ġone Ġof Ġher Ġmagazines Ġexploded Ġ, Ġand ĠMak arov Ġwas Ġone Ġof Ġthe Ġ6 77 Ġkilled Ġ. ĠEmb old ened Ġby Ġhis Ġsuccess Ġ, ĠT Åį g Åį Ġresumed Ġlong Ġ@ - @ Ġrange Ġbombardment Ġmissions Ġ, Ġprompting Ġthe ĠRussians Ġto Ġlay Ġmore Ġmine fields Ġ, Ġwhich Ġsank Ġtwo ĠJapanese Ġbattles hips Ġthe Ġfollowing Ġmonth Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠDuring Ġthe ĠBattle Ġof Ġthe ĠYellow ĠSea Ġon Ġ10 ĠAugust Ġ, ĠAs ahi Ġ, Ġnow Ġcommanded Ġby ĠCaptain ĠTs una ak ira ĠNom oto Ġ, Ġwas Ġsecond Ġin Ġline Ġof Ġthe Ġcolumn Ġof ĠJapanese Ġbattles hips Ġ, Ġbehind ĠMik asa Ġ, Ġand Ġwas Ġone Ġof Ġthe Ġprimary Ġtargets Ġof Ġthe ĠRussian Ġships Ġ. ĠShe Ġwas Ġonly Ġhit Ġby Ġa Ġsingle Ġ12 Ġ@ - @ Ġinch Ġshell Ġthat Ġwounded Ġtwo Ġcrew men Ġ. ĠBoth Ġguns Ġin Ġher Ġaft Ġ12 Ġ@ - @ Ġinch Ġgun Ġturret Ġ, Ġhowever Ġ, Ġwere Ġdisabled Ġby Ġshells Ġthat Ġdetonated Ġprematurely Ġin Ġtheir Ġbarrels Ġ. ĠIn Ġturn Ġshe Ġconcentrated Ġmost Ġof Ġher Ġfire Ġupon Ġthe Ġbattles hips ĠPol t ava Ġand ĠT ses are vich Ġalthough Ġboth Ġships Ġwere Ġonly Ġlightly Ġdamaged Ġby Ġthe ĠJapanese Ġshells Ġ, Ġwhich Ġgenerally Ġfailed Ġto Ġpenetrate Ġany Ġarmour Ġand Ġdetonated Ġon Ġimpact Ġ. ĠThe Ġship Ġmade Ġthe Ġcritical Ġhits Ġof Ġthe Ġbattle Ġ, Ġhowever Ġ, Ġwhen Ġtwo Ġof Ġher Ġ12 Ġ@ - @ Ġinch Ġshells Ġstruck Ġthe Ġbridge Ġof ĠT ses are vich Ġ, Ġkilling Ġthe ĠRussian Ġsquadron Ġcommander Ġ, ĠVice ĠAdmiral ĠWil gel m ĠVit ge ft Ġ, Ġtwo Ġof Ġhis Ġstaff Ġofficers Ġand Ġthe Ġship Ġ' s Ġquarter master Ġ. ĠThe Ġship Ġ' s Ġwheel Ġwas Ġjammed Ġto Ġport Ġby Ġwreckage Ġand Ġthen Ġslowed Ġto Ġa Ġhalt Ġwhich Ġthrew Ġthe Ġrest Ġof Ġthe ĠRussian Ġships Ġinto Ġtotal Ġconfusion Ġ. ĠThe Ġsecond Ġ@ - @ Ġin Ġ@ - @ Ġcommand Ġ, ĠRear ĠAdmiral ĠPrince ĠPavel ĠUk ht omsky Ġ, Ġeventually Ġgained Ġcontrol Ġof Ġthe Ġremainder Ġof Ġthe Ġsquadron Ġand Ġheaded Ġback Ġto ĠPort ĠArthur Ġ. ĠSlightly Ġmore Ġthan Ġtwo Ġmonths Ġlater Ġ, Ġon Ġ26 ĠOctober Ġ, ĠAs ahi Ġstruck Ġa Ġmine Ġoff ĠPort ĠArthur Ġwhile Ġon Ġblockade Ġduty Ġ. ĠSe vere ly Ġdamaged Ġ, Ġshe Ġwas Ġunder Ġrepair Ġat ĠS ase bo ĠNaval ĠArsenal Ġfrom ĠNovember Ġ1904 Ġto ĠApril Ġ1905 Ġ. ĠRussian Ġnaval Ġforces Ġin Ġthe ĠFar ĠEast Ġhad Ġbeen Ġdestroyed Ġor Ġneutral ized Ġby Ġthis Ġtime Ġand Ġthe ĠRussians Ġwere Ġforced Ġto Ġtransfer Ġships Ġfrom Ġthe ĠBaltic ĠFleet Ġthat Ġdid Ġnot Ġarrive Ġuntil ĠMay Ġ. Ġ Ġ Ġ= Ġ= Ġ= ĠBattle Ġof ĠTs ushima Ġ= Ġ= Ġ= Ġ Ġ ĠAt Ġthe ĠBattle Ġof