BrandWikiReturn

Uraga Dock Company

Uraga Dock Company (浦賀船渠株式会社) was a major privately owned shipyard in Uraga, Japan, which built numerous warships for the Imperial Japanese Navy.

History

Uraga Dock Company was founded by Enomoto Takeaki in 1869. A shipyard had already existed in Uraga from the end of the Edo period. When Commodore Perry's flagship anchored off Uraga in 1854, one of the officials of the Tokugawa shogunate who boarded the American vessel was a trained shipwright, Nakajima Saburosuke. His observation of the ship's interior enabled him to deduce the details of its design and construction, and after the departure of Perry back to the United States, the government ordered him to start construction of a three-masted barque, called the Hōō maru. He subsequently participated in the repair of the Dutch-built Kanrin maru, during which time he constructed the first dry dock built in Japan in 1859. However, the Tokugawa government decided to establish its own shipyards at nearby Yokosuka, and the Uraga facilities went out of business in 1876.

Nakajima died during the Boshin War of the Meiji restoration fighting on the Tokugawa side. After the establishment of the Meiji government, his former colleagues Enomoto Takeaki and Arai Ikunosuke gained important positions in the new administration, and supported the establishment of a modern shipyard on the foundation established by Nakajima. The new facility was inaugurated in 1897, and faced an immediate crisis when Tokyo-based Ishikawajima Harima opened a rival facility the following year and started to dump prices in an effort to destroy its competition. Uraga Dock Company managed to buy out Ishikawajima in 1902.

In 1906, Uraga Dock Company launched its first destroyer for the Imperial Japanese Navy, the Nagatsuki. Over its subsequent history, the dockyards at Uraga constructed over 1000 vessels, including ferries, passenger liners, training vessels, and warships of various sizes. Numerous vessels were also produced for the export market.

By 1919, Uraga Dock Company was considered one of the largest and best equipped private shipyards in the world.[1] Subsidiary companies were established in Yokkaichi, Mie and in Qingdao.

Uraga Dock Company was also characterized by its organized labor force, one of the earliest in Japan, which went on strike in 1905–1907, 1910–1911, and in 1915.

In post war Japan, Uraga Dock Company was acquired by the Sumitomo group in 1969. It was modernized extensively on several occasions, but increasing competitive pressures from overseas ship builders forced Sumitomo to close down operations in 2003.

Ships built

(dates are launch dates)

  • Light cruisers
  • 2 of 6 Nagara-class cruiser
  • JAPANESE CRUISER Isuzu (29 October 1921)
  • JAPANESE CRUISER Abukuma (16 March 1923)
  • Destroyers
  • 2 of 32 Kamikaze-class destroyer
  • JAPANESE DESTROYER Nagatsuki (15 December 1906)
  • JAPANESE DESTROYER Kikutsuki (10 April 1907)
  • 0 of 2 Umikaze-class destroyer
  • 0 of 2 Sakura-class destroyer
  • 0 of 2 Urakaze-class destroyer
  • 1 of 10 Kaba-class destroyer
  • JAPANESE DESTROYER Kiri (28 February 1915)
  • 0 of 4 Isokaze-class destroyer
  • 0 of 4 Momo-class destroyer
  • 4 of 21 Momi-class destroyer
  • JAPANESE DESTROYER Kaki (20 October 1919)
  • JAPANESE DESTROYER Hagi (29 October 1920)
  • JAPANESE DESTROYER Hishi (9 May 1921)
  • JAPANESE DESTROYER Hasu (8 December 1921)
  • 0 of 15 Minekaze-class destroyer
  • 2 of 8 Wakatake-class destroyer
  • JAPANESE DESTROYER Sanae (15 February 1923)
  • JAPANESE DESTROYER Sawarabi (1 November 1923)
  • 1 of 9 Kamikaze-class destroyer
  • JAPANESE DESTROYER Oite (27 November 1924)
  • 3 of 12 Mutsuki-class destroyer
  • JAPANESE DESTROYER Yayoi (11 July 1925)
  • JAPANESE DESTROYER Minazuki (25 May 1926)
  • JAPANESE DESTROYER Mochizuki (28 April 1927)
  • 5 of 24 Fubuki-class destroyer
  • JAPANESE DESTROYER Miyuki (26 June 1928)
  • JAPANESE DESTROYER Isonami (24 November 1927)
  • JAPANESE DESTROYER Sagiri (23 December 1929)
  • JAPANESE DESTROYER Ushio (17 November 1930)
  • JAPANESE DESTROYER Ikazuchi (22 October 1931)
  • 2 of 6 Hatsuharu-class destroyer
  • JAPANESE DESTROYER Nenohi (22 December 1932)
  • JAPANESE DESTROYER Hatsushimo (4 November 1933)
  • 4 of 10 Shiratsuyu-class destroyer
  • JAPANESE DESTROYER Shigure (18 May 1935)
  • JAPANESE DESTROYER Samidare (6 July 1935)
  • JAPANESE DESTROYER Yamakaze (21 February 1936)
  • JAPANESE DESTROYER Suzukaze (11 March 1937)
  • 1 of 10 Asashio-class destroyer
  • JAPANESE DESTROYER Kasumi (18 November 1937)
  • 6 of 19 Kagero-class destroyer
  • JAPANESE DESTROYER Shiranui (28 June 1938)
  • JAPANESE DESTROYER Hayashio (19 April 1939)
  • JAPANESE DESTROYER Tokitsukaze (10 November 1939)
  • JAPANESE DESTROYER Hamakaze (25 November 1940)
  • JAPANESE DESTROYER Hagikaze (18 June 1940)
  • JAPANESE DESTROYER Akigumo (11 April 1941)
  • 6 of 19 Yugumo-class destroyer
  • JAPANESE DESTROYER Kazagumo (26 September 1941)
  • JAPANESE DESTROYER Takanami (16 March 1942)
  • JAPANESE DESTROYER Kiyonami (17 August 1942)
  • JAPANESE DESTROYER Suzunami (26 December 1942)
  • JAPANESE DESTROYER Kishinami (19 August 1943)
  • JAPANESE DESTROYER Kiyoshimo (29 February 1944)
  • 1 of 12 Akizuki-class destroyer
  • JAPANESE DESTROYER Yoizuki (25 September 1944)

External links

References

  1. Brown, the Mastery of the Far East^