View source for Japanese gunboat Toba

{{Short description|River gunboat of the Imperial Japanese Navy}}
{|{{Infobox ship begin}}
{{Infobox ship image
|Ship image= Japanese gunboat Toba 1935.jpg
|Ship caption= ''Toba'' in 1935
}}
{{Infobox ship career
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|Ship country=Japan 
|Ship flag=[[File:Naval Ensign of Japan.svg|100x35px|Japanese Navy Ensign]]
|Ship name=''Toba''
|Ship namesake=
|Ship ordered= 1910 Fiscal Year
|Ship builder=  [[Sasebo Naval Arsenal]]
|Ship laid down=  7 July 1911
|Ship launched=   7 November 1911
|Ship completed=  
|Ship acquired=  
|Ship commissioned=  17 November 1911
|Ship decommissioned=		
|Ship in service=
|Ship out of service=
|Ship struck=  
|Ship homeport=
|Ship honours=
|Ship fate=  Ceded to China 1945
|Ship notes=
}}
{{Infobox ship career
 | Hide header =title
|Ship country=Taiwan
|Ship flag={{shipboxflag|Republic of China|naval}}
 | Ship name = ''Yong Ji'' & ''Haoxue'' 
 | Ship namesake =  
 | Ship commissioned=  17 April 1948
| Ship fate = captured by PRC in Chinese Civil War
 | Ship struck = 
 | Ship honors =  
 | Ship notes =  
}}
{{Infobox ship career
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|Ship country=China
|Ship flag={{shipboxflag|China|naval}}
 | Ship name = ''Xiang Jiang''
 | Ship namesake =  
 | Ship acquired =  29 November 1949
 | Ship fate = Scrapped in 1960s
 | Ship struck = 
 | Ship honors =  
 | Ship notes =  
}}

{{Infobox ship characteristics
|Hide header=
|Header caption= 
|Ship type= [[River gunboat]]
|Ship displacement={{convert|250|LT|t|0|abbr=on}} initial 
|Ship length={{convert|54.86|m|ft}} 
|Ship beam={{convert|8.23|m|ft}}
|Ship draught={{convert|0.79|m|ft}}.
|Ship propulsion=3-shaft [[triple expansion steam engine|reciprocating VTE engines]]; 2 boilers; {{convert|1400|hp|abbr=on}}
|Ship speed={{convert|15|kn|mph km/h|lk=in}}  
|Ship range= 
|Ship complement=59
|Ship armament=*2× {{convert|80|mm|in|abbr=on}}/28 [[Caliber#Caliber as measurement of length|cal.]] guns
*6× 6.6mm [[machine gun]]s 
|Ship armour=
|Ship notes=
}}
|}
{{nihongo|'''''Toba'''''|鳥羽 | }} (meaning "bird wing") was a [[river gunboat]] of the [[Imperial Japanese Navy]], part of the 11th Gunboat ''[[Sentai]]'', that operated on the [[Yangtze River]] in China during the 1930s, and during the [[Second Sino-Japanese War]] and [[World War II]].

==Background==
''Toba'' was intended as a replacement for the British-built river gunboats {{ship|Japanese gunboat|Sumida|1903|2}} and {{ship|Japanese gunboat|Fushimi|1906|2}} for operations on the inland waterways of China under the 1910 fiscal year budget.<ref name=Jentsura>Jentsura, ''Warships of the Imperial Japanese Navy''; page 120</ref>  
.
''Toba'' was laid down at [[Sasebo Naval Arsenal]] on 7 July 1911, launched on 7 November 1911 and entered service on 17 November 1911.<ref name= Nishidah>Nishida, '' Ships of the Imperial Japanese Navy''</ref>

==Design==
The basic design of ''Toba'' was modeled after her British built predecessors, but with slightly larger dimensions and much more powerful engines. ''Toba'' had a hull with an overall length of {{convert|54.86|m|ft}} and width of {{convert|8.23|m|ft}}, with a normal displacement of 250 tons and draft of {{convert|0.79|m|ft}}. She was propelled by two reciprocating engines with two Kampon boilers driving three shafts, producing {{convert|1400|hp|abbr=on}} and had a top speed of 15 knots.<ref name=Gardner>Conway, '' Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1906–1921'', page 249</ref>

The ship was initially armed with two {{convert|80|mm|in|abbr=on}}/28 [[Caliber#Caliber as measurement of length|cal.]] guns and six 6.6mm [[machine gun]]s.<ref name=Gardner/>

==Service record==
The [[Xinhai Revolution]] in China occurred during 1911, and ''Toba'' was dispatched to mainland China immediately on completion, together with the cruiser {{ship|Japanese cruiser|Kasagi||2}} and assigned to the [[China Area Fleet]]. As ''Toba'' was incapable of open ocean sailing, she was transported in a [[floating dry dock]] to [[Shanghai]]. She was assigned to patrols of the [[Yangtze River]] from Shanghai to the [[Three Gorges]], for commerce protection and as a [[show of force]] in protection of Japanese nationals and economic interests.

During [[World War I]], due to the official [[Neutrality (international relations)|neutrality]] of the [[Republic of China (1912–1949)|Republic of China]], ''Toba'''s weaponry was placed under lock in 1914, and was not freed until China officially joined the [[Allies of World War I|Allies]].

''Toba'' was reassigned to the [[1st Fleet (Imperial Japanese Navy)|Japanese First Fleet]] in 1919 and to the [[3rd Fleet (Imperial Japanese Navy)|Japanese Third Fleet]] in 1933. She was returned to [[Kure Naval Arsenal]] from April to June 1937 for modernization and upgrades to her weaponry.  These  changes resulted in an increase in beam from 8.99 to 9.78 meters. She was rearmed with one [[12 cm/45 10th Year Type naval gun]], dual 76&nbsp;mm/40 guns, dual 7.7&nbsp;mm machine guns; and dual 76&nbsp;mm/40 anti-aircraft guns, and two dual [[Hotchkiss M1929 machine gun|{{convert|13.2|mm|in|abbr=on}}]] machine guns and one [[depth charge]] thrower .<ref name=Parshall>{{cite web|last=Parshall|first=Jonathan|title=Hokan!|url= http://www.combinedfleet.com/Toba_t.htm |work=www.combinedfleet.com}}</ref>

With the start of the [[Second Sino-Japanese War]] in July 1937, ''Toba'' was recalled to Shanghai from her base in [[Yichang]], [[Hubei Province]] to assist in the evacuation of 20,000 of Shanghai’s 30,000 Japanese civilian residents during the [[Battle of Shanghai]] .<ref name= Parshall/>

During the [[Battle of Madang (1938)|Battle of Madang]] on 26 June 1938, ''Toba'' assisted the [[minelayer]]s {{ship|Japanese minelayer|Nasami||2}}, {{ship|Japanese minelayer|Natsushima|1933|2}} and {{ship|Japanese minelayer|Tsubame||2}} in bombarding Chinese positions and in minesweeping operations.<ref name= Parshall/>

With the start of [[World War II]] on 8 December 1941, ''Toba'' assisted in the sinking of the [[Royal Navy]] gunboat {{HMS|Peterel|1927}} and the capture of the [[US Navy]] gunboat {{USS|Wake|PR-3}}. She continued to make patrols on the lower reaches of the Yangzi River from 1942 through 1945, with service and overhaul at increasingly frequent intervals at the [[Jiangnan Shipyard]] in Shanghai.<ref name= Parshall/>

Abandoned by Japanese forces in Shanghai at the [[surrender of Japan]] in September 1945, she was captured by the [[Republic of China (1912–1949)|Republic of China]] and incorporated into the Chinese Navy as the gunboat ''Yong Ji'' (永济). After a successful fight against communists in the town of ''Haoxue'' (郝穴) in [[Jiangling County]], the ship was renamed after the town on 17 April 1948. She was then captured by the People’s Republic of China in the [[Chinese Civil War]] and commissioned into the [[People's Liberation Army Navy]] on 29 November 1949 as the gunboat ''Xiang Jiang'' (湘江).<ref name= Jentsura/> She continued to be used until scrapped in the 1960s.

==References==
* {{cite book|last=Konstam|first=Angus|title=Yangtze River Gunboats 1900–49|publisher=Osprey Publishing|year=2012|isbn= 9781849084086}}
* {{cite book|last=Howarth|first=Stephen|title=The Fighting Ships of the Rising Sun: The Drama of the Imperial Japanese Navy, 1895-1945|publisher=Atheneum|year=1983|isbn=0-689-11402-8}}
* {{cite book|last= Gardner |first= Robert|title= Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1906–1921. |publisher= Conway Marine Press |year=1985|isbn=0-85177-245-5 }}
* {{cite book|last=Jentsura|first=Hansgeorg|title=Warships of the Imperial Japanese Navy, 1869-1945|publisher=Naval Institute Press|location=Annapolis, MD|year=1976|isbn=0-87021-893-X}}

==External links==
* {{cite web| last = Nishida| first = Hiroshi| url = http://admiral31.world.coocan.jp/e/stc0655.htm | title = Materials of IJN|  work = Imperial Japanese Navy}}
* [http://www.ibiblio.org/pha/monos/144/144chap2.html#Shanghai%20Incident  Monograph 144 Chapter II]
*{{cite web|last=Parshall|first=Jonathan|title=Hokan!|url= http://www.combinedfleet.com/Toba_t.htm |work=www.combinedfleet.com}}

==Notes==
{{reflist}}

{{Imperial Japanese Navy}}
{{WWII Japanese ships}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Toba}}
[[Category:Gunboats of the Imperial Japanese Navy]]
[[Category:Second Sino-Japanese War naval ships of Japan]]
[[Category:Ships built by Sasebo Naval Arsenal]]
[[Category:1911 ships]]
[[Category:Captured ships]]
[[Category:Ships of the Republic of China Navy]]
[[Category:Gunboats of the People's Liberation Army Navy]]