From the War Chronicles of Imperial Japan:
>> Battle of Hainan May 9, 1914 <<
Kaigun-chūjō Yamaya Tanin was satisfied. The Royal Navy definitely didn't have a good day today. Before Wēihǎiwèi it was a surprise attack, you couldn't count that. But today the Imperial Japanese Navy had to deal with a potentially superior and fully combat-ready opponent and was about to take down the most powerful ship. The crews of the torpedo boats, however, might judge it differently.
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The approach to the enemy battleship started excellently, but the other ships of the Royal Navy were also in a problematic situation.
Author’s note: Here you can see very nicely the "smoke screen" of the British.
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By Japanese standards, the torpedo attack went badly. Instead, the British had zeroed in on their goals.
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There was no time to lick wounds, they still had the momentum for themselves.
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The persistence was rewarded. Two torpedo hits in both sides of the hull were a clear signal to the enemy, especially since a protected cruiser was also hit by a torpedo.
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The Akigumo passed its target barely a hundred yards away and the crew saw a gaping hole in the hull of the giant. But there was not much time to take a closer look at the ship. Another torpedo was shot out of a launcher by the Akigumo, which ran straight towards its target and hit.
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All in all, however, more torpedoes missed the intended target than the Imperial Japanese Navy was used to so far. The Royal Navy was definitely a more difficult opponent than the Tsarist fleet of old. This was also due to the fact that the enemy torpedo boats seemed to take their task as escort ships seriously. Unlike the Russians, they did not simply abandon their capital ships.
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The battleship was anything but badly damaged, but it was rapidly losing speed. Apparently, it had hit the machine system. So this goal was now a found food. Only the torpedo stock was a problem. Many torpedo boats had already been shot almost empty.
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Kaigun-chūjō Yamaya Tanin watched the whole thing from a distance. He didn't want to risk hitting his own ships, as they were far too close to the enemy. The Sagami and Azuma therefore killed the last remaining troop transports and everything that could be safely taken under fire.
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The torpedo boats started a new attempt and at the same time tried not to get caught in the crossfire between the battleship and the British torpedo boats. Nevertheless, heavy hits on the Japanese side were not absent.
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The Japanese 7th Reconnaissance Division had now been instructed to employ the British torpedo boats so that the Japanese torpedo boats could attack the Royal Navy battleship in peace.
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#098 RTW2-JAP#