of which was normally underwater. The upper strake of belt armor was thick and extended from the upper edge of the waterline belt to the main deck. It extended from the forward to the rear barbette. Azuma had only a single transverse 76 mm armored bulkhead that closed off the forward end of the central armored citadel. The barbettes, gun turrets and the front of the casemates were all 152 millimeters thick while the sides and rear of the casemates were protected by of armor. The deck was thick and the armor protecting the conning tower was in thickness. Construction and career The contract for Azuma, named after the Kantō region, was signed on 12 October 1897 with Ateliers et Chantiers de la Loire, and the ship was laid down at their shipyard in Saint-Nazaire on 1 February 1898. She was launched on 24 June 1898 and completed on 29 July 1900. Azuma left for Japan the next day and arrived in Yokosuka on 29 October. Captain Fujii Kōichi assumed command before the start of the Russo-Japanese War in February 1904, until he was relieved in January 1905 by Captain Murakami Kakuichi. Russo-Japanese War At the start of the Russo-Japanese War, Azuma was assigned to the 2nd Division of the 2nd Fleet. She participated in the Battle of Port Arthur on 9 February 1904, when Vice Admiral Tōgō Heihachirō led the Combined 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 , which was patrolling offshore and alerted the Russians. Tōgō chose to attack the Russian coastal defenses 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- 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 some 150, while the Japanese suffered roughly 90 killed and wounded before Tōgō disengaged. In early March, Vice Admiral Kamimura Hikonojō was tasked to take the