before returning to Japan via the Suez Canal and Indian Ocean, thus circumnavigating the globe. After her return to Japan, Tsukuba was assigned to Commander Hirose Katsuhiko (the brother of the war hero Hirose Takeo) and escorted the United States Navy’s Great White Fleet through Japanese waters on its around-the-world voyage in October 1908. Commander Isamu Takeshita was the commander of Tsukuba from July through September 1912, followed by Captain Kantarō Suzuki to May 1913, and Commander Katō Hiroharu from December 1913 to May 1914. Tsukuba served in World War I, initially during the blockade of the German port of Tsingtao in China during the Battle of Tsingtao from September 1914 as part of Japan's contribution to the Allied war effort under the Anglo-Japanese Alliance. After the fall of the city, Tsukuba was sent out as part of the search for the German East Asiatic Squadron in the South Pacific until the destruction of the German squadron in the Battle of the Falklands in December 1914. Tsukuba remained in Japanese home waters in 1915 and 1916. On 4 December 1915, Tsukuba was in a fleet review off of Yokohama, attended by Emperor Taishō in which 124 ships participated. A similar fleet review was held again off Yokohama on 25 October 1916. On 14 January 1917, Tsukuba exploded while in port at Yokosuka. Some 200 crewmen were killed immediately, and over 100 more were drowned as the cruiser sank in shallow waters within twenty minutes, with a total loss of 305 men. The force of the explosion broke windows in Kamakura, more than twelve kilometers away. At the time of the disaster, more than 400 crewmen were on shore leave, which is why so many survived. The cause of the explosion was later attributed to a fire in her ammunition magazine, possibly through spontaneous combustion from deterioration of the Shimose powder in her shells. The masts, bridge and smokestacks of the vessel remained above water, and afterwards, her hulk was raised, and used as a target for naval aviation training. It was formally removed from the navy list on 1 September 1917 and broken up for scrap in 1918. Notes References External links New York Times article on loss of Tsukuba Tsukuba-class cruisers Ships built by Kure Naval Arsenal 1905 ships World War I cruisers of Japan Battlecruisers of the Imperial Japanese Navy Maritime incidents in 1917 Ships sunk by non-combat