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Description
Based on the British Royal Navy's Majestic-class battleships, HIJMS Shikishima* was built by the Thames Iron Works of Blackwall (London, England) and commissioned into the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) in 1900. It was joined by a sister, HIJMS Hatsuse, which was also funded by the indemnity China paid to Japan after the first Sino-Japanese War. HIJMS Shikishima participated in the February 1904 attack on Port Arthur that started the Russo-Japanese War, in which it was hit by a Russian shell and lightly damaged. That April, HIJMS Shikishima helped give Japan a more definite victory, acting as bait to lure Admiral Stepan Makarov into a Japanese minefield, which sunk his battleship Petropavlovsk and killed the admiral. In May, under the command of Admiral Tokioki, HIJMS Shikishima helped rescue the crews of HIJMS Hatsuse and HIJMS Yashima after they were both sunk by Russian mines, and skilfully threaded the minefield.

During the Battle of the Yellow Sea, HIJMS Shikishima temporarily lost the use of a gun when a shell exploded prematurely, and suffered a similar accident during the climactic Battle of Tsushima in May 1905. Despite the damage, HIJMS Shikishima helped sink two Russian ships: Oslyabya, the first modern battleship sunk entirely by gunfire, and Ural, an armed merchant cruiser sunk by a torpedo. HIJMS Shikishima was still in active service during World War I, though no longer on the front lines, and was demoted to a first-class coastal-defense ship after the Washington Naval Treaty severely restricted how many battleships Japan could have in service. It was used as a trainer, transport, and storage hulk until after World War II. In 1948, after almost half a century of service in half a dozen roles, HIJMS Shikishima was finally retired and scrapped at the Sasebo naval base. A model of the battleship is on display aboard the museum battleship HIJMS Mikasa in Yokosuka.

* 敷島 - A poetic name for Japan, literally "spread/scattered islands."

PS: Now I understand why the replacement for Levi in the live-action Attack on Titan film was named Shikishima. As with Mikasa, he shares a name with a historical warship. That still won't stop a lot of fans from considering him just a mustachioed Levi....

Description
Based on the British Royal Navy's Majestic-class battleships, HIJMS Shikishima* was built by the Thames Iron Works of Blackwall (London, England) and commissioned into the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) in 1900. It was joined by a sister, HIJMS Hatsuse, which was also funded by the indemnity China paid to Japan after the first Sino-Japanese War. HIJMS Shikishima participated in the February 1904 attack on Port Arthur that started the Russo-Japanese War, in which it was hit by a Russian shell and lightly damaged. That April, HIJMS Shikishima helped give Japan a more definite victory, acting as bait to lure Admiral Stepan Makarov into a Japanese minefield, which sunk his battleship Petropavlovsk and killed the admiral. In May, under the command of Admiral Tokioki, HIJMS Shikishima helped rescue the crews of HIJMS Hatsuse and HIJMS Yashima after they were both sunk by Russian mines, and skilfully threaded the minefield.

During the Battle of the Yellow Sea, HIJMS Shikishima temporarily lost the use of a gun when a shell exploded prematurely, and suffered a similar accident during the climactic Battle of Tsushima in May 1905. Despite the damage, HIJMS Shikishima helped sink two Russian ships: Oslyabya, the first modern battleship sunk entirely by gunfire, and Ural, an armed merchant cruiser sunk by a torpedo. HIJMS Shikishima was still in active service during World War I, though no longer on the front lines, and was demoted to a first-class coastal-defense ship after the Washington Naval Treaty severely restricted how many battleships Japan could have in service. It was used as a trainer, transport, and storage hulk until after World War II. In 1948, after almost half a century of service in half a dozen roles, HIJMS Shikishima was finally retired and scrapped at the Sasebo naval base. A model of the battleship is on display aboard the museum battleship HIJMS Mikasa in Yokosuka.

* 敷島 - A poetic name for Japan, literally "spread/scattered islands."

PS: Now I understand why the replacement for Levi in the live-action Attack on Titan film was named Shikishima. As with Mikasa, he shares a name with a historical warship. That still won't stop a lot of fans from considering him just a mustachioed Levi....