Zhiyuan
.svg){kind=small}
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 the cruiser Zhiyuan |
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| Overview | |
| Type | Protected cruiser |
| units | Armstrong, Mitchell & Co. , Elswick , Building N ° 493 |
| Keel laying | October 20, 1885 |
| Launch | September 29, 1886 |
| Commissioning | July 23, 1887 |
| Whereabouts | Sunk on September 17, 1894 |
| Technical specifications | |
| displacement |
2355 ts |
| length |
81.4 m (267 ft) overall |
| width |
11.3 m (38 ft) |
| Draft |
4.8 m |
| crew |
260 men |
| drive |
4 cylinder boiler, |
| speed |
18.5 kn in the test, normal 15 kn |
| Range |
6000 nm at 10 kn |
| Armament |
3 × 210 mm Krupp cannon |
| Coal supply |
200, max. 510 ts, |
| Armor deck |
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| Gun turret |
51 mm |
| Sister ship |
Jingyuan , also called Ching Yuen , |
The Zhiyuan ( Chinese 致遠 / 致远 ) was a protected cruiser of the Chinese Beiyang fleet . Contemporary the name was mostly transferred to Chih Yuen .
Together with the sister ship Jingyuan , then mostly called Ching Yuen , she was designed and built by Armstrong, Mitchell & Co in Elswick. The two ships were so-called Elswick cruisers , as they were also bought by Chile and Japan. The Zhiyuan was sunk in the Sino-Japanese War in the sea battle at Yalu , where it distinguished itself through a determined fight.
Building history
The Chinese Navy decided in 1881 to source modern ships from Germany, which at the time was not a major military power in East Asia. With the Dingyuan she received one of the most modern battleships of her time. The major order from the new Chinese fleet was followed in 1885 by the order for two small armored cruisers or armored cannon boats from the German Vulcan shipyard in Stettin , the Jingyuan and the Laiyuan . At the same time, two protected cruisers were ordered from Armstrong . British industry pushed for participation in Chinese contracts, and Chinese circles were also interested for financial reasons and for British training aid.
The Zhiyuan and her sister ship displaced 2355 ts and had a hull divided into twelve compartments, which had a double bottom almost entirely. They were two-masted ships with a funnel and a low freeboard. The two machines had been supplied by Hawthorn, Leslie & Company and had a blower device that created an artificial draft to reach a top speed of 18 knots .
Although relatively small, both ships were heavily armed. On the forecastle they had two 210 mm L / 35 Krupp cannons in a double turret designed by Armstrong, which was moved hydraulically. A third 210 mm Krupp gun served as a manually aimed rear gun with a protective shield. The magazines for the three Krupp cannons were among the guns. The heavy Krupp guns were retained for reasons of uniformity. As medium artillery, two Armstrong cannons of 152 mm were placed amidships on side bulges relatively low. The four torpedo tubes were rigidly installed on the deck at the bow and stern and movable on each side.
Mission history
The Zhiyuan / Chih Yuen and her sister ship Jingyuan / Ching Yuen were completed in July 1887. Chinese seafarers took over the ships in Newcastle-upon-Tyne and tested them with shipyard staff. Finally, the two cruisers together with the German-built Jingyuan / King Yuan and Laiyuan / Lai Yuen under the orders of the British advisor William Lang (1843-1906) were transferred from Portsmouth to China from September 12 to November 1887 with few foreign specialists . There they joined the Northern Fleet (Beiyang Fleet), formed in 1888 and based in Weihaiwei, and carried out inspection trips in Northern China between Shanghai and Taku . With the increasing tensions between China and Japan, Zhiyuan accompanied the transports of Chinese soldiers to Korea from June 1894 , like other ships in the Beiyang fleet.
The Zhiyuan / Chih Yuen was commanded at the beginning of the Sino-Japanese War by Captain Deng Shichang , who had already transported the cruiser from Great Britain, and was a participant in the sea battle at Yalu against the Japanese fleet on September 17, 1894. She was part of the part the Chinese fleet, which was separated from the rest of the fleet at an early stage by the Japanese "Flying Division" of Rear Admiral Tsuboi Kōzō ( Yoshino , Takachiho , their sister ship Naniwa , and Akitsushima ). The faster Japanese determined the combat distance and had a considerably higher rate of fire. The already badly damaged Zhiyuan ran towards the Japanese cruiser and sank at 3:30 p.m. over the bow with the engines running with almost the entire crew. The fact that she tried to ram the Yoshino is described by the Japanese as rudder damage. A hit in the bow torpedo system of the Zhiyuan / Chih Yuen is suspected to be the cause of the sinking .
Sister ship Jingyuan / Ching Yuen
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The keel laying of the sister ship Jingyuan / Ching Yuen ( Chinese 靖遠 / 靖远 ) also took place on October 20, 1885. The second cruiser of this class was launched on December 14, 1886 and it was in front of the sister ship on July 9, 1887 by the Chinese taken over. With the sister ship Zhiyuan and the two small armored cruisers built in Germany, she moved to China from September 12 to November 1887. The cruiser was commanded by the Chinese Ye Zuogui and had only a few foreign advisors on board.
The missions of the Jingyuan / Ching Yuen were similar to those of the Zhiyuan . In the sea battle on the Yalu, she was on the other side of the Chinese battle line, which remained together in the battle with the large tower ships. Jingyuan was damaged in the battle (2 dead, 14 wounded), but was able to withdraw with the main forces of the Beiyang fleet to Lüshunkou (later Port Arthur), where it was repaired. Eventually she moved to Weihaiwei with the fleet.
Jingyuan took an active part in the defense of the beleaguered Chinese base. On February 9, 1895, she was hit below the waterline by shells from one of the Chinese forts that had already been conquered by the Japanese and then sunk in shallow water. In order to prevent a salvage being possible, the bow torpedo system was blown up by a European advisor, which completely destroyed the wreck.
literature
- Peter Brooke: Warships for Export: Armstrong Warships 1867-1927. World Ship Society, Gravesend 1999, ISBN 0-905617-89-4 .
- Roger Chesneau, Eugene M. Kolesnik (Eds.): All The World's Fighting Ships 1860-1905. Conway Maritime Press, reprinted 2002, ISBN 0-85177-133-5 .
- Chunxiao Jing: With barbarians against barbarians. LIT-Verlag, Berlin-Münster 2002, ISBN 3-8258-6514-2 .
- Richard NJ Wright: The Chinese Steam Navy 1862-1945. Chatham Publishing, London 2000, ISBN 1-86176-144-9 .
Web links
- Battle of the Yalu in Sinojapanesewar (engl.)
- Zhiyuan / Chih Yuen in battleships-cruisers (engl.)
- Battle of the Yalu in Russojapanesewar
- Battle of the Yalu with silhouettes and details of the ships involved