Imperial Ming Navy – Transport Gunboats Fu Po was the lead ship of six armed transports, built by and for the Imperial Chinese Navy, at the Foochow Arsenal shipyard, all between 1870 and 1876. They were an important milestone, as the first home-built Western-style ships, although stil with wooden hulls. The shipyard at the time … Read more
Ning Hai class cruisers (1931) Chinese Republic – Ning Hai, Ping Hai The Last Chinese Cruisers The Ning Hai class cruisers were the culmination of many “firsts” and “lasts”: First cruisers of the feldgling Chinese Republic, first built in Japan, and last Chinese cruisers overall (although arguably the new Type 055 missile destroyers of the … Read more
Chao Ho class cruisers (1911) Chinese Empire – Chao Ho, Ying Swei, Fei Hung Training cruisers to Brit-US Yards The Chao Ho class (肇和 or ‘Harmonious Beginnings’) were protected cruisers ordered by the Qing Dynasty in 1910 and later used by the Republic of China Navy. They fought in the Second Zhili–Fengtian War, Northern Expedition, … Read more
Chao Yung (Chaoyong) class protected cruisers (1880) Chinese Empire – Chao Yung, Yang Wei The oldest Chinese protected cruisers – The Chao Yung class was part of the rearmament naval program destined to the Beiyang fleet. They were designed by Vickers architect and built at the Mitchell Yard, and completed with British armament all around. … Read more
Hai Tien class protected cruisers (1898) Chinese Empire/Republic – Hai Tien, Hai Chi (1898) The largest Chinese cruisers in 1900 – The Hai Tien class were two 4,300 tons armoured cruisers built in Great Britain, at the Armstrong yard, and on a popular model pioneered by the Esmeralda. Steel-hulled, two funnels, two masts with fighting … Read more
Hai Yung class protected cruisers (1897) Chinese Beiyang Fleet – Hai Yung, Hai Chou, Hai Chen The Chinese German-built cruisers – After the crippling losses of the Sino-Japanese war, and ten years after the losses of the Sino-French war, the Chinese Navy needed to be bolstered again. Due to conflicting intererests with the British and … Read more
Dingyuan class ironclads (1881) Chinese Beiyang Fleet The first and last Chinese battleships The present ironclads had many names, in modern Chinese called 定远, they were known in pinyin as Dìngyǔan and in the Wade–Giles dictionary Ting Yuen or Ting Yuan. With her sister-ship Zhenyuan, Dingyuan was the largest military ship ever to bear the … Read more
Pao Min (1885) Chinese Nanyang Fleet One of the forgotten gunboat-size Chinese cruisers – In 1880 the concept of cruiser was rather new. Not long ago, mixed Frigates were still the norm. This was a time for transition in which Vickers-Armstrong ruled the trade and wrote the book, providing cheap ‘cruisers’ to the world. Countries … Read more
