Chinese cruiser Jingyuan (1886)

Jingyuan

Company type	Protected cruiser
Industry	Naval military
Founded	20 October 1885
Founder	Armstrong Whitworth (builder)
Defunct	February 1895 (sunk and scuttled)
Fate	Sunk in battle and scuttled; salvaged and scrapped in 1896
Headquarters	Elswick , England, United Kingdom
Products	Warship (protected cruiser)

Overview of the Jingyuan

Jingyuan (Template:Lang-zh) was a protected cruiser operated by the Imperial Chinese Navy, constructed by Armstrong Whitworth at their Elswick shipyard in England. She belonged to the Zhiyuan-class alongside her sister ship, Zhiyuan. Unlike subsequent protected cruisers such as those in the Royal Navy's Pearl class, which featured numerous smaller-caliber weapons, Jingyuan was equipped with fewer but larger naval guns. This armament configuration reflected the era's emphasis on shell weight over rapid-fire capability, as medium-caliber quick-firing guns had not yet been introduced.

Both vessels served within the Beiyang Fleet. During the summer of 1889, Jingyuan participated in a naval squadron that visited various ports. Her combat debut occurred during the First Sino-Japanese War. At the Battle of the Yalu River on 17 September 1894, she survived alongside other Chinese cruisers but sustained damage from enemy fire. In February of the following year, during the Battle of Weihaiwei, she was struck by artillery originating from a seized Chinese fortification and sank upright in shallow waters. Admiral Ding Ruchang subsequently ordered her destruction through detonation of a naval mine. The ship was later salvaged in 1896 and dismantled for scrap.

Technical Specifications

• Type: Zhiyuan-class protected cruiser
• Displacement: Approximately 2,300 long tons
• Length: 268 feet (82 meters)
• Beam: 38 feet (12 meters)
• Draft: 15 feet (4.6 meters)
• Propulsion: Compound-expansion steam engine driving two screws powered by four boilers
• Maximum Speed: 18 knots (33 km/h; 21 mph)
• Coal Capacity: 510 tons
• Crew Complement: Between 204 and 260 officers and enlisted personnel

Armament

• 3 × 8-inch Krupp naval guns
• 2 × 6-inch Armstrong guns
• 8 × QF 6-pounder Hotchkiss guns
• 2 × QF 3-pounder Hotchkiss guns
• 8 × 1-pounder guns
• 6 × Gatling guns
• 4 × above-water torpedo tubes

Armor Protection

• Deck armor thickness: 4 inches on flat sections, tapering to 3 inches on slopes
• Gun shields armored with approximately 2 inches of protection

Construction and Fate

Ordered in October 1885 and laid down on 20 October that year at Armstrong Whitworth’s Elswick yard under hull number 494, Jingyuan was launched on 14 December 1886 and completed by 9 July 1887. After serving with distinction in the Beiyang Fleet and taking part in significant naval engagements during the First Sino-Japanese War, she met her demise in early February 1895 when sunk in shallow water following artillery damage at Weihaiwei. The vessel was subsequently scuttled under Admiral Ding Ruchang’s command through controlled explosion and later salvaged for scrapping in the subsequent year.

Design and description

When the order for Jingyuan was placed in October 1885, naval experts were actively debating the distinctions between armored cruisers and protected cruisers. During this period, Li Hongzhang, the Viceroy of Zhili province, was in Europe commissioning warships from Western shipbuilders. Unable to definitively choose between the two cruiser types, he decided to commission two vessels of each category as a trial. The contract for the two Zhiyuen-class cruiser protected cruisers was awarded to Armstrong Whitworth, located in Elswick, England, which was regarded as a premier builder of such ships at that time.

Jingyuan measured 268 feet (82 metres) in overall length, with a beam spanning 38 ft (12 m) and a draught of 15 ft (4.6 m). The vessel displaced approximately 2,300 long tons (2,300 tonnes) and accommodated a complement ranging from 204 to 260 officers and enlisted personnel. She featured an internal protective armored deck characteristic of Protected cruisers, with thicknesses of 4 inches (10 cm) on the sloped sections and 3 in (7.6 cm) on the horizontal portions. The superstructure was compartmentalized into watertight sections and included a raised forecastle and poop deck, a single funnel, and two masts. Propulsion was provided by a compound-expansion steam engine powered by four boilers driving two propellers, delivering an indicated horsepower of 6,850 indicated horsepower (5,110 kW) that enabled a maximum speed of 18.5 knots (34.3 km/h; 21.3 mph). The ship’s systems incorporated electrical and hydraulic mechanisms throughout, notably facilitating ammunition transfer from storage lockers to the guns.

Compared to earlier protected cruisers like the Chinese cruiser Chaoyong, which mounted a limited number of 10 in (25 cm) main guns, Jingyuan—though larger—was designed with a higher freeboard to enhance seaworthiness relative to the smaller vessel. Due to concerns over topweight caused by positioning the main artillery on both forecastle and poop decks, she was equipped with slightly smaller, lighter main guns than those on Chaoyong. Her primary armament comprised three breech-loading 8 in (20 cm) Krupp guns: two paired on a hydraulically operated rotating platform forward, and one mounted on a manually rotated platform aft. This arrangement still represented formidable firepower for a cruiser of her dimensions. Both gun mounts featured protective shields approximately 2 in (5.1 cm) thick. The secondary battery included two 6-inch (15 cm) Armstrong guns installed on sponsons along each side of the deck, contrasting with Chaoyong’s four limited-traverse 4.7-inch breech-loading weapons. Additional armaments comprised eight QF 6-pounder Hotchkiss guns mounted on Vavasseur mountings, two QF 3-pounder Hotchkiss guns, and eight 1-pounder guns designed for supplementary offensive roles or close-range torpedo defense. Beyond artillery, Jingyuan carried six gatling guns and four above-water torpedo tubes—two positioned forward and two aft—with the latter controlled electrically from the captain’s cabin.

Service record

After Hongzhang placed orders for two protected cruisers in October 1885, the keel of Jingyuan was laid on 20 October. The vessel's construction progressed throughout most of 1886, culminating in her launch on 14 December of that year. The ship reached official completion on 9 July 1887. Both Jingyuan and her sister ship, the armored cruiser Zhiyuen, began construction simultaneously; however, despite Zhiyuen being launched approximately six weeks prior to Jingyuan, she was finalized two weeks after her sister.

Once completed, these two cruisers, alongside the armored cruisers Jingyuan and Laiyuan, as well as a newly acquired Chinese torpedo boat, assembled in the Solent near Portsmouth in August 1887. Imperial Chinese Admiral William M. Lang, a former officer of the Royal Navy, was dispatched to Europe to assume command of this squadron during their voyage to China. Apart from a small contingent of Western advisors, the crews were predominantly Chinese, with Jingyuan commanded by Captain Yeh Tsu-kuei. While stationed in the Solent, Hongzhang conducted an inspection of the ships. Although it was expected that they would depart immediately for China, a lost anchor and necessary urgent repairs delayed their departure until 12 September. They reached Amoy (present-day Xiamen) in November and remained there through the winter before joining the Beiyang Fleet in Shanghai during spring.

In 1888, Jingyuan underwent a repaint along with other vessels in the Chinese Navy, transitioning from her original all-grey finish acquired in England to a Victorian-era style featuring a black hull, white areas above the waterline, and buff colored funnels. By May 1889, Jingyuan and the Beiyang Fleet were repositioned to strengthen defenses at Weihaiwei (now Weihai). That summer, she participated in a squadron under Admiral Ding Ruchang that visited Chefoo (currently Yantai), Chemlupo (modern-day Incheon, South Korea), and the Imperial Russian Navy base at Vladivostok. On their return journey, they made a stop at Fusan (now Busan, South Korea).

The Sino-Japanese War

Main article: First Sino-Japanese War

Jingyuan participated in one of the initial confrontations of the First Sino-Japanese War during the Battle of the Yalu River on 17 September 1894. The Chinese naval strategy involved pairing each vessel with another as a backup in case of communication breakdowns; accordingly, Jingyuan was grouped with the armored cruiser Laiyuan. Shortly after combat commenced, Admiral Ruchang’s signalling mast aboard the ironclad warship Dingyuan was disabled due to friendly fire. This incident forced the Chinese fleet to operate solely in pairs without centralized coordination throughout the engagement. Although Jingyuan and Laiyuan avoided as intense enemy fire as other Chinese ships, both vessels caught fire, with Laiyuan suffering severe damage. Following the battle, Jingyuan, along with the remainder of the Chinese fleet, retreated to Port Arthur (present-day Lüshunkou District). During this encounter, Jingyuan’’s sister ship, Zhiyuan, was among the Chinese cruisers sunk by Japanese forces.

The sinking of the Chinese warship Ching-Yuen in Wei-Hai-Wei harbour

After repairs were completed, the fleet departed on 20 October for Weihaiwei. While anchored there, they came under assault by the Imperial Japanese Army in January 1895 during the Battle of Weihaiwei. As Japanese troops seized control of sea fortifications flanking the harbor, the fleet endured daytime bombardments and nocturnal torpedo boat attacks. On the night of 5 February, a torpedo strike sank and capsized Laiyuan. Although Jingyuan escaped damage, it narrowly avoided a torpedo hit. On 9 February, while positioned in the harbor’s eastern section, Jingyuan was struck below its waterline by a shot fired from one of the captured Chinese forts and sank upright in shallow water. To prevent its capture by Japanese forces, Admiral Ruchang ordered a naval mine to be placed inside Jingyuan, which was detonated later that day, destroying the vessel. The ship was subsequently salvaged and dismantled during the following year.

References

• Chesneau, Roger & Kolesnik, Eugene M., eds. (1979). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1860–1905. Greenwich, UK: Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 0-85177-245-5.
• DeFrancis, John (1984). The Chinese Language: Fact and Fantasy. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press. ISBN 978-0-585-31289-7.
• Wright, Richard N.J. (2000). The Chinese Steam Navy. London: Chatham Publishing. ISBN 978-1-86176-144-6.

External links

• Category:Media related to Jingyuan (ship, 1885)