[Yun]

Just found this good site on the history of the Imperial Chinese Navy, with a focus on the Beiyang Navy that was destroyed in battle by the Japanese in 1894-95: http://www.beiyang.org/index.htm

Especially interesting is news that a project is underway to reconstruct the battleship Dingyuan 定远, flagship of the Beiyang Navy. Photos here: http://www.beiyang.org/dingyuan/bd.htm

Unfortunately, the English version of the site is not ready yet. Those of you who can't read Chinese can check back at a later date.

[Borjigin Ayurbarwada]

I might present a full detailed account of the sino-japanese naval war later. some of Zhen Yuan's (sister ship of Ding Yuan) parts I believe still exist in Japanese museums after they dismantled it.

[General_Zhaoyun]

It's a great site.. :P Are they an info on the type of warships used?

[Borjigin Ayurbarwada]

Ding Yuan and Zhen Yuan were large battleships, while others such as Fu Long are torpedo boats. Fast moving ships including Ji Yuan, however the japanese ships by 1890 were faster and was crucial to their victory.

btw did you know that the Bei Yang fleet at its height in the late 1880s is the strongest in Asia and rank 7th in the world even ahead of the United States navy which rank 12th.

[Yun]

Yes, that makes sense to me. The US only began its naval building programme under President Theodore Roosevelt in the 1890s - this was under the influence of Alfred Thayer Mahan, who had predicted that the US could become a great sea power with the opening of the Panama Canal.

I've always been interested to know who came up with the names for the ships in the Beiyang navy. Dingyuan ("Stabilising distant regions"), Zhenyuan ("Calming distant regions"), Jiyuan ("Bringing help to distant regions"), Jingyuan ("Pacifying distant regions"), Pingyuan ("Subduing distant regions"), etc. are all such meaningful names. But my personal favourite is Chaoyong ("Exceptional Courage"). I think it would be nice if the PRC navy started using warship names that express certain qualities, rather than naming their ships after provinces and cities, which can get really boring.

[Moping4U]

What ever happen to the Nanyang navy?

[Sephodwyrm]

It was destroyed in the harbor by the French navy after they failed to take Taiwan. In an effort not to escalate the war further, one of the Manchu commanders ordered the Nanyang fleet not to engage the French navy. This is not reciprocated by the French...

[Borjigin Ayurbarwada]

No its not completely destroyed, during the sino japanese war, Ding Ruchang still asked for the nan yang's help but twas refused by the admiral in command.

[Moping4U]

I think the fleet that was destroyed by the French was the Fuzhou Fleet or was it also part of the Nayang Fleet as well?

[Yun]

More on the Beiyang Navy, including a recent reconstruction of the Dingyuan: http://www.chinahist...p?showtopic=543

[astralis]

from Chu and Liu's "Li Hung-chang and China's Early Modernization,"

"Comprising 65.4 percent of the entire fleet, the seventeen ships were built abroad, thirteen in England and four in Germany. They were either battleships, cruisers, or other warships, except for one...Chen-yuan and Ting-yuan were built by the Vulcan shipyards in Germany and were each 298 feet, 5 inches long; 60 feet, 4 inches wide; and 19 feet, 6 inches in draft. The reinforced middle part of the hull was 144 feet long and 14 inches thick, the shielding of the gun deck was 12 inches thick, and that of the commander's deck, 8 inches thick. Both ships had 6,000 horsepower and a speed of 14.5 nautical miles per hour. They each carried ten cannon, including four heavy ones with a caliber of 12 inches installed front and back. Other artillery on each of these ships including ten five-barrel Gatling guns, 525 breechloading Gatling guns, and torpedoes. The two warships were very powerful and were considered of superior quality by international standards...

The modern navy was an innovation of the nineteenth century...Considering all aspects- industry, science, and technology, personnel, and finance- China at the time was quite unqualified to support a modern navy. It was only through the almost single-handed efforts of Li Hung-chang that the Peiyang Navy even came into existence. With ten years of continuous effort, he had created a fleet of 30 warships, 120 guns, and 4000 officers and men, superior, at least numerically, to Japan's naval forces."

pg. 256-9

[Miborovsky]

Thank you.

edit: wait, 525 gattling guns? Sure or not?

This post has been edited by mib: 12 August 2005 - 11:19 AM

[astralis]

well, my quote page was off: it's page 253-9, not 256. the source is a good one.

by the way, if you think about it, gatling guns in term of naval warfare of that period was not all that useful...

[Miborovsky]

astralis, on Aug 12 2005, 03:10 PM, said:

well, my quote page was off: it's page 253-9, not 256. the source is a good one.

by the way, if you think about it, gatling guns in term of naval warfare of that period was not all that useful...

Is it even possible to fit 525 gattling guns on a ship?

[Yun]

Read more closely - the source says there were only 10 of thr 5-barrell Gatlings we're familiar with. The other 525 'breech-loading' Gatling guns were probably just rifles.