River Gunboats
Page 11
The rebels’ armed steamer Taiping in action in a lithograph by Day & Son, NAVAL ENGAGEMENT AND CAPTURE OF IMPERIALIST GUNBOATS AT WUSEE. (From Lin-Le: Ti-Ping Tien-Kwoh, The History Of The Ti-Ping Revolution, Volume II)
Faced with the devastating attacks by Imperial gunboats led by the Hyson, Lin-Le, Commander of the Loyal and Faithful Auxiliary Legion, decided to capture an armed steamer. He cut out an (unnamed) Imperial steamer, renamed her the Taiping, and proceeded to use her to capture Wu-See. She was armed with a pivot-mounted 32-pounder in the bow, and a 12-pounder howitzer in the stern.
Following the defeat of the Taiping rebels, the Imperial Navy commissioned many warships. The following gunboats saw service on the Yangtze and other rivers:
Tien Chi
In 1868 the first Chinese-built warship, the wooden Tien Chi, entered service. She was seized by the British on 8 November 1868 at Nanking, and held until reparations were made for an attack on British missionaries.
Launched:
1868 by Kiangnan Dockyard, Shanghai, wooden-hulled, new boiler but engine taken from an existing ship.
Dimensions:
Displ: 600 tons; L: 56.4m/185ft; B: 8.3m/27ft 3in.
Power/Speed:
Side paddle wheels; horizontal steam engine, 150ihp.
Guns/Armour:
15 × 24-pounder SB.
Fate:
Stricken 1902.
Tse Hai
Tien Chi was followed a year later by the screw-propeller Tse Hai, built for the Nanyang Fleet.
Launched:
1869 by Kiangnan Dockyard, Shanghai; Wooden-hulled.
Dimensions:
Displ: 600 tons; L: 53.4m/175ft 2in; B: 8.45m/27ft 8in.
Power/Speed:
Single screw; horizontal steam engine, 430ihp/12.5 knots.
Guns/Armour:
15 × 12cm; 1885: 1 × 40-pounder Armstrong chase gun (?)
Fate:
Stricken 1902.
Ts’aochiang in Japanese service as Soko after 1894. (Photo US Naval Heritage #NH74427)
Ts’aochiang
Completed in 1879, initially used on the Yangtze before moving to the Northern Fleet. Similar to the Tse Hai, she was captured by Japanese cruiser Akitsushima on 25 July 1894, serving until 1902 in the Japanese Navy as Soko.
Launched:
1876 by Kiangnan Dockyard, Shanghai; Wooden-hulled.
Dimensions:
Displ: 640 tons; L: 54.8m/180ft 0in; B: 8.6m/28ft 2in; D: 3.12m/10ft 3in.
Crew:
79.
Power/Speed:
Single screw; horizontal steam engine, 400ihp/12.5 knots.
Guns/Armour:
4 × 16cm.
Fate:
Captured by the Japanese 1894.
Wei Ching
In 1870 the wooden Wei Ching joined the Nanyang Fleet.
Launched:
1870 by Kiangnan Dockyard, Shanghai; Wooden-hulled.
Dimensions:
Displ: 1,000 tons; L: 62.5m/205ft; B: 9.85m/32ft 4in.
Power/Speed:
Single screw; horizontal steam engine, 600ihp/12 knots.
Guns/Armour:
1 × 7in MLR; 4 × 56-pounder BL.
Fate:
Stricken 1902.
Kwang Wu and Kuang Chi
Two small gunboats described as ‘river cruisers’, built by the Foochow Arsenal, dimensions 150ft × 20ft (4.7m × 6.1m). No further details are known.
Hai Ching
HMS Swift, a composite screw gun vessel of the Linnet class, was sold out of RN service at Hong Kong in 1902. She became the merchant ship Swift, then Hoi Ching. It is believed she was re-armed by Chinese warlord Sun Chuan-fang as his gunboat Hai Ching. She was sunk in Hangchow Bay in November 1925 by auxiliary warships Chen Hai and Wen Hai.
Launched:
29 November 1879 by Green of Blackwell.
Dimensions:
Displ: 456 tons; L: 50m/165ft; B: 8.8m/29ft; D: 4.3m/14ft?
Power/Speed:
Single screw; VTE steam engine, 790ihp?/11 knots?
Guns/Armour:
Originally five gun mountings for 7in and 20-pounders; armament as Hai Ching unknown.
Fate:
Sunk November 1925.
Kiang Yuan Class
After the turn of the century, the Japanese shipyard of Kawasaki in Kobe built two classes of steel gunboats for the Chinese Navy. The first series, the Kiang Yuan class of 1905–7, were delivered in sections and assembled in Shanghai.
Kiang Yuan was launched on 16 November 1904. In 1938 she was damaged by the Japanese and disarmed. In 1942 she was repaired and rearmed, and was taken over by the People’s Republic in 1949. She was discarded in 1963.
Kiang Heng was launched on 25 June 1907, and was transferred to the River Songhua, largest tributary of the Amur, in 1919. In fighting with the Russians on 31 October 1929 she was sunk by a Soviet seaplane. Salvaged by the Chinese, then captured by the Japanese, she was broken up in 1935.
Kiang Li was launched on 18 August 1907. After serving on the Yangtze, she was scuttled at Tsingtao (Quingdau) on 25 December 1937.
Kiang Chen was launched on 18 September 1907. After being damaged by Japanese aircraft at Hankow, she was scuttled 12 November 1938.
Launched:
1904 to 1907 by Kawasaki, Kobe, Japan, then dismantled for transport and reassembled by Kiangnan Dockyard, Shanghai.
Dimensions:
Displ: 565 tons; L: 54.1m/177ft 6in; B: 8.5m/27ft 10in; D: 2.1m/6ft 10in.
Crew:
85.
Power/Speed:
Twin screws; VTE steam engines, 950ihp/13 knots.
Guns/Armour:
1 × 4.7in Vickers; 1 × 3in; 4 × 3-pounder Hotchkiss; 4 × 6.5mm MG.
Fate:
See the text.
Kiang Yuan seen in 1929.
Chu Yu Class
They were followed by the six gunboats of the Chu Yu class in 1906–7, which were larger variants of the previous class, carrying a heavier armament. They were probably sailed directly from the builders to China, unlike the previous class which were dismantled for reassembly in Shanghai.
Chu Tung was launched 12 June 1906. Following damage on the Yangtze in the Autumn of 1938, she was laid up and disarmed. Rearmed after the war, she served in the People’s Republic Navy up until the 1960s.
Chu Chien was launched on 31 July 1906. Probably expended as a blockship on 11 August 1937.
Chu Tai was launched on 25 September 1906. Damaged by Japanese air attack at Fuzhou on 1 June 1938 she was run aground. Further air attacks destroyed her on 19 April 1941.
Class leader Chu Yu was launched on 21 February 1907. Japanese aircraft from the carrier Kaga seriously damaged her on 28/29 September 1937 at Jiangyin, and sank her three days later.
Chu Yiu was launched on 1 April 1907 and scuttled on 29 September 1937 at Tsingtao.
Last of the class Chu Kuan was launched on 14 August 1907. Laid up and disarmed along with Chu Tung in the autumn of 1938, she survived the war, and escaped to Taiwan in 1949. She was stricken in the 1960s.
Launched:
1906 to 1907 by Kawasaki, Kobe, Japan.
Dimensions:
Displ: 752 tons full load; L: 61m/200ft; B: 9m/29ft 6in; D: 2.4m/7ft 10in.
Crew:
117.
Power/Speed:
Twin screws; VTE steam engines, 1,350ihp/13 knots.
Guns/Armour:
2 × 4.7in Vickers; 2 × 3in; 4 × 6.5mm MG.
Fate:
See the text.
Chu Yiu seen in 1929. (Photo Jane’s Information Group)
Chiang Kung Class
The four ships of the Chiang Kung class of 1909 were built by Whampoa Dockyard in Hong Kong and assembled in Canton in March 1909. These small river gunboats followed the overall design of the RN ‘Bird’ class assembled in Hong Kong several years earlier. These were the first Chinese warships to be fitted with radio sets, hence the extreme height of their foremast.
&
nbsp; Class leader Chiang Kung was sunk by Japanese aircraft at Canton in October 1938. The fates of the three remaining ships of the Class, Chiang Chi, Chiang Ku and Chiang Tai, are unknown.
Launched:
1909 by Whampoa Dockyard, Hong Kong; reassembled at Canton March 1909.
Dimensions:
Displ: 200 tons full load; L: 44m/144ft 4in; B: 6m/19ft 8in; D: 2.3m/7ft 6in max.
Crew:
62.
Power/Speed:
Twin screws; VTE steam engines, 500ihp/14 knots.
Guns/Armour:
1909: 1 × 3in; 4 × .303in MG/Bulletproof plating. By 1936: 1 × 3in; 1 × 40mm Pom-Pom; 3 × .303in MG.
Fate:
Chiang Kung sunk October 1938; Remaining gunboats?
Chiang Hsi
Inspired no doubt by the three German gunboats, in 1911 the Chinese Navy ordered two smaller gunboats from different German builders. They were built in Germany, tested then dismantled for transport to Shanghai, where they were reassembled by the Kiangnan shipyard.
Chiang Hsi was built by Germaniawerft. Originally to be named Hsin Pei, she was renamed on completion in Shanghai in 1912. In 1930, her Krupp howitzer was replaced with a German 37mm Maxim Pom-Pom. She was sunk along with her near-sister-ship by Japanese aircraft on the Yangtze at Patung, on 24 August 1941.
Launched:
1912 by Germaniawerft, Kiel; reassembled by Kiangnan Dockyard, Shanghai.
Dimensions:
Displ: 140 tons; L: 43.9m/144ft; B: 7.5m/24ft 7in; D: 0.60m/1ft 11½in.
Crew:
49.
Power/Speed:
Twin screws; VTE steam engines, 450ihp/12 knots.
Guns/Armour:
1909: 1 × 8.8cm howitzer; 4 × 7.92mm Maxim MG/Bulletproof plating. 1930: Howitzer replaced by 1 × 37mm Pom-Pom.
Fate:
Sunk at Patung 24 August 1941.
Chiang Hsi in 1929, showing her Krupp howitzer forward, and her large armoured bridge.
Chiang Kun
The second of the German-built gunboats was the longer and narrower Chiang Kun, designed by Vulcan. Originally to be called Hsi Chen, she too was dismantled after trials and reassembled in Shanghai. Rearmed with two Maxim Pom-Poms in 1930, she was sunk along with her near sister-ship on the same day by Japanese aircraft.
Launched:
1912 by Vulcan, Bremen; reassembled by Kiangnan Dockyard, Shanghai.
Dimensions:
Displ: 140 ton; L: 44.5m/146ft; B: 7.3m/24ft; D: 0.60m/1ft 11½in.
Crew:
49.
Power/Speed:
Twin screws; VTE steam engines, 500ihp/12 knots.
Guns/Armour:
1909: 1 × 8.8cm howitzer; 4 × 7.92mm Maxim MG/Bulletproof plating. 1930: Howitzer replaced by 2 × 37mm Pom-Poms.
Fate:
Sunk at Patung 24 August 1941.
Chiang Kun showing her high foremast, and the cylindrical conning tower inspired by the Tsingtau and Vaterland. Compared with her near sister, she carries her 8.8cm howitzer on the upper deck forward.
Yung Feng Class
Ordered from Mitsubishi by the Qing government in 1910, the first two ships of the Class were delivered to the new Chinese Republic in 1912.
Yung Hsiang was scuttled at Tsingtao on 26 September 1937. The Japanese raised her and towed her to Japan. In 1946 she was returned to China. In 1949 she escaped to Taiwan and was discarded in the late 1950s.
Yung Feng became famous for the episode in 1922 in which she took on board Sun Yat-sen and provided him with a safe refuge for fifty-five days during a period of turmoil. To commemorate this event, after the death of Sun she was renamed Zhongshan, after the Mandarin name for Sun Yat-sen.
Sun Yat-sen and his wife on the foredeck of the Yung Feng, in front of the shield of the 10.5cm bow gun pointed to the rear. Note the German-calibre Maxim Pom-Poms mounted under covers on the bridge wings.
On 24 October 1937 she was attacked by six Japanese aircraft near Wuhan. Her captain and twenty crew members were killed in the attack, and after she had expended all her AA ammunition, a near miss from a bomb on her starboard side sank her. This was not the end of the story, as in 1997 the Zhongshan was successfully salvaged, fully restored and put on view in a purpose-built museum hall in Jinkou near Wuchang.
Launched:
1912 by Mitsubishi, Nagasaki.
Dimensions:
Displ: 860 tons; (1,020 tons full load); L: 65.8m/207ft 6in; B: 9m/29ft 6in; D: 2.4m/7ft 10in.
Crew:
49.
Power/Speed:
Twin screws; VTE steam engines, 1,350ihp/13 knots.
Guns/Armour:
1 × 10.5cm SK L/40 C/91; 1 × 3in Vickers; 4 × 3-pounder Hotchkiss; 2 × 37mm Maxim Pom-Poms/Protective deck: 25mm.
Fate:
Restored as museum ship.
Yung Chien and Yung Chi, the third and fourth vessels of the class, were built in Shanghai in 1914, with technical assistance from the Japanese. They were built to a slightly modified design, with the main deck continuing aft to the stern, deeper draft, and a British bow gun.
Yung Chien was under repair at Kiangnan Dockyard in Shanghai on 25 August 1937 when she was sunk by the Japanese (one report says by warships, another by aircraft, perhaps by a combined attack). On 18 December of that year she was salvaged, repaired and commissioned by the Japanese as their torpedo depot ship Asuka. In 1940 she was attached to the Port Captain, Shanghai, as a utility vessel. In 1945 she was re-armed as an anti-aircraft ship with Japanese guns. Sunk by US aircraft on 7 May 1945 in the Huangpo Estuary, she was salvaged after the war and re-commissioned in the Chinese navy under her former name. Taken over by the Communists in 1949, in 1951 she was renamed Yen An, and was finally stricken in 1964.
Zhongshan on display. She joins the full-size replica of the battleship Ting Yuen at Wei Hai as an example of modern China’s pride in its historic warships.
On 21 October 1938 Yung Chi was badly damaged on the Yangtze by Japanese aircraft and ran aground. Salvaged and repaired by the Japanese, on 22 May 1940 she was transferred to the Manchukuo Navy as Hai Hsing. Taken over by the Kuomintang forces in September 1945, she was re-commissioned under her former name. Sunk by Communist forces on the Yangtze on 25 April 1949, she was salvaged and commissioned into the navy of the People’s Republic. Yung Chi was stricken in 1964.
Launched:
1914 (Yung Chien), 1915 (Yung Chi) by Kiangnan Dockyard, Shanghai.
Dimensions:
Displ: 860 tons (1,039 tons full load); L: 65.7m/215ft 6in; B: 9m/29ft 6in; D: 3.5m/11ft 6in.
Crew:
49.
Power/Speed:
Twin screws; VTE steam engines, 1,350ihp/13 knots.
Guns/Armour:
1 × 4in Vickers; 1 × 3in Vickers; 4 × 3-pounder Hotchkiss; 2 × 37mm Maxim Pom-Poms/Protective deck: 25mm. Yung Chi in Japanese service: 2 × 8cm (76mm) AA guns; 16 × 25mm AA guns; 1 × 13.2mm AA HMG; 2 × 7.7mm MG.
Fate:
Both stricken in 1964.
Chien Chung Class
In 1915 the Yangtze Works in Hankow produced the three small gunboats Chien Chung, Yung An and Kung Chen, for use on the Middle Yangtze. They were of reduced dimensions, and displaced just 90 tons.
By 1931 all three were laid up. Kung Chen was sunk by Japanese aircraft in October 1940, but the fate of the other two is unknown.
Launched:
1915 (Chien Chung), 1916 (Yung An and Kung Chen) by Yangtze Works, Hankow.
Dimensions:
Displ: 90 tons; L: 35.5m/116ft 6in; B: 5.6m/18ft 4in; D: 0.60m/2ft.
Crew:
42.
Power/Speed:
Twin screws; VTE steam engines, 450ihp/11 knots.
Guns/Armour:
1 × 8.8cm Krupp howitzer; 4 × 7.92mm MG.
Fate:
Kung Chen sunk October 1938.
Chung Yun Class
Two even smaller gunboats, Chung Yun and Chung Hai, were built by Bailey in Hong Kong in 1
928. Displacing just 50 tons, they were armed launches similar to those used by the Royal Navy in the First World War. They were scuttled at Canton in September 1937.
Launched:
1928 (Chung Yun), 1929 (Chung Hai) by Bailey, Hong Kong.
Dimensions:
Displ: 50 tons (60 tons full load); L: 25.6m/84ft; B: 4.5m/14ft 9in; D: 0.80m/2ft 7½in.
Crew:
31.
Power/Speed:
Single screw; VTE steam engine 100ihp/10.5 knots.
Guns/Armour:
4 × 37mm Maxim Pom-Poms; 1 × .303in Lewis MG.
Fate:
Both scuttled September 1937.
Chien Yu Class
Bailey in Hong Kong also produced the Chien Yu and Chien Shun of 1928 and 1929 respectively. Unusually, they had lattice masts, the first to appear in Chinese rivers since the German Otter of 1912.
Details of their fate are unclear: probably both were destroyed by Japanese aircraft at Canton in September 1937.
Launched:
1928 (Chien Yu), 1929 (Chien Shun) by Bailey, Hong Kong.
Dimensions:
Displ: 225 tons; L: 36.8m/120ft 8in; B: 6.5m/21ft 4in; D: 1.3m/4ft 3in.
Crew:
52.
Power/Speed:
Single screw; VTE steam engine, 100ihp/10.5 knots.
Guns/Armour:
1 × 6-pounder Hotchkiss QF; 2 × 40mm Pom-Poms; 12 × .303in Lewis MG/Bulletproof armour protection.
Fate:
Both possibly sunk September 1937.
Profiting from their design work on the US Navy China gunboats they built in 1926–7, the Kiangnan Dockyard in Shanghai produced a series of four gunboats beginning with the Hsien Ning launched in 1928, followed by the similar Yung Sui and Ming Chuen. The last of the series was the Ming Sen of 1931. Compared with their earlier US Navy boats, the Chinese vessels did not carry such extensive accommodation, as their crews were not expected to live on board, unlike the Americans. Also, the Chinese ships were coal-fired, reflecting the abundance of coal in China. Of relatively shallow draught, they were capable of high speeds.