- Chinese cruiser Chih Yuen
-
Career (China) 
Name: Chih Yuen Builder: Armstrong Whitworth Fate: Sunk, 17 September 1894 General characteristics Type: Protected cruiser Displacement: 2,355 long tons (2,393 t) Length: 72.085 m (236 ft 6.0 in) Beam: 10.05 m (33 ft 0 in) Draft: 4.8 m (15 ft 9 in) Speed: 18 kn (33 km/h; 21 mph) Capacity: 510 tons of coal Complement: 260 officers and men Armament: 3 × 210 mm (8.3 in) guns, 2 × 150 mm (5.9 in) guns, 8 × 57 mm (2.2 in) guns, 4 × 457 mm (18.0 in) torpedo tubes Armor: 
The Chih Yuen around 1894.
The Chinese crew of the Chih Yuen around the time of the Sino-Japanese War, ca. 1894.The Chih Yuen 致遠 was a protected cruiser in service with the Chinese Beiyang Fleet. Chih Yuen was the sister ship to Ching Yuen, both of which were designed and constructed in Elswick, in the United Kingdom by Armstrong Whitworth. This type of cruisers, produced exclusively for export, were loosely known as the "Elswick Cruisers". Buyers included Chile, China and Japan. They were fast and well-armed, but considered to be vulnerable by the Admiralty (as a result, no Elswick cruisers were built for the Royal Navy).
Chih Yuen displaced 2,355 long tons (2,393 t) and had a maximum speed of 18 kn (33 km/h; 21 mph). She was an "Elsiwick Cruiser" like the Japanese Yoshino and Takasago. Her armament consisted of three 210 mm (8.3 in) guns, two 150 mm (5.9 in) guns, eight 57 mm (2.2 in) guns and a torpedo armament of four 457 mm (18.0 in) discharges.
Chih Yuen, commanded by Captain Deng Shichang, was sunk at the Battle of the Yalu River against the Imperial Japanese Navy on 17 September 1894. After putting up a brave fight and in the act of trying to ram Yoshino, Chih Yuen was possibly hit by a 10 inch shell to her torpedo tube (another version is she was hit by a torpedo from Yoshino) and went under. Chinese sources claimed Capt. Teng hit the water, was grabbed on the arm by his pet dog, but refused rescue and eventually disappeared under the waves. Subsequent Imperial report concludes that during the battle, "The braves were too rash, while the cowards were too cowardly".
References
- Wright, Richard N. J., The Chinese Steam Navy 1862-1945, Chatham Publishing, London, 2000, ISBN 1-86176-144-9
- Chesneau, Roger and Eugene M. Kolesnik (editors), All The World's Fighting Ships 1860-1905, Conway Maritime Press, 1979 reprinted 2002, ISBN 0-85177-133-5
Categories:- Cruisers of the Imperial Beiyang Navy
- Cruisers of the United Kingdom
- Tyne-built ships
- First Sino-Japanese War cruisers of China
- Shipwrecks in the Yellow Sea
- Maritime incidents in 1894
- Victorian era naval ships of China
- Naval ship stubs
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.
