Chinese turret ship Zhenyuan
| 300px The Zhenyuan in Japanese service as Chin'en. | |
| Career (China) | Beiyang Navy Ensign |
|---|---|
| Name: | Zhenyuan |
| Ordered: | 1882 |
| Builder: | Stettiner Vulcan AG, Stettin, Germany |
| Laid down: | 1 March 1882 |
| Launched: | 28 November 1882 |
| Completed: | 1884 |
| Commissioned: | 1 March 1885 |
| Fate: | Prize of war to Japan, 1895 |
| Career (Japan) | Japanese Navy Ensign |
| Name: | Chin'en |
| Acquired: | 1895 |
| Fate: | Scrapped 1914 |
| General characteristics | |
| Displacement: |
7,220 long tons (7,336 t) standard 7,670 long tons (7,793 t) full load |
| Length: | 98.89 m (324 ft 5 in) |
| Beam: | 17.98 m (59 ft 0 in) |
| Draught: | 6.1 m (20 ft 0 in) |
| Propulsion: |
2-shaft reciprocating triple expansion steam engine, 7,500 shp 2 boilers 1,000 tons coal |
| Speed: | 15.4 knots (17.7 mph; 28.5 km/h) |
| Range: | 4,500 nmi (8,300 km) at 10 kn (12 mph; 19 km/h) |
| Complement: | 363 |
| Armament: |
• 4 × 305 mm (12 in)/25 cal. Krupp breech-loading guns (2×2) • 2 × 150 mm (6 in)/35 cal. Krupp breech-loading guns (2×1) • 6 × 37 mm (1 in) guns • 3 × torpedo tubes |
| Armour: |
• Belt: 355 mm (14 in) • Barbettes: 305 mm (12 in) |
Zhenyuan (Chinese: 鎮遠; also romanized as Chen Yuan) was a German-built Chinese Beiyang Fleet turret ship of the 19th century. Her sister ship was the Dingyuan. Built with 14-inch (360 mm) thick armour and modern Krupp guns, they were superior to any in the Imperial Japanese Navy at the time.
Background
Zhenyuan displaced 7,670 tons loaded and had a speed of 15.4 knots (29 km/h). At 10 knots (19 km/h), she had a range of around 4,500 nautical miles (8,300 km). Her armament consisted of four 12 inch (305 mm) Krupp 25 calibre breech-loading guns in two barbettes one either side with a secondary armament of two 5.9 inch (150 mm) 35 calibre Krupp breech-loaders placed fore and aft. To this was added six 37 mm guns and three above the waterline torpedo tubes. Total crew was around 363 officers and men.
Zhenyuan was built by Stettiner Vulcan AG, in Stettin, Germany (now Szczecin, Poland). The hull was laid down in March 1882, she was launched on 28 November 1882 and started her sea trials in March 1884.
Service Life
She fought at the Battle of the Yalu River, which took place on 17 September 1894, between the Japanese and Chinese during the First Sino-Japanese War. Captured by the Japanese after the Weihaiwei siege on February 17, 1895, she was rebuilt in 1896/7 and served throughout the Russo-Japanese War as a second-line battleship, under the name Chin'en - the Japanese rendition of the ship's original Chinese name. She was scrapped in 1914.
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
es:Clase Chen Yuen ja:鎮遠 (戦艦) ru:Чин-Иен fi:Zhenyuan zh:鎮遠號戰艦
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