The List of armored cruisers of China encompasses all armored cruisers that were either commissioned or planned for procurement by China since the late Qing dynasty began establishing a modern navy in the 19th century. This includes vessels that served in the modernized fleet, as well as those that were planned for procurement by the Republic of China Navy.
This batch of cruisers originated from the late Qing government's foreign procurement during the establishment of the Beiyang Fleet. The vessels included the Tsi Yuen, ordered from Germany, along with two King Yuen-class armored cruisers: King Yuen and Lai Yuen; as well as two Chih Yuen-class cruisers ordered from Britain: Chih Yuen and Ching Yuen. As the first armored cruisers built indigenously by Germany, Tsi Yuen and the two King Yuen-class ships were commissioned into the Beiyang Fleet upon their completion and return to China. All of these armored cruisers were either captured or sunk during the First Sino-Japanese War.
Following the Sino-French War, with the support of the Qing government, the Foochow Arsenal built the cruiser Pingyuan, modeled after the French coastal defense ironclad Achéron-class. This marked the first armored cruiser built indigenously in China. The vessel was ultimately captured by the Japanese after the First Sino-Japanese War and continued to serve under her original name until she was sunk during the Russo-Japanese War. In the early years of the Republic of China, the Provisional Government of the Republic of China attempted to order an armored cruiser from the Austro-Hungarian Cantiere Navale Triestino through the German trading firm Arnold, Karberg & Co. However, the deal was ultimately aborted due to the outbreak of World War I.
+DefinitionsBuilderName of the ship's builderArmamentThe number and type of the primary armamentArmorThe thickness of the belt or deck armorDisplacementShip displacement at full combat loadPropulsionNumber of shafts, type of propulsion system, and top speed generatedCostCost of the ship's constructionServiceThe dates work began and finished on the ship and its ultimate fateThe date the keel began to be assembledLaunchedThe date the ship was launchedCommissionedThe date the ship was commissionedFateThe eventual fate of the ship (e.g., sunk, scrapped)
History
The armored cruiser started in 1870 with the General-Admiral, a large cruiser built for the Imperial Russian Navy. Unprecedentedly, this vessel was equipped with a belt armor, a feature previously exclusive to ironclads. This innovation allowed nations with limited military strength and financial resources to procure warships with protection levels approaching those of ironclads, at the cost of a cruiser.
As a vessel capable of significantly enhancing military strength, it became the Qing government's top priority in its efforts to rebuild coastal naval defenses after the Sino-French War. In 1880, Li Hongzhang ordered the first armored cruiser Tsi Yuen, from the United Kingdom. In 1885, the King Yuen-class and Chih Yuen-class cruisers were ordered from Britain and Germany, respectively. The two ships of the King Yuen-class withstood concentrated Japanese attacks for over an hour during the Battle of the Yellow Sea before sinking, demonstrating their formidable survivability in combat. After the Sino-French War, the Foochow Arsenal independently constructed a steel-hulled cruiser by referencing the designs of the Chao Yong, Tsi Yuen, and the French Achéron-class coastal defense ironclads. As the first armored cruiser built by the Foochow Arsenal, this vessel represented the pinnacle of China's shipbuilding industry in the 1880s. Upon completion, she was named Longwei, but was ultimately renamed Ping Yuen after being transferred to the Beiyang Fleet. She was captured and commissioned into the Japanese fleet following the First Sino-Japanese War. After the Beiyang government of the Republic of China came to power, it initiated a series of efforts to reclaim warships under construction overseas. However, due to poor financial conditions, some vessels could not be recovered. Regarding new construction plans, after the contract with the Arnold, Karberg & Co. for destroyers fell through, the Beiyang government instead ordered one armored cruiser from the Stabilimento Tecnico Triestino of Austria-Hungary.
"According to various historical records and publications, the classification of the same vessel often varies. Furthermore, the categorization of a single ship based on its intended role could change across different periods. For instance, while some sources classify the Tsi Yuen as an armored cruiser, others categorize her as a protected cruiser due to her specific armor scheme. Similarly, the King Yuen-class has been classified as an armored cruiser by some, while other sources designate her as a protected cruiser. The Chih Yuen-class has also been subject to this discrepancy, with some sources identifying her as an armored cruiser and others as a protected cruiser. As for the Pingyuan, she has been categorized as an armored cruiser, a steel-hulled cruiser, or a steel-armored cruiser. Meanwhile, other sources classify her as a coastal defense cruiser or a coastal defense ironclad.
Tsi Yuen
Due to his distrust of Inspector General of Customs Robert Hart, Li Hongzhang instructed Minister to Germany Li Fengbao to order another cruiser in Germany. After evaluating the options, Li ordered a new cruiser from the A.G. Vulcan, which was already constructing the Ting Yuen and Chen Yuen. Given the yard number 131, the ship was later named Tsi Yuen by Li Hongzhang. As Germany's first domestically designed protected cruiser, she was designed by Rudolph Haack, the engineer of the Ting Yuen-class.
The ship's armament consisted of two 210mm Krupp guns at the bow, one 150mm Krupp gun at the stern, two 47mm multi-barrel quick-firing guns, and nine 37mm single-barrel quick-firing guns. In addition, she was equipped with four 15-inch torpedo tubes and two shipborne torpedo boats.
Upon completion, the Tsi Yuen was forced to remain in Germany due to the Sino-French War, and did not return to China in formation with the Ting Yuen and Chen Yuen until after the war ended. Following her acceptance by the Chinese government in November 1885, she was commissioned into the Beiyang Fleet. In June 1891, she visited Japan alongside the Ting Yuen and Chen Yuen. In 1894, she escorted troops to Asan Bay, Korea, alongside the Kuang Yi. On her return voyage, she was ambushed near Pungdo by the First Flying Squadron of the Japanese Combined Fleet, specifically the cruisers Yoshino and Naniwa. During this engagement, the Tsi Yuen sustained damage. Later that September, she was heavily damaged and withdrew from the Battle of the Yellow Sea. Ultimately, during the Battle of Weihaiwei in February 1895, the Beiyang Fleet was defeated and surrendered to Japan, resulting in her capture and subsequent commissioning into the Japanese fleet. Ship Builder Armament Armor Displacement Propulsion Cost ServiceLaunchedCommissionedFateTsi Yuen (濟遠) A.G. Vulcan2 × (main battery)2 shafts, 4 coal-fired boilers, 2 steam engines, , 686,000 taels of silveFebruary 17, 1883 (ordered)December 1, 1883September 1884struck a mine and sank off the coast of Port Arthur, November 30, 1904
King Yuen-class
To rebuild the coastal naval defenses of Fujian and Taiwan, which had been virtually annihilated following the Sino-French War, Li Hongzhang envisioned having two new cruisers built based on the Tsi yuan-class design, with one constructed by a British shipyard and the other by a German shipyard. Subsequently, following a recommendation by Zeng Jize, the then Minister to the United Kingdom, to re-evaluate the design, and after extensive communication and research by Xu Jingcheng, the Minister to Germany, the project was altered in 1887. The new vessels were then designed and built as modern armored cruisers by the German Vulcan shipyard.
As the first armored cruiser designed and built entirely in German history, the Jingyuan class was designed under the supervision of Rudolph Haack, a designer at the Vulcan shipyard. Rudolph Haack was also the designer of the Ting Yuen-class ironclads for the Chinese Navy. In terms of design, the King Yuen-class was similar to the ironclads, but with a slightly larger hull than the Tsi Yuen-class. Her propulsion system consisted of two horizontal triple-expansion steam engines, with four boilers housed in two boiler rooms, and a designed coal capacity of 320 to 350 tons. Externally, ships of this class featured a single mast and twin funnels, with the mast located aft of the funnels, which served as their most distinctive identifying feature.
The central sections of the hull, including the ammunition magazines, steam engines, and machinery, were protected by an armored enclosure. Because the area above the waterline was highly vulnerable to attack, while the underwater section was naturally shielded by the water itself, the King Yuen-class ships adopted a sloped belt armor that was thicker at the top and thinner at the bottom. However, since the armor belt was assembled from multiple plates, a direct hit on the seams could easily cause structural failure and flooding. The main gun barbettes were equipped with open-backed gun shields, which were thick, while the breastwork armor of the barbettes was thick. The conning tower featured thick side walls. Its roof was elevated significantly above the tower walls, supported by only a few pillars. Although this design improved the field of view, it also left a dangerous vulnerability, allowing shrapnel and small-caliber shells to penetrate through the gaps.
Ship Builder Armament Armor Displacement Propulsion Cost ServiceLaunchedCommissionedFateKing Yuen (經遠) A.G. Vulcan2 × (belt)2 shafts, 4 cylindrical coal-fired boilers, 2 reciprocating steam engines, , 870,000 taels of silverJanuary 1, 1885January 3, 1887January 1887Be hit by Japan and sunk on September 17, 1894Lai Yuen (來遠) A.G. Vulcan2 × (belt)2 shafts, 4 cylindrical coal-fired boilers, 2 reciprocating steam engines, , 870,000 taels of silverJanuary 1, 1885March 25, 1887March 1887Be hit by Japan and sunk on February 6, 1895
Ping Yuen
After the Battle of Mawei, in order to rebuild the almost completely destroyed Fujian Fleet, the newly appointed Minister of Naval Affairs, Pei Yinsen (裴荫森), applied to the Qing government to build ironclad warships independently. Originally, three ships were planned to be built, but with the support of Empress Dowager Cixi, only one ship was finally approved to be built. In 1886, the hull of the ship was designed and supervised by Wei Han (魏瀚), Zheng Qinglian (郑清濂) and others from the Fuzhou Naval Dockyard, while the engine was supervised by Chen Zhao'ao (陈兆翱) and others within the shipyard. The design drawings of the ship referenced the French Acheron-class coastal defense ironclad gunboats.
The ship was armed with a 260 mm gun that could be steered with a rotating platform as its main gun. It was also equipped with a 150 mm steel-hooped gun in the turrets on both sides. In addition, the ship was not equipped with a large-caliber stern gun. Compared with the prototype, the ship was of similar main dimensions but had a larger displacement. In terms of armor design, the ship adopted a double-layer steel bottom design and was equipped with a waterline armor belt around the entire ship. Most of the construction materials were purchased from France. Although the defensive capabilities were strong, the ship was still based on the mosquito boat, resulting in poor overall maneuverability and slow speed. The ship was numbered No. 29 when it was built at the shipyard and was named "Lung Wei" after completion.