Japanese Prizes from the Sino-Japanese War 1895
Captured at Wei-Hai-Wei which surrendered on 12th February 1895
Most were sunken , scuttled or in a disabled condition
Coast defence armoured ship Ping Yuen
| launched 1890 at Foochow | 2850 tons |
| 200' x 40' x 16' | 10.5 knots |
| 1 x 260mm/10.4" and 2 x 150mm/6" guns |
Became the Japanese Ping Yuen Go , but renamed Hei Yen in 1900
Disabled by mine in Pigeon Bay (Piegen Bay) West of Port Arthur 18th Sep 1904
and foundered in heavy weather later that same day
Coast defence armoured ship Chen Yuen
| launched 1882 by Vulkan at Stettin | 7430 tons |
| 308'5" x 59' x 20' | 14.5 knots |
| 4 x 305mm/12" and 2 x 150mm/6" guns |
Became Japanese Chin Yen and was rebuilt 1896/7
Served throughout the Russo-Japanese War as a second-line battleship
Scrapped 1914
Cruiser Tsi Yuen
| launched 1883 by Vulkan at Stettin | 236'6" x 33' x 15'9" |
| 2355 tons | 15 knots |
| 2 x 210mm/9" and 1 x 150mm/6" guns |
Became the Japanese Sai Yen
Sunk by mine off Port Arthur on 30th Nov 1904
Rendel gunboats - Chen Pei , Chen Pien , Chen Nan , Chen Hsi , Chen Chung and Chen Tung
| launched 1878/9 by Armstrong at Elswick | 325 to 440 tons | 1 x 10" gun |
Became the Japanese Chin Hoku , Chin Pen , Chin Nan , Chin Sei , Chin Chai and Chin To
respectively
They were scrapped c 1907/1909
Armoured gunboat Tien Sing
| launched 1875 in Germany | 200 tons | 1 x 170mm gun |
Became Japanese Hei Yuen
Scrapped c 1900
Old corvette Hi Yei
| launched 1877 | 2248 tons | 3 x 6.7" and 6 5.9" guns |
Became Japanese survey vessel Hi Yei
Scrapped 1907
There were also about 11 small torpedo boats ; a few might have been repaired by the Japanese but none were in use by 1904
Also sunk at Wei-Hai-Wei were :-
The armoured ship Ting Yuen (sister to Chen Yuen , above)
The armoured ship Lai Yuen (?possibly sister to Ping Yuen above)
| launched 1887 by Vulkan at Stettin | 2850 tons |
| 270' x 40' x 16'6" | 16.5 knots |
| 2 x 210mm and 2 x 150mm guns |
The cruiser Ching Yuen
launched 1886 at Elswick
The cruiser Kwang Ping
| launched 1890 at Foochow | 1300 tons |
| 3 x 6" and 4 x 5" guns |
Though refloated by the Japanese these ships were not repaired but scrapped , except for the Kwang Ping which became the Japanese Ko Hei but was lost off the Pescadores on 21st Dec 1895
In addition , the gunboat Tsao Kiang (launched 1876 at Shanghai , 572 tons) was captured off Wei-Hai-Wei by the Akitsushima on 27th July 1894 and was renamed Soko ; she was scrapped c1910 .
The paddle despatch-vessel Tsan Chieng was captured by the Naniwa and Yoshino off Asan , Gulf of Korea , on 25th July 1894 - possibly she became a Japanese auxiliary or reverted to mercantile use .
Notes to Photographs
| Soko | ex Chinese Tsao Kiang | gunboat |
| Chin Sei | ex Chinese Chen Hsi | gunboat |
| Chin To | ex Chinese Chen Tung | gunboat |
| Hei Yen | ex Chinese Ping Yuen | gunboat |
| Ko Hei | ex Chinese Kuang Ping | torpedo gunboat |
| Fukuriu | ex Chinese Fu Lung | torpedo boat |
Notes on Chen Yuen and Ting Yuen
These ships , the best in the Chinese fleet , had been delivered to China in 1885 . They were the main units deployed against the Japanese in the Battle of the Yalu on 17th September 1894. Both vessels performed well and would have caused more damaged to the Japanese fleet had all their shells been filled with high explosive - it is reported that coal dust and even sawdust had been used to save money ! After the battle both vessels pulled back to Wei-Hai-Wei . Here Ting Yuen was sunk by a Japanese torpedo boat on 6th February 1895 . Chen Yuen was sunk in shallow water by artillery fire on 9th February 1895.
