Qualla: Chinese Cruiser Jingyuan (1887)

Chinese Cruiser Jingyuan (1887): Introduction

Sat, 14 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT

At 16:48 on the afternoon of 17 September 1894, the armored cruiser Jingyuan lurched to starboard and burst into flames. She had been taking concentrated fire from the Japanese flying squadron for over an hour, and her two-inch lacquered teak deck, the design flaw her builders in Stettin had never adequately addressed, had finally ignited beyond control. A large explosion followed, and Jingyuan rolled over and sank in the Yellow Sea near the mouth of the Yalu River. Of her 270 crewmen, only seven escaped.

Chinese Cruiser Jingyuan (1887): Li Hongzhang's Gamble

Sat, 14 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Jingyuan existed because of one man's determination to give China a modern navy. Viceroy Li Hongzhang, stung by China's poor showing in the Sino-French War, turned to the Vulcan shipyards in Stettin, Germany, to build warships that could compete with Western and Japanese vessels....

Chinese Cruiser Jingyuan (1887): Cork and Krupp

Sat, 14 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Jingyuan's steel hull was divided into 66 waterproof compartments filled with cork for buoyancy. Her belt armor measured 5.5 inches but did not extend above the waterline or to the hull's extremities, with 8 inches at the conning tower and barbettes. The main armament consisted o...

Chinese Cruiser Jingyuan (1887): From Vladivostok to War

Sat, 14 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT

After arriving in China in 1888, Jingyuan and Laiyuan were assigned to the Beiyang Fleet under Admiral Ding Ruchang. In the summer of 1889, both ships participated in a flotilla visit to the Russian naval base at Vladivostok, a show-the-flag voyage that demonstrated the reach of ...

Chinese Cruiser Jingyuan (1887): One Hour Under Fire

Sat, 14 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT

At the Battle of the Yalu River on 17 September 1894, Jingyuan and Laiyuan fought together. Laiyuan's captain attacked aggressively, pursuing and damaging a slower Japanese gunboat, but his ship caught fire and was forced out of the battle. With Laiyuan apparently doomed, Admiral...