 Yangwu(pictured left) with the Chinese gunboatFuxing at anchor, the night before theBattle of Fuzhou. | |
| History | |
|---|---|
 Imperial China | |
| Name | Yangwu (揚武) |
| Namesake | Yangwu |
| Builder | Foochow Arsenal |
| Launched | April 23, 1872 |
| Fate | Sunk August 23, 1884 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type | Corvette |
| Displacement | 1,393long tons (1,415 t) |
| Length | 190 feet 2 inches (57.96 m) |
| Beam | 36 feet (11 m) |
| Draught | 16 feet 5 inches (5.00 m) |
| Installed power | |
| Propulsion | Steam engine |
| Speed | 13knots (24 km/h; 15 mph) |
| Complement | 270 |
| Armament | |
Yangwu (Chinese:揚武;pinyin:Yangwu;Wade–Giles:Yang-wu or Yang Woo) was a woodencorvette built for theImperial Chinese Navy. She was built in 1872 at theFoochow Arsenal, and was the largest ship built there from the shipbuilding programme of 1868–75. During her early career, she was used as atraining ship and under the command of English captains. She later saw action in theBattle of Fuzhou in 1884, the opening action of theSino-French War, where she acted as theflagship of theFujian Fleet. Shortly after the start of the battle, she was damaged by aspar torpedo, causing a large explosion and the loss of the majority of her crew; she was sunk shortly afterwards by enemy fire.
Yangwu was a unique showpiece at theFoochow Arsenal.[1] She was 190 feet 2 inches (57.96 m)long overall, had abeam of 36 feet (11 m) and an averagedraft of 16 feet 65 inches (6.53 m).[2] Shedisplaced 1,393long tons (1,415 t).[3] The propulsion system consisted of a 250-horsepower (190 kW)steam engine, built byJohn Inglis and Company, equipped with fourboilers and a retractablefunnel.[4][5] Her engines produced a cruising speed of 13knots (24 km/h; 15 mph).[2]
Yangwu was armed with abattery of four 5-inch (130 mm)70-pounder guns on each side, and two further mounted aschase guns at thebow andstern. These were each built by the British firmArmstrong's. A further 6.5-inch (170 mm)150-pounder atamidships and two24-pounder long guns rounded out her armament.[2][6] She was equipped with twogunpowder magazines, located at fore and aft.[6]
Yangwu was a wooden corvette, built at the Foochow Navy Yard andlaunched on April 23, 1872.[2] She was the seventh vessel built as part of a larger shipbuilding program at the Foochow Arsenal,[7] and cost 254,000taels (353,000 silver dollars) for her construction.[1][4] She was the largest warship built between 1868 and 1875 out of the 19 vessels planned.[8] The shipyard was overseen by Imperial commissionerShen Baozhen but led by staff from Western nations,[1][3] who advised the Chinese to continue building wooden-hulled ships despite them being made obsolete by the construction ofironclads by those nations. Chinese officials would later unfairly blame the French, in particularProsper Giquel, for purposely providing them with out-of-date equipment and designs.[1]
After being launched in 1872, she served as a training vessel from 1875 in theSouth China Sea,[4] making at least one journey to Japan.[5]Yangwu was equipped with a classroom for the training of Chinesemidshipmen and officers. At the time of a report in theShanghai Courier in June 1876, there were 30 such sailors under tuition. She had been recently commanded by the Captain Tracey, an Englishman, but he had been recalled to theRoyal Navy and promoted toPost-captain. He was replaced with his fellow countryman, Captain Luxmore.[6] There were two further English members of the crew, both officers, while the rest were Chinese.[9]
During the summer of 1876,Yangwu visited the Australian colonies,[6] and later in the year the Chinese ambassadors to Great Britain,Kwoh Song Tao andLiu-Si-hung, visitedYangwu viamail steamer in December while she was inSingapore.[10] Following the visit, she sailed toManila.[11] When she arrived in February 1877, an accident occurred as the crew were preparing a gun salute for her entrance to the harbour. As the crewman loaded the charge into one of the guns, it detonated, throwing him from the ship and killing him. The crewman was subsequently buried in the city.Yangwu proved to be a spectacle for the inhabitants of the city, particularly the Chinese, some of whom had sailed out to greet her arrival in small boats and others who watched her from the mound on which the lighthouse sat overlooking the bay.[9]
On June 23, 1884, as tensions were rising between the French Empire and Imperial China,Yangwu was part of the Chinese fleet at Chefoo (now known asYantai) which met with a French squadron comprising twocruisers and asloop. During the course of the meeting, the French demonstrated the firepower of their cruisers, which were nearly two and a half times the size ofYangwu, which in turn was the largest of the Chinese vessels. During the demonstration, the French showed they could hit targets more than 4,000 metres (4,400 yd) away.[12] Afterwards,Yangwu headed to the naval yard at Foochow (nowFuzhou), while the remaining Chinese ships steamed to theport of Tianjin.[13]
On August 9, 1884, French naval forces attacked and capturedKeelung on the island ofFormosa in response to Chinese involvement in theTonkin Campaign and specifically theBắc Lệ ambush.[12][14] Shortly afterwards, the French Navy'sFar East Squadron underRear AdmiralAmédée Courbet, comprising the cruisersDuguay-Trouin,Villars, andd'Estaing along with a number of smaller vessels, was sent up theMin River to attack the arsenal at Foochow. As they travelled upriver, the Chinese declared war on the French, officially marking the start of theSino-French War.[14]
Yangwu led theFujian Fleet protecting Foochow under the command of Captain Chang Cheng,[15] which otherwise comprised three sloops in addition to a variety ofgunboats, transports,launches andwar junks.[16] The Royal Navy andUnited States Navy vessels in the port made certain to anchor a distance away from where the engagement was expected to take place. The vessels faced off for several days before the French forces made their attack,[17] as they were awaiting reinforcement by theironcladTriomphante. They planned to attack just before 2pm on August 23, with twotorpedo boats tasked with engagingYangwu and the gunboatFusheng on the first signal.[18]
Just before 2pm on August 23, the attack began after a broadside from the gunboatZhenwei at the French gunboatLynx.[19] This was the signal for the small boats to move forward, and some 27 seconds later a massive explosion erupted fromYangwu.[19][20] Boat No. 46 had impacted with her spar torpedo just below thewaterlineamidships. The detonation was so large that only fifteen of the crew survived and it was claimed that bodies launched into the air were found on the rooftops of houses over 1 mile (1.6 km) away,[19][21] although this was later considered to be an outlandish claim.[19] The number of survivors was likewise questioned by eyewitnesses on board thescrew sloopUSS Enterprise, as the official report claimed that the senior officers survived whereas the witnesses suggested that the only possible survivors would have been those who threw themselves into the river before the explosion.[21]
A report appeared following the battle of an interview with Mr. Yung, who claimed to have survived theYangwu explosion having been stationed at the stern of the vessel. He explained that the ship had returned fire to theVolta before being hit by the spar torpedo, and orders were given to continue firing after the explosion. Fire fromHotchkiss guns on French vessels made this difficult. But, despite thisYangwu disabled the other torpedo boat. The Captain handed Yung aflotation device and decided that the junior crew member should jump first, with the Captain following. As he swam away, Yung saw the Captain helping an engineer who had suffered severe burns but shortly afterwards the fore gunpowder magazine detonated, destroying the rest of the ship.[22]
The wreck ofYangwu drifted as the French fired on her as she caught fire and sank.[19] The victory of the French forces at Foochow was decisive, with losses estimated either at six or 12 personnel with 27 missing. The Chinese losses were far greater, at 521 killed, 150 wounded and a large number missing after the battle. The bombardment of the arsenal lasted for two days before the French ships headed back down the river, destroying any forts they encountered on the way.[23]