''Tien-sing'' or ''Tiong Sing'', originally named ''Chin-ou'' (金甌) and sometimes referred to as ''Jinou'', was an

ironclad An ironclad is a steam engine, steam-propelled warship protected by Wrought iron, iron or steel iron armor, armor plates, constructed from 1859 to the early 1890s. The ironclad was developed as a result of the vulnerability of wooden warships ...

flat-iron gunboat Flat-iron gunboats (more formally known as Rendel gunboats) were a number of classes of coastal gunboats generally characterised by small size, low freeboard, the absence of masts,Some Rendel-type gunboats were fitted with masts (the British ''Med ...

built for the

Imperial Chinese Navy The Imperial Chinese Navy was the modern navy of the Qing dynasty of China established in 1875. An Imperial naval force in China first came into existence from 1132 during the Song dynasty and existed in some form until the end of the Qing dynasty ...

. She was completed in 1875 at the

Kiangnan Arsenal Jiangnan Shipyard () is a historic shipyard in Shanghai, China. The shipyard has been state-owned since its founding in 1865 and is now operated as Jiangnan Shipyard (Group) Co. Ltd. Before 2009, the company was south of central Shanghai at ...

, the first time an ironclad had been constructed in China. She was built out of spare components, prior to the construction of a purpose built yard for ironclads. ''Tien-sing'' was modified part way through construction to allow it to undertake a sea voyage to

Hai River The Hai River (海河, lit. "Sea River"), also known as the Peiho, ("White River"), or Hai Ho, is a Chinese river connecting Beijing to Tianjin and the Bohai Sea. The Hai River at Tianjin is formed by the confluence of five watercourses: the S ...

, but instead was only ever used on the

Yangtze The Yangtze or Yangzi ( or ; ) is the longest river in Asia, the third-longest in the world, and the longest in the world to flow entirely within one country. It rises at Jari Hill in the Tanggula Mountains (Tibetan Plateau) and flows ...

and

Huangpu River The Huangpu (), formerly romanized as Whangpoo, is a river flowing north through Shanghai. The Bund and Lujiazui are located along the Huangpu River. The Huangpu is the biggest river in central Shanghai, with the Suzhou Creek being its maj ...

s. She was still in operation in 1902, having survived the

Sino-French War The Sino-French War (, french: Guerre franco-chinoise, vi, Chiến tranh Pháp-Thanh), also known as the Tonkin War and Tonquin War, was a limited conflict fought from August 1884 to April 1885. There was no declaration of war. The Chinese arm ...

and the

First Sino-Japanese War The First Sino-Japanese War (25 July 1894 – 17 April 1895) was a conflict between China and Japan primarily over influence in Korea. After more than six months of unbroken successes by Japanese land and naval forces and the loss of the po ...

Design

''Tien-sing'' was the only ship of its type constructed, which was built out of spare iron and an extra 17 cm

Krupp gun The Krupp gun is a family of artillery pieces that was used by several world armies from the nineteenth century onwards. History In 1811, Friedrich Krupp founded his cast-steel factory ''Gusstahlfabrik'', but it was his son, Alfred Krupp, who atta ...

at the

. It had been intended for

ironclads An ironclad is a steam-propelled warship protected by iron or steel armor plates, constructed from 1859 to the early 1890s. The ironclad was developed as a result of the vulnerability of wooden warships to explosive or incendiary shells. Th ...

to be built there, and ''Tien-sing'' was constructed while the ironclad building yard was also under construction. This made her the first home built ironclad in Chinese service, with the vessel known locally as "The Terror of the Western World". Her design was later compared to that of HMS ''Staunch'' of the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...

, but with additional protection for the Krupp gun. Originally named ''Chin-ou'', she was

long overall __NOTOC__ Length overall (LOA, o/a, o.a. or oa) is the maximum length of a vessel's hull measured parallel to the waterline. This length is important while docking the ship. It is the most commonly used way of expressing the size of a ship, and ...

, had a

beam Beam may refer to: Streams of particles or energy *Light beam, or beam of light, a directional projection of light energy **Laser beam *Particle beam, a stream of charged or neutral particles **Charged particle beam, a spatially localized grou ...

of and an average

draft Draft, The Draft, or Draught may refer to: Watercraft dimensions * Draft (hull), the distance from waterline to keel of a vessel * Draft (sail), degree of curvature in a sail * Air draft, distance from waterline to the highest point on a vessel ...

of . She displaced . The propulsion system consisted of a

reciprocating engine A reciprocating engine, also often known as a piston engine, is typically a heat engine that uses one or more reciprocating pistons to convert high temperature and high pressure into a rotating motion. This article describes the common featu ...

with twin shafts. Her engines produced a cruising speed of . She had a total crew complement of 40. The Krupp gun was on a retractable mount which meant it could be moved into the hull of the ironclad. This was the only armament, other than the forward mounted

naval ram A ram was a weapon fitted to varied types of ships, dating back to antiquity. The weapon comprised an underwater prolongation of the bow of the ship to form an armoured beak, usually between 2 and 4 meters (6–12 ft) in length. This would be dri ...

which was used to offset the weight of the engine. She was covered in iron deck plating thick, tapered to with

teak Teak (''Tectona grandis'') is a tropical hardwood tree species in the family Lamiaceae. It is a large, deciduous tree that occurs in mixed hardwood forests. ''Tectona grandis'' has small, fragrant white flowers arranged in dense clusters (panicl ...

backing thick. On the sides, the iron plating was thick, tapered to with the same thickness of teak backing. This initial design was to enable her to act as a river-based ironclad, primarily near the mouth of the

, and occasionally on the

. However,

Li Hongzhang Li Hongzhang, Marquess Suyi ( zh, t=李鴻章; also Li Hung-chang; 15 February 1823 – 7 November 1901) was a Chinese politician, general and diplomat of the late Qing dynasty. He quelled several major rebellions and served in important ...

felt that she should instead be used to defend the

, which would require her to undertake a sea voyage to get there. Changes were then made to the design to improve her buoyancy.

Career

She was completed in 1875, and had been due to be launched in September of that year. After becoming stuck on the

slipway A slipway, also known as boat ramp or launch or boat deployer, is a ramp on the shore by which ships or boats can be moved to and from the water. They are used for building and repairing ships and boats, and for launching and retrieving small ...

, she was launched at a later date. She was never sent to the Hai River, instead being used as she was originally intended. She was still in operation as of 1888, following the

. By 1902, she formed part of the south squadron based out of

Fuzhou Fuzhou (; , Fuzhounese: Hokchew, ''Hók-ciŭ''), alternately romanized as Foochow, is the capital and one of the largest cities in Fujian province, China. Along with the many counties of Ningde, those of Fuzhou are considered to constitute t ...

and

Canton Canton may refer to: Administrative division terminology * Canton (administrative division), territorial/administrative division in some countries, notably Switzerland * Township (Canada), known as ''canton'' in Canadian French Arts and ent ...

, having survived the

, during which time the ships of the northern fleet in the Hai River had been either destroyed or captured.

Annotations

Notes

References

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Tien-sing 1875 ships Naval ships of Imperial China Ironclad warships Ships built in China