''Yangwu'' () was a wooden

corvette A corvette is a small warship. It is traditionally the smallest class of vessel considered to be a proper (or " rated") warship. The warship class above the corvette is that of the frigate, while the class below was historically that of the slo ...

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 built in 1872 at the

Foochow Arsenal The Foochow Arsenal, also known as the Fuzhou or Mawei Arsenal, was one of several shipyards created by the Qing Empire and a flagship project of French assistance to China during the Self-Strengthening Movement. The shipyard was constructed unde ...

, and was the largest ship built there from the shipbuilding programme of 1868–75. During her early career, she was used as a

training ship A training ship is a ship used to train students as sailors. The term is mostly used to describe ships employed by navies to train future officers. Essentially there are two types: those used for training at sea and old hulks used to house classr ...

and under the command of English captains. She later saw action in the

Battle of Fuzhou The Battle of Fuzhou, or Battle of Foochow, also known as the Battle of the Pagoda Anchorage (French: Combat naval de Fou-Tchéou, Chinese: , 馬江之役 or 馬尾海戰, literally Battle of Mawei), was the opening engagement of the 16-month ...

in 1884, the opening action of 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 ...

, where she acted as the

flagship A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of naval ships, characteristically a flag officer entitled by custom to fly a distinguishing flag. Used more loosely, it is the lead ship in a fleet of vessels, typically the fi ...

of the

Fujian Fleet The Fujian Fleet ( or ) founded in 1678 as the Fujian Marine Fleet was one of China's four regional fleets during the closing decades of the nineteenth century. The fleet was almost annihilated on 23 August 1884 by Admiral Amédée Courbet's Fa ...

. Shortly after the start of the battle, she was damaged by a

spar torpedo A spar torpedo is a weapon consisting of a bomb placed at the end of a long pole, or spar, and attached to a boat. The weapon is used by running the end of the spar into the enemy ship. Spar torpedoes were often equipped with a barbed spear at ...

, causing a large explosion and the loss of the majority of her crew; she was sunk shortly afterwards by enemy fire.

Design

''Yangwu'' was a unique showpiece at the

. 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, an ...

, 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 . Wright (2000): p. 39 She displaced . Feuerwerker et al; (1967): p. 113 The propulsion system consisted of a

steam engine A steam engine is a heat engine that performs mechanical work using steam as its working fluid. The steam engine uses the force produced by steam pressure to push a piston back and forth inside a cylinder. This pushing force can be trans ...

, built by

John Inglis and Company John Inglis and Company was a Canadian manufacturing firm which made weapons for the United Kingdom and British Commonwealth military forces during the World War II era, then later became a major appliance manufacturer. Whirlpool Corporation acq ...

, equipped with four

boilers A boiler is a closed vessel in which fluid (generally water) is heated. The fluid does not necessarily boil. The heated or vaporized fluid exits the boiler for use in various processes or heating applications, including water heating, central h ...

and a retractable

funnel A funnel is a tube or pipe that is wide at the top and narrow at the bottom, used for guiding liquid or powder into a small opening. Funnels are usually made of stainless steel, aluminium, glass, or plastic. The material used in its construct ...

. Her engines produced a cruising speed of . ''Yangwu'' was armed with a

battery Battery most often refers to: * Electric battery, a device that provides electrical power * Battery (crime), a crime involving unlawful physical contact Battery may also refer to: Energy source *Automotive battery, a device to provide power t ...

of four 70-pounder guns on each side, and two further mounted as

chase gun A chase gun (or chaser), usually distinguished as bow chaser and stern chaser, was a cannon mounted in the bow (aiming forward) or stern (aiming backward) of a sailing ship. They were used to attempt to slow down an enemy ship either chasing ( ...

s at the bow and

stern The stern is the back or aft-most part of a ship or boat, technically defined as the area built up over the sternpost, extending upwards from the counter rail to the taffrail. The stern lies opposite the bow, the foremost part of a ship. Ori ...

. These were each built by the British firm Armstrong's. A further 150-pounder at

amidships This glossary of nautical terms is an alphabetical listing of terms and expressions connected with ships, shipping, seamanship and navigation on water (mostly though not necessarily on the sea). Some remain current, while many date from the 17th t ...

and two

24-pounder long gun The 24-pounder long gun was a heavy calibre piece of artillery mounted on warships of the Age of Sail. 24-pounders were in service in the navies of France, Spain, Great Britain, the Netherlands, Sweden, and the United States. They were comparabl ...

s rounded out her armament. She was equipped with two

gunpowder magazine A gunpowder magazine is a magazine (building) designed to store the explosive gunpowder in wooden barrels for safety. Gunpowder, until superseded, was a universal explosive used in the military and for civil engineering: both applications requ ...

s, located at fore and aft.

Construction and career

''Yangwu'' was a wooden corvette, built at the Foochow Navy Yard and launched on April 23, 1872. She was the seventh vessel built as part of a larger shipbuilding program at the Foochow Arsenal, and cost 254,000

tael Tael (),"Tael" entry
at the

Elman (2005): p. 373 Frodsham (1967): p. 417 She was the largest warship built between 1868–75 out of the 19 vessels planned. The shipyard was overseen by Imperial commissioner

Shen Baozhen Shen Baozhen (1820–1879), formerly romanized , was an official during the Qing dynasty. Biography Born in Minhou in Fujian province, he obtained the highest degree in the imperial examinations in 1847 and was soon appointed to the Hanl ...

but led by staff from Western nations, who advised the Chinese to continue building wooden-hulled ships despite them being made obsolete by the construction of

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 ...

s by those nations. Chinese officials would later unfairly blame the French, in particular

Prosper Giquel Prosper Marie Giquel (20 November 1835 – 19 February 1886) was a French naval officer who played an important role in the modernization of 19th century China. His Chinese name was 日意格 (). Career Prosper Giquel first arrived in China in ...

, for purposely providing them with out-of-date equipment and designs. After being launched in 1872, she served as a training vessel from 1875 in the

South China Sea The South China Sea is a marginal sea of the Western Pacific Ocean. It is bounded in the north by the shores of South China (hence the name), in the west by the Indochinese Peninsula, in the east by the islands of Taiwan and northwestern Phil ...

, making at least one journey to Japan. Wright (2000): p. 40 ''Yangwu'' was equipped with a classroom for the training of Chinese

midshipmen A midshipman is an officer of the lowest rank, in the Royal Navy, United States Navy, and many Commonwealth navies. Commonwealth countries which use the rank include Canada (Naval Cadet), Australia, Bangladesh, Namibia, New Zealand, South Afr ...

and officers. At the time of a report in the '' Shanghai 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 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 ...

and promoted to

Post-captain Post-captain is an obsolete alternative form of the rank of Captain (Royal Navy), captain in the Royal Navy. The term served to distinguish those who were captains by rank from: * Officers in command of a naval vessel, who were (and still are) ...

. He was replaced with his fellow countryman, Captain Luxmore. There were two further English members of the crew, both officers, while the rest were Chinese. During the summer of 1876, ''Yangwu'' visited the Australian colonies, and later in the year the Chinese ambassadors to Great Britain, Kwoh Song Tao and Liu-Si-hung, visited ''Yangwu'' via

mail steamer Packet boats were medium-sized boats designed for domestic mail, passenger, and freight transportation in European countries and in North American rivers and canals, some of them steam driven. They were used extensively during the 18th and 19th ...

in December while she was in

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...

. Following the visit, she sailed to

Manila Manila ( , ; fil, Maynila, ), officially the City of Manila ( fil, Lungsod ng Maynila, ), is the capital of the Philippines, and its second-most populous city. It is highly urbanized and, as of 2019, was the world's most densely populate ...

. 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. 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 as

Yantai Yantai, Postal Map Romanization, formerly romanization of Chinese, known as Chefoo, is a coastal prefecture-level city on the Shandong Peninsula in northeastern Shandong province of People's Republic of China. Lying on the southern coast of ...

) which met with a French squadron comprising two

cruiser A cruiser is a type of warship. Modern cruisers are generally the largest ships in a fleet after aircraft carriers and amphibious assault ships, and can usually perform several roles. The term "cruiser", which has been in use for several hu ...

s and a

sloop A sloop is a sailboat with a single mast typically having only one headsail in front of the mast and one mainsail aft of (behind) the mast. Such an arrangement is called a fore-and-aft rig, and can be rigged as a Bermuda rig with triangular sa ...

. During the course of the meeting, the French demonstrated the firepower of their cruisers, which were nearly two and a half times the size of ''Yangwu'', which in turn was the largest of the Chinese vessels. During the demonstration, the French showed they could hit targets more than away. Afterwards, ''Yangwu'' headed to the naval yard at Foochow (now

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 ...

), while the remaining Chinese ships steamed to the

port of Tianjin The Port of Tianjin (''Tianjin Gang'', ), formerly known as the Port of Tanggu, is the largest port in Northern China and the main maritime gateway to Beijing. The name "Tianjin Xingang" (), which strictly speaking refers only to the main seaport ...

Battle of Foochow (Fuzhou)

On August 9, 1884, French naval forces attacked and captured

Keelung Keelung () or Jilong () (; Hokkien POJ: '), officially known as Keelung City, is a major port city situated in the northeastern part of Taiwan. The city is a part of the Taipei–Keelung metropolitan area, along with its neighbors, New Taipe ...

on the island of

Formosa Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is an island country located in East Asia. The main island of Taiwan, formerly known in the Western political circles, press and literature as Formosa, makes up 99% of the land area of the territorie ...

in response to Chinese involvement in the

Tonkin Campaign The Tonkin campaign was an armed conflict fought between June 1883 and April 1886 by the French against, variously, the Vietnamese, Liu Yongfu's Black Flag Army and the Chinese Guangxi and Yunnan armies to occupy Tonkin (northern Vietnam) and en ...

and specifically the

Bắc Lệ ambush The Bắc Lệ ambush (french: guet-apens de Bac-Lé, Vietnamese: ''trận Bắc Lệ'' or ''trận cầu Quan Âm'') was a clash during the Tonkin Campaign in June 1884 between Chinese troops of the Guangxi Army and a French column sent to occu ...

. Wright (2000): p. 60 Shortly afterwards, the French Navy′s

Far East Squadron The French Far East Squadron (french: escadre de l'Extrême-Orient) was an exceptional naval grouping created for the duration of the Sino-French War (August 1884 – April 1885). Background In 1882 French interests in the Far East were pr ...

under

Rear Admiral Rear admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, equivalent to a major general and air vice marshal and above that of a commodore and captain, but below that of a vice admiral. It is regarded as a two star "admiral" rank. It is often regarde ...

Amédée Courbet Anatole-Amédée-Prosper Courbet (26 June 1827 – 11 June 1885) was a French admiral who won a series of important land and naval victories during the Tonkin Campaign (1883–86) and the Sino-French War (August 1884 – April 1885). Early year ...

, comprising the cruisers , , and along with a number of smaller vessels, was sent up the Min River to attack the arsenal at Foochow. As they travelled upriver, the Chinese declared war on the French, officially marking the start of the

. Wilson (1896): p. 4 ''Yangwu'' led the

protecting Foochow under the command of Captain Chang Cheng, which otherwise comprised three sloops in addition to a variety of

gunboat A gunboat is a naval watercraft designed for the express purpose of carrying one or more guns to bombard coastal targets, as opposed to those military craft designed for naval warfare, or for ferrying troops or supplies. History Pre-steam ...

s, transports, launches and war junks. The Royal Navy and

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

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, as they were awaiting reinforcement by the

. They planned to attack just before 2pm on August 23, with two

torpedo boats A torpedo boat is a relatively small and fast naval ship designed to carry torpedoes into battle. The first designs were steam-powered craft dedicated to ramming enemy ships with explosive spar torpedoes. Later evolutions launched variants of se ...

tasked with engaging ''Yangwu'' and the gunboat ''Fusheng'' on the first signal. Wilson (1896): p. 7 The sunken ''Yangwu'' after the Battle of Foochow Just before 2pm on August 23, the attack began after a broadside from the gunboat ''Zhenwei'' at the French gunboat ''Lynx''. This was the signal for the small boats to move forward, and some 27 seconds later a massive explosion erupted from ''Yangwu''. Boat No. 46 had impacted with her spar torpedo just below the

waterline The waterline is the line where the hull of a ship meets the surface of the water. Specifically, it is also the name of a special marking, also known as an international load line, Plimsoll line and water line (positioned amidships), that indi ...

. 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 away, Roche & Cowen (1884): p. 25 although this was later considered to be an outlandish claim. The number of survivors was likewise questioned by eyewitnesses on board the

screw sloop A screw sloop is a propeller-driven sloop-of-war. In the 19th century, during the introduction of the steam engine, ships driven by propellers were differentiated from those driven by paddle-wheels by referring to the ship's ''screws'' (propelle ...

, 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. A report appeared following the battle of an interview with Mr. Yung, who claimed to have survived the ''Yangwu'' explosion having been stationed at the stern of the vessel. He explained that the ship had returned fire to the before being hit by the spar torpedo, and orders were given to continue firing after the explosion. Fire from

Hotchkiss gun The Hotchkiss gun can refer to different products of the Hotchkiss arms company starting in the late 19th century. It usually refers to the 1.65-inch (42 mm) light mountain gun; there were also a navy (47 mm) and a 3-inch (76&nbs ...

s on French vessels made this difficult. But, despite this ''Yangwu'' disabled the other torpedo boat. The Captain handed Yung a

flotation device A personal flotation device (PFD; also referred to as a life jacket, life preserver, life belt, Mae West, life vest, life saver, cork jacket, buoyancy aid or flotation suit) is a flotation device in the form of a vest or suite that is worn by a ...

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. The wreck of ''Yangwu'' drifted as the French fired on her as she caught fire and sank. Wilson (1896): p. 8 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. Wilson (1896): pp. 11–12

Notes

References

* * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Yangwu Naval ships of Imperial China 1872 ships Victorian-era corvettes Maritime incidents in August 1884 Ships built in China Naval ships of China Shipwrecks of China Shipwrecks in rivers Sino-French War naval ships