''Yat Sen'' (,

Pinyin Hanyu Pinyin (), often shortened to just pinyin, is the official romanization system for Standard Mandarin Chinese in China, and to some extent, in Singapore and Malaysia. It is often used to teach Mandarin, normally written in Chinese for ...

: Yi Xian), named after the founding father

Dr. Sun Yat-sen Sun Yat-sen (; also known by several other names; 12 November 1866 – 12 March 1925)Singtao daily. Saturday edition. 23 October 2010. section A18. Sun Yat-sen Xinhai revolution 100th anniversary edition . was a Chinese politician who serve ...

of the Republic of China and completed in 1931, was a light cruiser— having more in common with the small cruisers of pre–World War I era—in the

ROC Navy The Republic of China Navy (ROCN; ), also called the ROC Navy and colloquially the Taiwan Navy, is the maritime branch of the Republic of China Armed Forces (ROCAF). The service was formerly commonly just called the Chinese Navy during World W ...

before World War II. An enlarged design was laid down but never completed due to the Japanese occupation of Kiangnan shipyard.

Service record

''Yat Sen'' was launched and began its sea trials in 1931. On August 5, 1933,''Yat Sen'' received orders to move to the Bohai Sea for patrolling missions. ''Yat Sen'' later headed to

Fujian Fujian (; alternately romanized as Fukien or Hokkien) is a province on the southeastern coast of China. Fujian is bordered by Zhejiang to the north, Jiangxi to the west, Guangdong to the south, and the Taiwan Strait to the east. Its capi ...

when the

19th Route Army 19th Route Army () was an army in the Republic of China (1912-49), Republic of China led by General Cai Tingkai. It gained a good reputation among Chinese for fighting the Japanese in Shanghai in the January 28 Incident in 1932. In 1933-34 it wa ...

rebelled there. In 1936, ''Yat Sen'' was ordered to keep a close eye on Japanese ships drilling near

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 showed a strong mobility on the sea during the progress. After the

Second Sino-Japanese War The Second Sino-Japanese War (1937–1945) or War of Resistance (Chinese term) was a military conflict that was primarily waged between the Republic of China and the Empire of Japan. The war made up the Chinese theater of the wider Pacific Th ...

broke out, ''Yat Sen'' participated in the defense of Kiangyin Fortress,

Yangtze River The Yangtze or Yangzi ( or ; ) is the longest list of rivers of Asia, river in Asia, the list of rivers by length, third-longest in the world, and the longest in the world to flow entirely within one country. It rises at Jari Hill in th ...

, near Nanking and took over

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 ...

duties after both and were sunk by Japanese aircraft. ''Yat Sen'' was sunk as well on 25 September 1937 after shooting down two of the 16 attacking aircraft, losing 14 of its crew. The Japanese salvaged the ship after the fall of Kiangyin Fortress. After having its stern deck added by one level and receiving radar, sonar, and Japanese weapons, it was renamed and employed 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 ...

for naval academy cadets destined for submarine service. It survived

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

and was returned to its former owner on 9 August 1946. Before its departure, however, the Japanese installed all the German-made wooden furniture taken from the armored cruiser (which by then had been sold for scrapping) into its cabins. After reverting to its old name (逸仙) and rejoining the ROCN, ''Yat Sen / Yi Xian'' remained active during the

Chinese Civil War The Chinese Civil War was fought between the Kuomintang-led government of the Republic of China and forces of the Chinese Communist Party, continuing intermittently since 1 August 1927 until 7 December 1949 with a Communist victory on m ...

and the ROC government's subsequent withdrawal to

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...

. It participated in numerous patrol cruises but was not involved in any major action until being decommissioned on 1 June 1958 and sold for scrapping on 19 May the following year.

External links

Cruisers of the Republic of China Navy Ships built in China 1931 ships Second Sino-Japanese War cruisers of China World War II naval ships of China World War II naval ships of Japan Cruisers sunk by aircraft Ships sunk by Japanese aircraft Naval ships of the Republic of China captured by Japan during World War II {{mil-ship-stub