Chinese ironclad Zhenyuan

Type

Ironclad

Period

19th Century

Nation

China

Overview: Zhenyuan was a German-built ironclad turret ship constructed for China's Beiyang Fleet, sister ship to the Dingyuan, and one of the most powerful warships in East Asian waters when completed in the 1880s. She was captured by Japan in 1895 and served on as the Imperial Japanese Navy's Chin'en (Chin Yen), becoming Japan's first true battleship until the Fuji-class pre-dreadnoughts joined the fleet. Specifications: The ship displaced around 7,220 long tons normal (7,670 tons full load), was 308 ft long with a 59 ft beam and 20 ft draft, and reached roughly 15.4 knots on trials against a designed 14.5 knots. Her main armament was four 12-inch/25-caliber Krupp breech-loading guns in two twin turrets arranged en echelon forward, backed by 5.9-inch secondary guns, Hotchkiss and Maxim-Nordenfelt quick-firing weapons, and 14-15 inch torpedo tubes, protected by a 14-inch compound armor belt and 12-14 inch barbettes that were exceptional for the region and era. Service History: Built by AG Vulcan in Stettin, Germany, delivery of Zhenyuan and Dingyuan was delayed by the Sino-French War before both ships reached Tianjin in November 1885 under German crews. Zhenyuan took part in a Beiyang Fleet show-of-force tour in August 1886 to Hong Kong, Korean ports, Vladivostok, and Nagasaki, during which a brawl involving her crew in Nagasaki turned deadly and heightened tensions with Japan. She fought at the Battle of the Yalu River in 1894 and was present at Weihaiwei in February 1895, where she was used as a stationary artillery battery before the fleet's surrender; seized as a war prize, she was recommissioned into the Imperial Japanese Navy, rebuilt with updated armament in 1896-97, saw action at the Battle of the Yellow Sea and Battle of Tsushima during the Russo-Japanese War, supported the invasion of Sakhalin, and was used in escort duties during the Boxer Uprising before being decommissioned in 1911 and sold for scrap in 1912. Notable Facts: Built with 14-inch thick armor and modern Krupp guns, Zhenyuan and Dingyuan were considered superior to any contemporary Japanese warship at the time of their construction, and remained largely impervious to Japanese fire even at the Battle of the Yalu River. Her postwar Japanese refit altered her silhouette, and by 1905 she had been re-rated first as a second-class battleship and then as a first-class coastal defence ship, details modelers should note when choosing which service period to depict.