Chaoyong

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For the businessman, see Tung Chao Yung.

The Chaoyong (Chinese: 超勇; pinyin: Chāoyǒng) was a cruiser in the Qing Dynasty Beiyang Fleet. The first of the Chaoyong Class, its sister ship was the Yangwei, and the Tsukushi built for Japan was of the same model.

Chaoyong was laid down on 4 November 1880, completed on 15 July 1881, and sailed back to Weihaiwei on 22 November 1881 with the Yangwei.

Together with the Yangwei, the Chaoyong was built by British shipbuilder Armstrong Whitworth at a cost of 65 million taels of silver, though Armstrong later subcontracted part of the framework to Mitchell.

The ship was 64 m long and 9.75 m wide, and displaced 1,350 tons. It had 2,600 horsepower and could reach maximum speeds of 15-16 knots and cruising speed of 8 knots. The ship was an ironclad, with wood interior but had 0.27 in of steel plating outside. The crew was around 137-140 men.

Armaments consisted of 2 Armstrong Whitworth 254 mm cannons, 4 Armstrong Whitworth 120 mm cannons, 2 2 Armstrong Whitworth nine-pounders, 4 11 mm Gatling guns, 4 37 mm Hotchkiss guns, 2 4-barreled Nordenfeldt guns, and carried a torpedo boat.

The ship was sunk 17 September 1894 during the First Sino-Japanese War.