Japanese warship Banryū

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Japanese warship Banryū (蟠龍）was a ship of the Bakufu Navy, and subsequently belonged to the troops loyal to the Shogun during the Boshin war in Japan in 1868. Banryū was originally built in England as a schooner, where she had been named Emperor. She had a length of 41.8 meters, a breadth of 5.45 meters, a draught of 3.23 meters, and weighed 370 tons. She was armed with six 12-pounder bronze cannons.

Banryū participated in the Naval Battle of Awa, Japan's first engagement between two modern fleets, on January 28th, 1868.

She was also dispached to participate to the Naval Battle of Miyako in March 1869, but had to return back to Hokkaido after being damaged in bad weather.

During the Naval Battle of Hakodate in May 1869, Banryū managed to sink one of the Imperial navy's warships, the Chōyō. She sank in turn slightly later due to heavy damage.

[edit] References

• "Une aventure au Japon", by Eugène Collache, in "Le Tour du Monde" No77, 1874.