Chinese cruiser Jiyuan
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| Career |  |
|---|---|
| Builder: | Stettiner Vulcan AG shipyards, Germany |
| Laid down | 31 January 1880 |
| Launched: | 2 November 1883 |
| Completed: | 1885; 11 June 1885, commissioned into the Beiyang Navy as Jiyuan(济远) |
| Fate: | Prize of war to Japan 16 March 1895; Mined off Port Arthur, 30 November 1904 |
| General characteristics | |
| Displacement: | 2,440 tons |
| Length: | 75.0 meters at waterline |
| Beam: | 10.5 meters |
| Draught: | 4.67 meters |
| Propulsion: | 2-shaft reciprocating triple expansion steam engine, 2 boilers; 2,800 HP |
| Speed: | 15 knots |
| Fuel: | 230 tons coal |
| Complement: | 180 |
| Armament: |
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| Armor: |
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The Jiyuan (Chinese:济远), sometimes translated as Chiyuan, was a cruiser in the Chinese Beiyang fleet of the Qing government. It was originally ordered as the third vessel in the Dingyuan class of battleships, but as the necessary funds could not be raised and the order was changed to a smaller armoured deck cruiser. The shipbuilder was AG Vulcan Stettin, in Stettin, Germany. Obsolete transliterations of its Chinese name in some western sources include Tche-Yuen, and Tsi-yuan.
[edit] Design
The Jiyuan is said to be the first armoured deck cruiser built by Germany. From its completion, there were many critics about its performance. Some sources claim that it was modeled after the British HMS Hotspur (1870), but this claim has never been verified.
Sir Robert Hart promoter on behalf of the British shipbuilding industry strongly lobbied the Qing court higher officials, and the Chinese purchaser Li Fengbao (李鳳苞) (Chinese Ambassador to Germany) had to resign before the ship was finally completely.
[edit] Career
Originally scheduled to be delivered 1884, due to the Sino-French War completion was postponed to 1885. The Jiyuan took part in the Battle of Pungdo and Battle of the Yalu River (1894) in First Sino-Japanese War. Without achieving any military success, it ran down another Chinese cruiser Yangwei during the battle. Later, it was captured by the Imperial Japanese Army after Battle of Weihaiwei as a prize of war. The Imperial Japanese Navy later commissioned it into Japanese service (keeping the same Chinese character name 济远) as the Japanese cruiser Saien.
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- For record of the Jiyuan after to being captured by Japan, see Japanese cruiser Saien.
