Chinese cruiser Zhiyuen

History
Zhiyuan around 1894
Imperial China
Name:	Zhiyuan
Ordered:	October 1885
Builder:	Armstrong Whitworth, Elswick, England
Laid down:	20 October 1885
Launched:	29 September 1886
Completed:	23 July 1887
Fate:	Sunk in combat, 17 September 1894
General characteristics
Type:	Zhiyuen-class protected cruiser
Displacement:	2,300 long tons (2,300 t)
Length:	268 ft (82 m)
Beam:	38 ft (12 m)
Draft:	15 ft (4.6 m)
Propulsion:	Compound-expansion steam engine, two screws 4 x boilers
Speed:	18 kn (33 km/h; 21 mph)
Capacity:	510 tons of coal
Complement:	204–260 officers and men
Armament:	3 × 8 in (20 cm) Krupp guns 2 × 6-inch (15 cm) Armstrong guns 8 × QF 6-pounder Hotchkiss guns 2 x QF 3-pounder Hotchkiss guns 8 x 1-pounder guns 6 x gatling guns 4 × above water torpedo tubes
Armor:	Deck armour: 4 in (10 cm) (flat), 3 in (7.6 cm) (slope) Gun shields: 2 in (5.1 cm)

Zhiyuan (Chinese: 致遠; pinyin: Zhiyuan; Wade–Giles: Chih Yuen) was a cruiser built for the Imperial Chinese Navy. She was built by Armstrong Whitworth in Elswick, England. She was one of two Zhiyuen-class protected cruisers built, alongside her sister ship Jingyuen. Zhiyuan was one of the first protected cruisers built with a larger number of smaller sized naval guns, as opposed to an smaller number of larger guns. Both ships were assigned to the Beiyang Fleet, and she was captained by Deng Shichang throughout her life.

She was part of a flotilla which toured ports during the summer of 1889. Zhiyuan's sole action was at the Battle of the Yalu River on 17 September 1894 during the First Sino-Japanese War. During the battle, she came under heavy fire from the Japanese forces. Having been holed, Deng ordered for the ship to ram an opposing vessel. She was destroyed as she closed, either by a hit on one of her torpedo tubes, or from a Japanese torpedo. This attack, and the subsequent story of her captain and his dog have become embedded in popular culture in the People's Republic of China. A replica of the Zhiyuan was constructed in 2014 at the Port of Dandong, while the wreck was discovered in 2013 after a 16-year search.

...
Wikipedia