Two Meiyun-class gunboats in the late Qing Dynasty

Two Meiyun-class gunboats in the late Qing Dynasty

Learn from Kuang Heng to overcome difficulties, study hard, strive for perseverance, be ambitious, study diligently, and cultivate yourself into a knowledgeable and capable person. A person with cultural skills.

In the 1860s, the Qing Dynasty launched the Westernization Movement. The Fuzhou Shipping Bureau, established in 1866, was one of the important military-industrial enterprises established during the Westernization Movement. By January 1868, the Fuzhou Shipyard built its first gunboat, the Evergreen. After gaining experience in shipbuilding, the Shipyard actively planned to build a new type of Meiyun-class gunboat.

The gunboat Meiyun, launched on December 6, 1869, was the second ship built by the shipyard. It used a wooden hull with wooden sides. The ship was manufactured under the supervision of French supervisor Daxbo. The Meyun ship has a displacement of 515 tons, a full load displacement of 550 tons, a total length of 49.4 meters, a width of 7.1 meters, a draft of 3.23 meters, and a cabin depth of 4.35 meters;

The power unit is a horizontal reciprocating unit purchased from France. It has 4 steam engines and circular boilers, with an output of 320 horsepower, single-shaft propulsion, and a maximum speed of 9 knots/hour. The Meiyun class also retains sail rigging, with a main hull area of ??18.88 square meters and a sail area of ??737.7 square meters.

The weapons of the Meyun ship are one French-made rotating Weyawiyasa 160mm front-loading cannon with a weight of three and a half tons, and two 120mm 45-pound front-loading cannons; the ship has a crew of 70 , with a total cost of 103,000 taels of silver. The Meiyun class has built two ships. The class is named after the first ship Meiyun, and the other one is named Fuxing.

On January 10, 1870, the Meiyun ship was personally supervised by Shen Baozhen, the Minister of Shipping, and the French superintendent Rigel and others. They were quite satisfied with the performance of the ship. After the trial was completed, The Meiyun ship joined the Fujian Navy. At this time, the Fujian Navy was in the preparation stage. Although the Meiyun ship was not large in tonnage and had a wooden hull, it was a cutting-edge warship at the time and a proper main force.

At this time, the Fujian Navy already had a certain scale, but there was no decent warship in the north of the Qing Dynasty. Therefore, in 1872, the Meiyun ship was ordered by the Qing court to patrol the coast of Fengtian. The residence is Niuzhuang, Haicheng. Later, the Beiyang Navy formed an army, and the Meiyun ship was transferred to join.

When the Sino-Japanese War of 1894 broke out, the Meiyun ship was already an old ship, so it did not participate in the war. On March 6, 1895, the Meiyun ship encountered the Japanese combined fleet in Yingkou. The ship's speed was low and it would definitely not be able to escape. The hull was made of wood. If it fought the Japanese ship, it would not be able to withstand a few shots. Therefore, the Meiyun ship had to surrender. After being captured, the Meiyun ship and several other captured ships were finally docked in Port Arthur.

On April 23 of the same year, France, Germany, and Russia, considering their own interests, demanded that Japan return the occupied Liaodong Peninsula. Under pressure, Japan returned the Liaodong Peninsula after extorting 30 million taels of silver from the Qing government. Several captured ships anchored in Lushun were all old and dilapidated, so the Japanese army returned them all to the Qing Dynasty. After the Meiyun ship was handed over to the Qing Dynasty, because the wooden hull was seriously damaged and the ship's equipment was obsolete, repairs were abandoned and scrapped.

The second ship of the Meiyun class, the Fuxing, was the third ship built by the shipyard. It was supervised by the French acting chief engineer of the shipyard, Anle Tao. Construction started in early December 1869 and was completed in May 1870. It was launched on March 30 and completed in October of the same year. Because the Meiyun ship was equipped with two more 40-pound side guns, the total cost reached 106,000 taels of silver, and the crew was 88 people.

The Fuxing Ship was originally intended to be used as a training ship for the Shipbuilding School, but it had not yet been put into practice. The shipyard supervisor Japan purchased the Prussian merchant ship Jianwei as a training ship, so the Fuxing Ship was used as a training ship. Incorporated into the Fujian Navy. On August 23, 1884, French ships attacked the Fujian Navy, and the Battle of Majiang broke out.

The French mine boat No. 45 approached and used the mine hanging on the front pole to attack the Fuxing ship. It was discovered by the navy officers and soldiers. Because of the close distance, the Fuxing ship did not have machine guns, and the navy officers and soldiers could only use rifles. Shooting at the enemy, the captain of the French mine boat Ladu was injured in his left eye. Boat No. 45 turned around and escaped.

Fuxing ship management led Chen Ying to weigh anchor and rush forward to attack the enemy flagship Volda with fierce artillery fire. Unfortunately, the artillery fire was too weak and did not cause major damage to the French ship. At this time, three French ships came to besiege the Fuxing ship. After a bombardment, the Fuxing ship was hit by multiple bullets, and was hit by an enemy torpedo. Finally, it exploded and sank. At that time, there were 95 people on the ship, including more than 70 people including Chen Ying. People died for their country, and only about 20 people survived.

The Meiyun was captured and the Fuxing was sunk. The fate of these two Meiyun-class gunboats reflects the decadence and incompetence of the Qing rulers and the backwardness of the feudal system. It is impossible to develop just a few pieces of equipment. Make up for the gap with the times.

History is a mirror. Different people will see different scenes in this mirror. The Chinese nation is a nation with a long history and splendid culture. China is a great country. In the late Qing Dynasty, there were two Meiyun-class gunboats. The first ship was captured during the Sino-Japanese War of 1894-1895, and the other Majiang was sunk against the enemy.