NAVYPEDIA

Photo

Chin Yen Many thanks to Wolfgang Stöhr for additional information on this page.

Ships

Name	No	Yard No	Builder	Laid down	Launched	Comp	Fate
鎮遠 [Chin Yen] (ex-鎮遠 Chen Yuan)		112	Vulcan, Stettin, Germany	1881	28.11.1882	1885 // 3.1895	stricken 1911

Technical data

Displacement normal, t	7220
Displacement full, t	7670
Length, m	91.0 wl 93.9 oa
Breadth, m	18.0
Draught, m	6.10 mean
No of shafts	2
Machinery	2 HC, 8 cylindrical boilers
Power, h. p.	6300
Max speed, kts	14.5
Fuel, t	coal 1000
Endurance, nm(kts)	4500(10)
Armour, mm	belt: 356 - 203, bulkheads: 356, barbettes: 305, main turrets: 305 - 76, secondary turrets: 51, deck: 76, CT: 203
Armament	2 x 2 - 305/22 RKL/25 C/80, 2 x 1 - 149/32 RKL/35 C/80, 2 x 1 - 79/27 RKL/27 C/73, 2 x 1 - 57/43 Nordenfelt, 8 x 5 - 37/20 Hotchkiss, 3 - 350 TT (1 bow, 2 beam), 2 torpedo boats
Complement	329

Standard scale images

Graphics

Project history

The Chinese central citadel battleship Chen Yuan was captured by Japanese forces during the Sino-Japanese war when the port of Wei-Hai-Wei surrendered on 12 February 1895. She was refitted and re-armed, commissioning into the Imperial Navy as the Chin Yen to become the Japanese Navy's first battleship.

Ship protection

Citadel was 43.5m long and closed magazines and machinery. Lower belt layer (1.5m-high) had 203mm thickness, medium 1.5m-high layer was 356mm and upper layer was 254mm. Belt was connected by 305mm common barbette of both turrets. 76mm deck closed full hull length, it was flat amidships and aft and had turtleback form at fore end. Main guns were placed in turrets with 305mm faces, 152mm sides and 76mm crowns. CT between turrets had 203mm sides. Secondary turrets had 51mm sides.

Modernizations

1895-1896: - 2 x 1 - 149/32, 2 x 1 - 79/27, 8 x 5 - 37/20; + 4 x 1 - 152/40 Armstrong W, 8 x 1 - 47/40 3pdr Hotchkiss Mk I

Naval service

She remained in service during the Russo-Japanese war and although present at the bombardment of Port Arthur and the Battle of the Yellow Sea she did not actually go into action. She was removed from the effective fleet in 1910 to become a training ship for pilots, stricken in 1911 and BU in 1914.

Many thanks to Wolfgang Stöhr for additional information on this page.