Of these the Fu-So,[6] designed by Sir E. J. Reed, and launched at Samuda’s Yard, Poplar, England, in 1877, was then a powerful second-class battleship. In design she resembles the French Rédoutable, though of only half her size. Particulars are:—
| Material of hull | Iron. |
| Displacement | 3718. |
| Length | 220 ft. |
| Beam | 48 ft. |
| Draught | 18⅓ ft. |
| Original armament | Four 9.4-in. Krupps in the main deck, |
| central-armoured battery. | |
| Two 6.6-in. Krupps in unarmoured | |
| barbettes above the armoured battery. | |
| Horse-power | 3500. |
| Nominal speed | 13 knots. |
| Screws | Two. |
| Coal | 360 tons. |
| Nominal radius | 3500 miles at 10 knots. |
The armour is distributed in a complete belt of iron from 9 to 4 ins. in thickness. The battery armour is 8 ins., with 7-in. bulkheads forming a redoubt. The engines, by Penn, are horizontal compound trunk. She was then barque-rigged, with a single funnel. She carried no torpedo tubes, but these were added later. Just previous to the war with China the Japanese reconstructed and re-armed her, removing the mainmast, and fitting military tops to the fore and mizzen; 6-in. Q.F. were mounted in the barbettes in place of the old 6.6-in. Either immediately before or directly after the war, two additional 6-in. Q.F. (as shown in the photograph of her at sea) were mounted, one on the forecastle and one on the poop behind shields; and subsequently four further 6-in. Q.F. replaced the old guns in the battery, these having been found well-nigh useless for modern warfare. This by no means exhausts the history of the Fu-So, but her subsequent adventures will be found on a later page.[7]
[Official photograph.
Chin Yen. Chiyoda.
THE JAPANESE FLEET IN LINE ABREAST.
NAVAL MANŒUVRES.
Russia with the General Admiral would appear to have inspired the idea of the Hi-Yei[8] and Kon-go. The former of these was launched early in 1878 at Milford Haven, the latter at Hull towards the end of 1877. The ships are sisters. Details are:—
| Material of hull | Composite. |
| Displacement | 2250 tons. |
| Length | 231 ft. |
| Beam | 40¾ ft. |
| Draught | 17½ ft. |
| Armament | Three 6.6-in. Krupp. |
| Six 6-in. 2½-ton Krupp. | |
| Four Nordenfelts. | |
| Two torpedo tubes. | |
| Horse-power | Hi-Yei, 2270. |
| Kon-go, 2035. | |
| Screws | One. |
| Speed (nominal) | Hi-Yei, 13 knots. |
| Kon-go, 13.7 knots. | |
| Engines (by Earle) | Horizontal compound. |