The armour is a mere iron strip on the water-line, varying from 4½ to 3 ins. in thickness.
In 1876 a new Imperial yacht, the Jin-Jei, was launched. She is a paddler, with swan-bow, two funnels, and two high pole masts—a pretty-looking vessel.
| Displacement | 1464 tons. |
| Material of hull | Wood. |
| Length | 249 ft. |
| Beam | 32 ft. |
| Draught | 14½ ft. |
| Armament | Two 4¾-in. Krupp. |
| Horse-power | 1430. |
| Speed | 12 knots. |
In 1879 began what later events constituted the supplementary Japanese shipbuilding programme. In 1879 Elswick built for China those once famous “alphabetical gunboats,” a series of “flat-irons” of the Rendel type, to carry one gun. Like a good many other Chinese vessels, they were destined to fly the Japanese flag at a later period of their existence. Altogether there were eleven of these craft, named after letters of the Greek alphabet, but re-named by the Chinese. They were named Lung-shang (Alpha), he-wei (Beta), Fei-ting (Gamma), Tche-tien (Delta), the first two of 340 tons, the other two of 420 tons, and which the Chinese still own. The remainder are a little larger, four, Cheng-tung (Epsilon), Chen-Sei (Zeta), Chen-nan (Eta), Chen-pei (Theta), of 490 tons, and Chin-pen (Kappa), Hai-chang-ching (Lambda), and Chen-chung (Iota) of 500 tons. Japan now owns all of this last batch, except the Hai-chang-ching.
Gamma and Delta carry a 38-ton Armstrong M.L.; all the others are armed with the 11-in. 25-ton gun. Horse-power varies from 235 in the smaller craft to 472 in the larger. There are slight differences in dimensions, but the largest only runs to 125 ft. long by 29 ft. broad. Two other rather smaller gunboats once existed, but these the French sunk at Foochow in the early eighties. The development of small guns has long since rendered this type of gunboat useless; but, apart from that, the bad care taken of them by the Chinese would have made them of no service.
China in 1881 was making some considerable efforts towards being a naval power, efforts that continued till 1889, when they suddenly died out, or resolved themselves into the building of small craft by Chinamen. A Chino-Japanese war was a possibility in 1881 as much as in 1890. Neither side was, however, ready for the conflict, and in the early eighties Japan’s energies were concentrated on training personnel, China’s on acquiring materiel. In 1881 the latter had launched for her the big ironclad Ting Yuen at Stettin, followed a little later by the Chin Yuen, now in the Japanese service. From the time China first had them, Japan coveted these ironclads; by the irony of fate, she did not secure them (or rather the one that was left) till far superior ships of her own were on the stocks.
The Tung Yuen sank at Wei-hai-wei during the war; the Chen Yuen, her sister, was taken at the same time. Her details are:—
| Displacement | 7350 tons. |
| Material of hull | Steel. |
| Length | 308 ft. |
| Beam | 59 ft. |
| Draught | 23 ft. |
| Armament (originally) | Four 12-in. 20 cals. Krupp. |
| Two 6-in. Krupp. | |
| Eight machine guns. | |
| One torpedo tube in the stern; | |
| one on each beam forward of barbettes. | |
| Horse-power | 6200. |
| Screws | Two. |
| Speed (on first trials) | 14.5 knots. |
| Engines | Two sets, three-cylinder horizontal compound. |
| Coal | 1000 tons. |
The arrangement of the heavy armament is upon the system that in 1880 was held to be the system of the future—four big guns able to fire end-on or on the broadside. The ideal warship of those days was to fight in line abreast. The advantages of that disposition were seen, while its disadvantages were ignored. It was not realised how easily an enemy could get round upon either flank and mask the fire of nearly all the units in this cumbersome formation, the advantages of which lie only in going into action against an enemy right ahead.
When the Chin Yen was the Chinese Chen Yuen she carried thin shields over her big guns. The 6-in. pieces were in the extreme bow and stern, each in a 3-in. turret. The big gun shields were removed before the war. The Japanese captured these with Port Arthur, and have since replaced them. They have also mounted a 6-in. Q.F. in the bow turret, substituted a 6-in. Q.F. behind a shield for the after turret, and mounted two additional Q.F.’s upon sponsons specially built near the mainmast. Two 6-pounder Q.F. and a number of 3- or 2½-pounders have also been added on the upper deck. The [photograph] shows the ship as she now is.