The 80~90s of the 19th century was an era of rapid development of naval equipment, all kinds of new equipment emerged in an endless stream, and there were many new types of ships, such as unprotected cruisers, protective cruisers, dome cruisers, armored cruisers and so on. After the invention of torpedo boats, in order to deal with the threat of enemy torpedo boats, the type of torpedo gunboat appeared. At that time, the navies of various European countries were equipped with torpedo gunboats, and the Qing Dynasty navy, which was thousands of miles away, was no exception, and it was also equipped with torpedo gunboats, and also introduced technical imitation. Today I would like to introduce to you the first torpedo gunboat of the Qing Dynasty Navy at that time, which was the "Flying Thunder".
The "Thunder" docked at the pier
First, the development background
After the outbreak of the Sino-Japanese War in 1894, in order to enhance the strength of the Beiyang Naval Division, the Qing Dynasty was eager to buy ready-made warships in the international arms market. Torpedo gunboats were also one of the objects of purchase, since torpedo gunboats could cope with the threat from torpedo boats of the Japanese Combined Fleet. At that time, a torpedo gunboat in the British Armstrong shipyard attracted the attention of Gong Zhaoying, the Qing Dynasty minister to Britain, and with the consent of Li Hongzhang, he finally bought the ship for 52,500 pounds sterling and named the ship "Feiting".
It should be noted that the torpedo gunboat "Flying Thunder" was rebuilt from the British cargo ship "Sea Serpent", and it is not a torpedo gunboat of pure blood. The Sea Serpent was purchased by Armstrong in March 1894 and converted into a torpedo gunboat in September 1894, following the design of British torpedo boats. With a full load displacement of 400 tons and a maximum speed of 21.5 knots, the "Thunder" looked like an enlarged version of a torpedo boat, and the tonnage of a large torpedo boat at that time was more than 100 tons. The speed and firepower of the "Thunder" were not much of a problem against the torpedo boats of the Japanese Combined Fleet at that time, and even posed a serious threat to the capital ships of the Japanese Combined Fleet. It is a pity that at that time, the British government announced strict neutrality and banned the export of weapons, and the "Thunder" was delayed until the end of the Sino-Japanese War before it was delivered to the Chinese side!
2. Performance data
The main characteristics of the torpedo gunboat "Flying Thunder" are: length 63.7 meters, width 7.2 meters, draft 2.4 meters, standard displacement of 350 tons, full load displacement of 400 tons, crew of 92 people. It is powered by two three-expansion reciprocating steam engines, 3,000 horsepower, two axles, and a speed of 21.5 knots. The standard coal carrying capacity is 50 tons, and the maximum coal carrying capacity is 90 tons (one says 104 tons). Equipped with 2 Armstrong 95mm/21x radial rapid-fire guns, 4 Hatch Kaith 47mm rapid-fire guns. 2 twin 356 mm maneuver torpedo tubes (chimney rear) and 1 single 356 mm fixed torpedo tube (bow).
"Flying Thunder" naval gun firing exercise
Since it was converted from a merchant ship, the appearance of the "Thunder" is very distinctive. The bow is sharpened (with sharp ramming angles underwater), a flush upper deck, a full, rounded wooden stern, and two lightweight masts. In addition, the side-by-side chimney setup makes the deck more compact, allowing for a relatively larger space for other weapons.
3. Service status
The torpedo gunboat "Feiting" arrived in Dagu, Tianjin, on September 21, 1895, and for the last 16 years of the late Qing Dynasty, the "Feiting" had been defending Gyeonggi in the northern seas. In 1900, the Gengzi Incident occurred, and in the early morning of June 17, the Eight-Nation Coalition began to attack the Dagu Fort, which put up a heroic resistance. However, due to the disparity in strength and the final fall of the fort, the Qing Dynasty navy stationed in Dagu was also wiped out, and many ships were captured by the Eight-Nation Alliance. Among the captured Qing warships was the "Fei Ting" torpedo gunboat, specifically the Russian army captured the "Fei Ting" at the Dagu dock, which was being repaired in the dock at that time.
After the Battle of Dagukou, the Eight-Nation Coalition continued to be stationed in Dagu until the signing of the Treaty of Xinchou on September 7, 1901. However, Russia continued to occupy the dry dock in Dagu until August 1902. During these two years, a number of Russian vessels, including warships, were repaired at the Dagu dockyard. The Russian army used the "Flying Thunder" as a parts factory for repairing Russian warships, and everything from the guns and torpedo tubes on the ship to the parts on the steam engine were all disassembled and used by the Russian army as much as possible. It was not until December 9, 1902 that the Qing government took back the ship from the Russian army and attempted to repair it at the Dagu dockyard. Due to the chaos at the end of the Qing Dynasty, the repair of the "Feiting" was not completed until 1909, and the completed "Feiting" was incorporated into the Yangtze River Fleet and deployed in Xiangshan Port.
"Thunder" under sail
In October 1911, the "Flying Thunder" was sent to Anqing to carry out patrol duties. On November 12, 1911, the "Feiting" rebelled on the Yangtze River near Zhenjiang in Jiangsu Province and joined the revolutionary army. On July 12, 1913, a fierce battle broke out between Yuan Shikai's Beiyang Army and the "Yuan Army" in the Hukou area, and the fleet led by the then Navy Vice Admiral Tang Xiangming also participated in the battle, including the "Feiting". On December 3, 1913, the "Fei Ting" withdrew from the active service of the Navy, and the "Fei Ting" was purchased as an anti-smuggling ship in the name of Fujian Yanwu, and then sent to the Hong Kong shipyard for repair and transformation, and at the same time renamed the "Gong Ting". In 1914, on the way from Xiamen to Fuzhou, the "Gongting" unfortunately ran aground and sank in the waters near Turtle Mountain off the coast of Fujian, ending its bumpy life!