There was a lot of debate on the Internet about the title of the First Asian Fleet during the First Sino-Japanese War. Some believe that it is the Beiyang Naval Division, while others believe that it is actually the Japanese Combined Fleet (whose comprehensive strength has surpassed that of the Beiyang Naval Division after several years of development), each with its own reasons. But in fact, it was neither, and there were more than these two fleets in Asia at that time, and the British, French, Russian and other powers had fleets stationed in Asia. In particular, the British Royal Navy, which was the largest in the world at that time, had a strong fleet deployed in Asia, so I will tell you more about it today.
British battleships of the "Centurion" class
During the Sino-Japanese Battle in the Yellow Sea in 1894, many warships of the great powers watched near the warring waters, among which the British Far East Fleet was the strongest. The British Far East Fleet mainly had one 10,500-ton "Centurion" class battleship, two 7,500-ton "Edgar" class protective cruisers, one 5,600-ton "Orlando" class armored cruiser, two 3,700-ton "Apollo" class protective cruisers, and several auxiliary ships.
In terms of medium and large caliber naval guns, 1 Centurion-class battleship is equipped with 4 254 mm/32 x breech guns and 10 120 mm/40x radial rapid-fire guns, 1 Edgar-class protective cruiser is equipped with 2 234 mm/32x breech guns and 10 152 mm/40x rapid-fire guns, and 1 Orlando-class armored cruiser is equipped with 2 234 mm/32x breech guns and 10 x 152 mm / 26x breech guns (152 mm/40x radial rapid-fire guns after 1895), 1 Apollo-class protective cruiser with 2 152 mm/40x radial rapid-fire guns and 6 120 mm/40x radial rapid-fire guns. In total, there were 66 large and medium-sized naval guns, of which 46 were rapid-fire guns.
In addition, these six British warships are also equipped with hundreds of small-caliber rapid-fire guns, 57 mm, 47 mm and other calibers, and they are also very strong in melee firepower. There were also dozens of torpedo tubes in total, and although the hit rate of torpedoes was not high at that time, they could still pose a threat to enemy ships when fired at close range. At the same time, the British ships had a large tonnage and carried sufficient ammunition, unlike the Beiyang Naval Division, which did not have enough shells.
British "Edgar" class protective cruisers
The armor-piercing ability of large-caliber naval guns also shows that the British 234 mm/32 times diameter breech gun has an armor-piercing ability of 17 inches, which is about 432 mm thick steel-faced iron armor, while the armor-piercing ability of the 254 mm/32 times diameter breech gun is even stronger. The maximum thickness of the armor protection of the "Dingyuan" class ironclad ships of the Beiyang Naval Division is 356 mm, which cannot withstand the bombardment of these two types of guns at all. As for the bunch of thin-crusted flatbread of the Japanese Combined Fleet, it is even worse, it can be pierced with one armor-piercing bullet.
The total tonnage is also mentioned, the total tonnage of the Beiyang Naval Division is 34,000 tons, and the total tonnage of the Japanese Combined Fleet is 40,800 tons. The total tonnage of the six British warships watching the battle was 38,500 tons, plus a few auxiliary ships, which steadily exceeded the total tonnage of the Japanese Combined Fleet. In contrast, the total tonnage of the Beiyang Naval Division is the least.
In terms of speed, the British Far East Fleet also had a clear advantage, with the maximum speed of the "Centurion" class battleships being 18.5 knots, and the maximum speed of several protective cruisers was also above 18 knots. On the other hand, the average speed of the Chinese and Japanese fleets in the Battle of the Yellow Sea did not exceed 15 knots, the average speed of the Japanese combined fleet was 14.5 knots, and the average speed of the Beiyang naval division was only 10 knots. Judging from the results of the First Sino-Japanese Naval Battle, the side with high speed had a clear tactical advantage.
British armored cruiser of the class "Orlando".
It should be noted that these British warships watching the battle were not all the ships of the British Far East Fleet, but only some of them. The British Far East Fleet still has a large number of ships in Hong Kong, and the large warships alone have at least one "Centurion" class battleship and one "Edgar" class protective cruiser, which is another 18,000 tons of tonnage and 26 large and medium-caliber naval guns. At its peak, during the Russo-Japanese War, the British Far East Fleet had 5 battleships! In addition, Britain has a fleet not only in Hong Kong in Asia, but also in Singapore in Southeast Asia, which is not small in scale, and can support Hong Kong's Far East Fleet in wartime.
If the British Far East Fleet is compared to a strong man, then the Beiyang Naval Division and the Japanese Combined Fleet can only be regarded as two kindergarten children, and their strength is not at the same level at all. Therefore, during the First Sino-Japanese War, the British Far East Fleet was the real first fleet in Asia.