World War II Database

Contributor: C. Peter Chen

ww2dbaseAlthough the construction of the lead ship of the Ninghai-class light cruisers was outsourced to Japan, the second ship, Pinghai, was laid down by the Jiangnan Shipyard in Shanghai, China four months after the keel-laying of Ninghai after Jiangnan had received the proper modernization for such work; the parts and the chief engineer were brought in from Japan, however. The planned cost for the light cruiser 4,588,000 Yuan. The launching date was originally planned to coincide with the 10 Oct National Day celebration of 1933, but the Sino-Japanese tension of 1931 delayed the delivery of necessary material for the final phase of the construction. After the 1935 launch, she sat idle for some time before she was sent to Aioi, Japan for the fitting of weapons; although she was originally planned to receive the same Japanese-built weaponry, Japan refused to sell China heavy weapons; the Chinese turned to European firms Krupp and Bofors to purchase replacements. In Apr 1937, Pinghai was placed under the command of Captain Gao Xianshen and was assigned to the 1st Fleet as the flagship. After the Second Sino-Japanese War began in 1937, she participated in the Battle of Jiangyin, attempting to block the mouth of the Yangtze River from Japanese warships; during this battle, she was attacked by Japanese aircraft repeatedly, finally sunk in shallow water by carrier aircraft from Kaga on 23 Sep 1937. In 1938, she was raised and towed to Sasebo, Japan for repairs. In 1944, she was modernized and pressed into service under the new name Yasoshima as a convoy escort ship, serving in that role in the summer of 1944. Between Sep and Nov 1944, she was converted into a light cruiser. In late Nov 1944, she was sunk by carrier aircraft of the US Third Fleet west of Luzon, Philippine Islands.

Light Cruiser Pinghai Interactive Map

Photographs

Pinghai Operational Timeline

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1.  David Stubblebine says:
10 Feb 2009 06:40:15 PM

Yasoshima was sunk by bombs and torpedoes from Air Group 80 flying off USS Ticonderoga.