Protected Cruiser Haichou

Haichou

Country	China
Ship Class	Hairong-class Protected Cruiser
Builder	Aktien-Gesellschaft Vulcan Stettin, Germany
Launched	11 Dec 1897
Sunk	25 Aug 1937
Displacement	2,680 tons standard; 2,950 tons full
Length	328 feet
Beam	41 feet
Draft	19 feet
Machinery	Four coal boilers, two turbines, two shafts
Bunkerage	200-580 tons of coal
Power Output	7,500 shaft horsepower
Speed	19 knots
Crew	244
Armament	3x150mm Krupp QF guns, 8x105mm Krupp QF guns, 1x60mm Krupp gun, 6x37mm Hotchkiss guns, 6x8mm Maxim machine guns, 3x360mm torpedo tubes
Armor	25-70mm deck, 51mm turret shields, 38mm conning tower

Contributor: C. Peter Chen

ww2dbaseHaichou was built in Germany for the Chinese Navy at the cost of £163,000. In 1911, she was initially used to bombard revolutionary forces at Wuhan, Hubei Province, China, but would switch sides in Nov. In 1926, she participated in the Northern Expedition campaign, supporting Nationalist troops at Shanghai, China where she was damaged during an engagement with the Beiyang fleet. Although she went through modernization in 1930, which added an anti-aircraft gun, by the time of the Second Sino-Japanese War began in 1937 she was obsolete, thus when the need rose to block the Yangtze River from Japanese use, Haichou became one of the older ships scuttled in the middle of the river at Jiangyin, Jiangsu Province, China for this purpose.

Last Major Revision: Aug 2012

Protected Cruiser Haichou Interactive Map

Photographs

Chinese protected cruiser Haichou, circa 1910s

Torpedomen of Haichou at work, China, circa 1910s

Haichou Operational Timeline

11 Dec 1897	Haichou was launched by AG Vulcan in Germany.
24 Aug 1898	Haichou arrived at Tianjin, China.
26 Oct 1911	Haichou fired on revolutionary forces at Wuhan, Hubei Province, China.
28 Oct 1911	Haichou fired on revolutionary forces at Wuhan, Hubei Province, China.
14 Nov 1911	At Wuhan, Hubei Province, China, Captain Huang Zhongying of protected cruiser Haichou switched sides in the Chinese revolution, declaring support for the revolutionaries.
20 Nov 1911	Haichou fired on the Qing troop concentration at the railroad station at Wuhan, Hubei Province, China, destroying 5 trains and killing many.
14 Mar 1926	Haichou supported Nationalist troops at Shanghai, China during the Northern Expedition campaign.
27 Mar 1926	Haichou was damaged by Beiyang warships off Wusong, Shanghai, China, which caused 9 killed and 10 to 20 wounded.
25 Aug 1937	Chinese light cruisers Haiqi, Hairong, Haichen, and Haichou were sunk at the mouth of the Yangtze River at Jiangyin, Jiangsu Province, China, adding more obstacles to prevent Japanese navigation.

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Haichou