World War II Database

Contributor: C. Peter Chen

ww2dbaseChinese protected cruiser Yingrui (romanized via the Postal Map System as Ying Swei) was built in Britain for Qing Dynasty China at the cost of £204,000. When she was completed in Dec 1911, Qing Dynasty had been overthrown, and the newly established republic claimed the ship. The combination of a coal strike in Britain, political tension in Europe, and the financial instability of a new nation caused a delay in the actual delivery, which did not take place until Apr 1913. Her first commanding officer was Yang Jinxiu. She was the smallest of the British-built Zhaohe-class protected cruisers. In 1920, she was assigned to a training squadron based in the Chinese capital of Nanjing. In 1927, she supported the Nationalist occupation troops at Shanghai, China during the Northern Expedition campaign. At the start of the Second Sino-Japanese War in 1937, she was a member of the Chinese fleet stationed at Jiangyin, Jiangsu Province, China charged with blocking the Japanese naval advance up the Yangtze River. During the subsequent battle, she was damaged by Japanese aircraft on 22 Aug. As the Chinese naval forces dwindled at Jiangyin, it was decided that Yingrui's guns would better serve as land-based coastal artillery. While the weapons removal was underway, she was attacked and destroyed by Japanese carrier dive bombers from Kaga on 23 Oct; 15 were killed, 40 were wounded.

Photographs

Yingrui Operational Timeline