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Chinese gunboat Yongsui.
History
Republic of China
Name	Yongsui
Namesake	Yongsui County
Builder	Jiangnan Shipyard, Shanghai, Republic of China
Cost	¥600,000
Laid down	2 May 1928
Launched	27 January 1929
Commissioned	31 August 1929
Recommissioned	1949
Stricken	23 April 1949
Fate	Retired 1970
People's Republic of China
Name	Yongsui
Acquired	23 April 1949
Fate	Sunk 23 September 1949
General characteristics (as planned)
Type	gunboat
Displacement	650 t (640 long tons)
Length	68.58 ft (20.90 m) o/a
Beam	9.14 ft (2.79 m)
Draught	1.83 ft (0.56 m)
Propulsion	2 shafts, 2 VTE engines, 2 Yarrow boilers, 4,000 bhp (3,000 kW)
Speed	18.5 knots (21.3 mph; 34.3 km/h)
Complement	152
Armament	1 × 152 mm (6 in)/50 (1 × 1) 1 × 120 mm (5 in)/45 (1 × 1) 3 × 76 mm (3 in)/40 (3 × 1) 4 × 57 mm (2 in)/40 (4 × 1)

The Yongsui (Chinese: 永綏; pinyin: Yǒngsuī; Wade–Giles: Yung Sui; lit. 'Peace Forever') was a unique gunboat built for the Republic of China Navy (ROCN) in the late 1920's. Yongsui would participate in the Encirclement campaigns, the Second Sino-Japanese War and the Chinese Civil War.

Background

On 5 May 1919, an arms embargo was placed on China, which was then embroiled in the bloody and violent time of lawlessness, known as the Warlord Era, after the collapse of de facto dictator, Yuan Shikai's attempt to restore the Empire of China. The goal of the embargo was an attempt to minimize bloodshed and prevent foreign influence on China's political future through arms exports. Throughout the 1920s, as more factions merged and centralized through a combination of diplomacy and warfare, the Kuomintang party (KMT), under Chiang Kai-shek had begun to emerge as the largest faction in China. By 10 October 1928 Chiang Kai-shek established the new Nationalist government of China with it's capital in Nanjing. The new government inherited a poorly maintained and decrepit Republic of China Navy, mostly inherited from the Qing Dynasty's Imperial Chinese Navy. With the continued infiltration in Northern China by the Empire of Japan Admiral Wu Renli was given a modest budget to rebuild the navy but with an international embargo on China in effect, attempts to buy ships overseas failed. After a failed bid for a 650-ton gunboat from Mitsubishi Heavy Industries of Japan, due to the embargo still being effect, it was decided to opt instead for domestic ship production. Jiangnan Shipyard in Shanghai was selected to build the ROCN's next series of gunboats after successfully fulfilling an order for six river gunboats for the United States Navy Yangtze Patrol. The first new gunboat built by Jiangnan was the 418-ton Xianning which was which was laid down April 1928. This was followed next month on 2 May 1928 by the larger 650-ton Yongsui, named after the county of the same name in Hunan province, which provided much of the funds for the ship.

Design

Yongsui was the second of a series of warships built at Jiangnan Shipyards and designed by Superintending engineer Yi Zaifu (叶在馥) who helped work on the American gunboats built at Jiangnan which were designed by his mentor and former Superintending engineer, Robert Buchanan Mauchan. Like the Xianning, the Yongsui designed for inshore and riverine service but overall enlarged over her predecessor. The ship possessed a low freeboard and a relatively low forecastle with a break but was still longer and taller than Xiannings. The very shallow draught for a ship of her displacement allowed navigation up the Yangtze River, theoretically past even Chongqing, to Yibin. The overall length of Yongsui was 68.58 ft (20.90 m), with a beam of 9.14 ft (2.79 m) and a draught of 1.83 ft (0.56 m). Machinery was the same as Xinning, two VTE engines powered by two coal-fired Yarrow boilers driving two shafts, but with an increased output of 4,000 bhp (3,000 kW). This gave the Yongsui a maximum speed of 18.5 knots (21.3 mph; 34.3 km/h). 150 t (148 long tons) of coal was carried. The boilers and funnels were placed further back than in Xinning. Armament was also improved over the Xinning, mounting an Armstrong Whitworth 152 mm (6 in)/50 mounted on the forecastle and 120 mm (5 in)/45 mounted aft on the quarterdeck. A variety of tertiary weapons were also mounted on the Yongsui, with the intended armament being three high-angle 76 mm (3 in)/40 anti-aircraft guns. Four single 57 mm (2 in)/40 guns rounded out the weaponry. While Jiangnan Shipyard had some experience with the construction of armoured warships, such as the Yongfeng-class gunboats, Yongsui was unarmoured and built from lead mild steel.

Service history

Yongsui was laid down at Jiangnan on 2 May 1928. Experience building the American river gunboats allowed the shipyard to progress rapidly on the Yongsui's construction and was launched 27 January 1929. Outfitting was completed on 30 May 1929 with sea trials beginning 22 June 1929. She was commissioned shortly after and assigned to the Second Squadron of the ROCN. One of her first deployments was the Third encirclement campaign against the Jiangxi Soviet where Yongsui ferried Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek to Nanchang in June 1931. She would be active along the Yangtze River and was present on their at the outbreak of the Second Sino-Japanese War under the command of Captain Fu Cheng (傅成). Along with the Chinese gunboat Minquan, Yongsui was stationed at Chongqing and met up with the surviving ships of the ROCN that had limped up the Yangtze from the battles of Shanghai and Wuhan where many ships were lost to Japanese aerial bombardment. The ships would be used to defend Chongqing from Japanese air attack. By the time of the Surrender of Japan on 15 August 1945, Yongsui would be the largest surviving ship in the ROCN.

Yongsui and Minquan would continue to serve on the Yangtze river during the resumption of the Chinese Civil War as part of the Second Coastal Defence Fleet. The ships saw little combat until 21 April 1949 when People's Liberation Army forces rapidly advanced on the southern banks of the Yangtze River. The Republican fortress in Jiangyin quickly fell to a Communist uprising. By 23 April, the fleet was trapped further upriver on the Yangtze in Nanjing, Rear Admiral Lin Zun attempted to negotiate a surrender to Communist forces. The decision divided the captains of the ships, with Chen Qingkun, captain of the Yongjia and thirteen other ships instead successfully broke through the blockade. Meanwhile Yongsui, under Captain Lao Shun (邵仑) followed the Rear Admiral's orders and surrendered to Communist forces. The crews were brought to the East China Military and Political University for 'political re-education'. Yongsui then entered service with the People's Liberation Army Navy but on 23 September 1949 a Kuomintang North American B-25 Mitchell attacked and sunk the ship while she was in dock in Nanjing.

Citations

https://botanwang.com/articles/201609/咸宁级炮舰的抗战生涯55.html https://mil.sohu.com/20150627/n415755948.shtml http://www.360doc.com/content/24/0523/03/52713072_1124061850.shtml https://www.bilibili.com/read/cv11088795/

References

• Bevans, Charles (1969). Treaties and Other International Agreements of the United States of America: Volume 2 (Multilateral treaties, 1918-1930). United States: U.S. Department Of State.
• Chesneau, Roger (1980). Conway's All the World Fighting Ships: 1922-1946. London, UK: Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 978-0-8517-7146-5.
• Wright, Richard (2000). The Chinese Steam Navy: 1862-1945. London, UK: Chatham Publishing. ISBN 978-1-8617-6144-6.978-0851771465