''Fu Po'' (), was the lead ship of a class of armed transports of the

Imperial Chinese Navy The Imperial Chinese Navy was the modern navy of the Qing dynasty of China established in 1875. An Imperial naval force in China first came into existence from 1132 during the Song dynasty and existed in some form until the end of the Qing dynast ...

during the

Sino-French War The Sino-French or Franco-Chinese War, also known as the Tonkin War, was a limited conflict fought from August 1884 to April 1885 between the French Third Republic and Qing China for influence in Vietnam. There was no declaration of war. The C ...

, where she was part of the

Fujian Fleet The Fujian Fleet ( or ) founded in 1678 as the Fujian Marine Fleet was one of China's four regional fleets during the closing decades of the nineteenth century. The fleet was almost annihilated on 23 August 1884 by Admiral Amédée Courbet's F ...

under

Zhang Peilun Zhang Peilun () (1848–1903) was a Chinese government official of the late Qing dynasty, who served as a naval commander during the Sino-French War (August 1884–April 1885). He is the grandfather of novelist Eileen Chang. Early life Zhang Pei ...

. She was present at the

Battle of Fuzhou The Battle of Fuzhou, or Battle of Foochow, also known as the Battle of the Pagoda Anchorage (French: Combat naval de Fou-Tchéou, Chinese: , 馬江之役 or 馬尾海戰, literally Battle of Mawei), was the opening engagement of the 16-month S ...

on 23 August 1884, the opening engagement of the

, where the Chinese fleet was defeated by the French

Far East Squadron The French Far East Squadron () was an exceptional naval grouping created for the duration of the Sino-French War (August 1884 – April 1885). Background In 1882 French interests in the Far East were protected by two naval divisions, the ...

. She was later converted to a receiving hulk, and back into an armed transport.

Design

''Fu Po'' was the lead ship of a class of six armed transports built by the

at the

Foochow Arsenal The Foochow Arsenal, also known as the Fuzhou or Mawei Arsenal, was one of several shipyards created by the Qing Empire and a flagship project of French assistance to China during the Self-Strengthening Movement. The shipyard was constructed under ...

shipyard between 1870 and 1876. They were part of the first home built Western-style navy; which consisted of wooden hulls. The shipyard was overseen by Imperial commissioner

Shen Baozhen Shen Baozhen (1820–1879), formerly romanized , was an official during the Qing dynasty. Biography Born in Minhou in Fujian province, he obtained the highest degree in the imperial examinations in 1847 and was soon appointed to the Hanli ...

but led by staff from Western nations, who advised the Chinese to continue building wooden-hulled ships despite them being made obsolete by the construction of

ironclad An ironclad was a steam engine, steam-propelled warship protected by iron armour, steel or iron armor constructed from 1859 to the early 1890s. The ironclad was developed as a result of the vulnerability of wooden warships to explosive or ince ...

s by those nations. Chinese officials would later blame the French, in particular Prosper Giquel, for purposely providing them with out-of-date equipment and designs. She displaced and measured

long overall Length overall (LOA, o/a, o.a. or oa) is the maximum length of a vessel's hull measured parallel to the waterline. This length is important while docking the ship. It is the most commonly used way of expressing the size of a ship, and is also u ...

, with a

beam Beam may refer to: Streams of particles or energy *Light beam, or beam of light, a directional projection of light energy **Laser beam *Radio beam *Particle beam, a stream of charged or neutral particles **Charged particle beam, a spatially lo ...

of and an average

draft Draft, the draft, or draught may refer to: Watercraft dimensions * Draft (hull), the distance from waterline to keel of a vessel * Draft (sail), degree of curvature in a sail * Air draft, distance from waterline to the highest point on a v ...

of . The propulsion system consisted of a produced by a compound-expansion steam engine with a single shaft, enabling a cruising speed of . Upon launch, her main armament was a single gun and four 40-pounder guns. However, during her career, her armament varied: it was often supplied by the province to which she was assigned rather than by a central organization. For example, when later assigned to Formosa (now

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...

), her armament was swapped out for six

68-pounder gun The 68-pounder cannon was an artillery piece designed and used by the British Armed Forces in the mid-19th century. The cannon was a smoothbore muzzle-loading gun manufactured in several weights firing projectiles of . Colonel William Dundas de ...

Career

''Fu Po'' was the fourth vessel launched from the Foochow Arsenal, on 22 December 1870. She remained based out of Foochow until 1884 as part of the

under

, where she was present for the

on 23 August, the opening engagement of the

. At the battle, the Chinese fleet were split into a northern and southern squadron opposing the French

under Admiral

Amédée Courbet Anatole-Amédée-Prosper Courbet (; 26 June 1827 – 11 June 1885) was a French admiral who won a series of important land and naval victories during the Tonkin Campaign (1883–86) and the Sino-French War (August 1884 – April 1885). Early ye ...

; ''Fu Po'' was part of the northern squadron with the flagship , three other large ships, and several

gunboat A gunboat is a naval watercraft designed for the express purpose of carrying one or more guns to bombard coastal targets, as opposed to those military craft designed for naval warfare, or for ferrying troops or supplies. History Pre-steam ...

s. Upon the opening of the battle, the French squadron targeted the northern squadron, destroying ''Yangwu'' in the opening moments. ''Fu Po'' fled the battle, steaming up river and eventually beaching herself. As a result, she was the only surviving vessel from the northern squadron. Following the battle, she was re-floated and refitted, before being transferred to operate out of Formosa. In 1890, she was converted into a receiving hulk as accommodation for sailors awaiting assignment. In response to the threat of piracy, the request of the Viceroy of the Two Guangs, by 1893, she had been reconverted to a transport once again and operated out of several locations, including Canton (now

Guangzhou Guangzhou, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Canton or Kwangchow, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Guangdong Provinces of China, province in South China, southern China. Located on the Pearl River about nor ...

Notes

References

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Fu Po Naval ships of Imperial China 1870 ships Ships built in China Naval ships of China Sino-French War naval ships