Chinese cruiser Ping Hai
Ping Hai in 1936 | |
| History | |
|---|---|
| Republic of China | |
| Name | Ping Hai |
| Builder | Kiangnan Dock and Engineering Works, Shanghai, China |
| Laid down | 28 June 1931 |
| Launched | 28 September 1935 |
| Completed | 18 June 1936 |
| Fate | Sunk 23 September 1937 by Japanese aircraft; subsequently salvaged by the Japanese to become Yasoshima |
| Empire of Japan | |
| Name | Yasoshima |
| Acquired | 1938 |
| Recommissioned | 25 September 1944 |
| Reclassified | kaibokan, 1 June 1944 |
| Fate | Sunk 25 November 1944 by US Navy aircraft |
| General characteristics | |
| Class & type | Ning Hai-class cruiser |
| Displacement | 2,448 t (2,409 long tons) |
| Length | 360 ft (110 m) |
| Beam | 39 ft (12 m) |
| Draught | 13 ft (4.0 m) |
| Propulsion | Two-shaft Reciprocating Engines; 1 oil-fired and 4 coal-fired boilers; 7,488 hp (5,584 kW) |
| Speed | 21 knots (24 mph; 39 km/h) |
| Range | 5,000 nmi (9,300 km) at 12 kn (14 mph; 22 km/h) |
| Complement | 361 |
| Armament |
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| Armour |
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Ping Hai (Chinese: 平海; lit. 'Peaceful Seas') was a light cruiser in the Chinese fleet before World War II and the second ship of the Ning Hai class. The ship was laid down in China to the specifications supplied by the Japanese, and Japanese advisors were hired to oversee the construction. Compared to its sister ship Ning Hai, it had a lower-output powerplant and lacked seaplane facilities. Its anti-aircraft armament was also different from that of its sister.
The progress of its construction was affected by the Mukden Incident (18 September 1931) and the January 28 Incident (28 January – 3 March 1932). Disruption of parts supply and non-cooperation of Japanese advisors delayed its launch date from the originally planned 10 October 1933 to 28 September 1935. Blocked delivery of originally-specified anti-aircraft weapons meant that equivalent replacements of those weapons had to be bought via Germany. When it was completed in 1936, official outbreak of war was barely a year away.