Semi-Lobster
Junior Member
Recently I've been trying to read up more on the Republic of China's Navy in the inter-war and Second Sino-Japanese War eras. One ship in particular that has been difficult to learn more about is the gunboat (also referred to as a light cruiser) Yat Sen (Yixian in pinyin, 逸仙) which entered service in 1931. The main armaments of the ship was a stern mounted Japanese (5.5") 14 cm/50 3rd Year Type naval gun, but the confusing part is the bow mounted 6" gun. Richard Wright in his book "The Chinese Steam Navy 1862-1945" says the gun was Dutch, but other sources say the gun was from Vickers-Armstrong? Which was it? And if it was the Armstrong gun, then which type was it? Also some sources say that in addition to the gun shields, the conning tower had splinter-proof armouring as well? There are also suggestions than an even larger version of the Yi Xian had been laid down but never completed at Kiangnan Shipyard when the Japanese took the port. If anybody who can read Chinese or is familiar with the Chinese navy in the inter-war era, that would be a big help.