They were prevented from sailing to China during the Sino-French War, but first saw combat at the Battle of the Yalu River on 17 September 1894, during the First Sino-Japanese War. They were next in combat during the Battle of Weihaiwei in early 1895, where they were blockaded in the harbour. "Dingyuen" was struck by a torpedo, and was beached where it continued to operate as a defensive fort. When the fleet was surrendered to the Japanese, she was destroyed while "Zhenyuan" became the first battleship of the Imperial Japanese Navy as "Chin'en". She was eventually removed from the Navy list in 1911, and was sold for scrap the following year.