Chinese cruiser Ping Hai The Ping Hai ( ) was a light cruiser in the Chinese fleet before World War II and the second ship of the Ning Hai class cruiser . It 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 . Service record . " Ping Hai " served as the flagship of the Republic of China Navy since April 1937 . As one of the most powerful surface combatants within the ROCN , " Ping Hai " was subjected to aerial attacks by the Imperial Japanese Navy since the Battle of Shanghai , but it was not until September 23 , during the Japanese assault on the Kiangyin Fortress ( which guarded the segment of Yangtze River near Nanking ) , for " Ping Hai " to finally succumb with its sistership to airstrikes launched from both carrier " Kaga " and airfields around occupied Shanghai . It was then re - floated by the Japanese in 1938 as sunken ships would not be as badly corroded by river water as they would be by sea water . Originally it was to be transferred to the Collaborationist navy under Wang Jing - Wei , but the Japanese elected to seize it instead and outfitted it first as a barracks hulk and ultimately as escort ship Yasoshima on 10 June 1944 . Yasoshima . was an escort ship of the Imperial Japanese Navy and the second ship of its class . Service record . It was originally built in China as the cruiser " Ping Hai " , which was the Republic of China Navy ' s flagship until it was sunk on September 23 , 1937 , by Japanese navy aircraft launched from both carrier " Kaga " and airfields around occupied Shanghai . Also going down on the same day was its Japanese - built sister ship " Ning Hai " . In 1938 the Japanese refloated the two ships and agreed to transfer them to the Collaborationist Chinese navy under Wang Jing - Wei ; but instead , the Japanese seized them and had " Ping Hai " towed to Sasebo , where it was outfitted first as a barracks hulk , and on June 10 , 1944 as " Yasoshima " . It was re - rated first as a coastal defense ship and then as an escort vessel . It lost all cruiser armaments but received radar sets as well as standard Japanese dual - purpose and anti - aircraft weapons . " Yasoshima " was deployed for combat operations on September 25 , 1944 , participating in the Battle of Leyte Gulf and escorting troop convoys . Aircraft from the " Ticonderoga " caught it with heavy cruiser " Kumano " and sank them both on November 25 , 1944 .