Guang Hai-class Cruiser

The *Guang Hai-*class cruisers (光海級巡洋舰; pinyin:*Guāng Hǎi Jí Xúnyángjiàn)*  were a class of two light cruisers built by Austria-Hungary for the Imperial China in the early 20th century, as part of the early attempts to modernize the Imperial Chinese Navy following the disastrous First Sino-Japanese War. They were some of the most powerful light cruisers of their era.

## Background

In 1908, as tensions between European nations rose, many European navies began to develop a new generation of cruisers. The Imperial Chinese Navy saw this as an opportunity to acquire modern warships to combat the threat of a rapidly modernizing Imperial Japanese Navy and hoped to avoid a repeat of the events of the Sino-Japanese War. Two designs from Austria-Hungary's Cantiere Navale Triestino in Monfalcone stood out to officials of the Beiyang Fleet, and they would soon be known as the *Zheng Hai* and *Guang Hai* classes of cruisers. The competing design, *Zheng Hai*, offered ridiculously heavy armament and protection and a negligibly lower price tag (save for the cost of being **slow**), and could thus reinforce the role of the older *Hai Chi* class. This seemed appealing initially, and orders for two ships of the *Zheng Hai* class were placed quickly.

However, 1909 would bring big changes within the Imperial Chinese Navy. The weakened Beiyang and Nanyang Fleets were reorganised to largely form the new Sea Fleet. In addition, new information about Japanese plans for fast vessels like the *Chikuma-*class became available. *Hai Chi* and now even the newer *Zheng Hai* class cruisers were at risk of being too slow to respond to or flee from potential enemy action. Fearing once more becoming outclassed, navy officials turned back to the Cantiere Navale Triestino and ordered two more cruisers of the *Guang Hai*-class in late 1909.

## Design

As originally designed, *Guang Hai* cruisers were 140m long at the waterline and had a beam of 15m. They drafted 5.6m and had a displacement of 5000 tons. *Guang Hai* was to carry machinery based on that tested on the Admiral Spaun, consisting of 16 Yarrow boilers and 2 shaft Parsons Steam Turbines for 29500 shaft horsepower and a speed of 26 knots. The ships utilized mixed coal and oil firing to save on costs. Cruising range was 4000 nautical miles at 14 knots.

The ships were heavily armed. 8 17cm SK L/40 guns mounted in battleship style casemates with individual hoists formed a powerful main battery with a high rate of fire of almost 7 rounds per minute per gun. They also carried a further 8 single 10cm Skoda K10 guns, 8 QF 3-pounder guns and 8 45cm torpedo tubes. Coincidentally, this "8888" arrangement was seen as auspicious.

The main battery casemates were protected by 90mm faces and 25mm plating on the handling rooms behind them. Ammunition hoists were 90mm thick. Vertical protection elsewhere was respectable, with an 85mm thick main belt running the full length of the machinery and magazines, and a 50mm end belt protecting the steering gear. However, horizontal protection was provided only by a single 25mm deck that ran the full length of the armored belt.

Due to the delayed order of the ships, improvements in machinery construction meant that *Guang Hai'*s original machinery would be lighter and smaller than originally estimated. The design was modified further, increasing speed to 27.5 knots and increasing the armor deck thickness to 35mm.

## Service

*Guang Hai* and her sister ship *Shou Hai* (守海; pinyin: *Shǒu Hǎi*) were laid down at Cantiere Navale Triestino Yard 68 in early 1910. Construction continued into late 1912, frequently delayed by changes to the situation in China. *Guang Hai* was launched on August 8 1912, followed by *Shou Hai* on August 16. After it became clear the vessels were still wanted by the new Republic of China Navy, both ships were fitted out in Monfalcone. In January 1913 the ships set sail for the far east. After a brief delay at the Suez Canal, and refuelings at Mumbai and Singapore, the ships arrived at Weihaiwei and were formally commissioned into the Chinese Navy on 15 April 1913.

### Guang Hai (光海)

The first ship of the class. Trial speed was 27.6 knots.

*Guang Hai,* originally based in Weihaiwei, was relocated to Shanghai in early 1914.

On the morning of August 18 1931, *Guang Hai* ran aground outside Rushan and received minor damage. The ship was repaired at the Kiangnan Arsenal.

Starting December 1935, *Guang Hai* underwent modernization at Kiangnan. Her coal fired boilers were replaced with oil fired ones based on the Babcox and Wilcox (?) design increasing speed to 29 knots. Armament was updated with twin 40mm Bofors guns replacing the 3-pdr guns and the 10cm K10 guns were replaced with 12cm/45 guns similar to those on the *Di Lung*-class destroyers, but in twin dual purpose mounts. 8 21" torpedo tubes were mounted on the centerline, replacing the old 18" tubes. The bridge was raised by one level and a proper rangefinder was installed for the main battery.

### Shou Hai (守海)

The second ship of the class. Trial speed was 27.8 knots.