Chinese cruiser Ning Hai

Chinese cruiser Ning Hai in 1932
History
Republic of China
Name	Ning Hai
Builder	Harima Dock Co., Ltd., Japan
Laid down	February 20, 1931
Launched	October 10, 1931
Commissioned	September 1, 1932
Fate	sunk September 23, 1937 by Japanese Aircraft; subsequently salvaged by Japanese to become Ioshima
General characteristics
Type	Light cruiser
Displacement	2,526 t (2,486 long tons)
Length	360 ft (110 m)
Beam	39 ft (12 m)
Draught	13 ft (4.0 m)
Propulsion	Three-shaft Reciprocating Engines; 4 coal/oil-fired boilers; 10,579 hp (7,889 kW)
Speed	23.2 knots (26.7 mph; 43.0 km/h)
Range	5,000 nmi (9,300 km) at 12 kn (14 mph; 22 km/h)
Complement	361
Armament	• 6 × 140 mm (6 in) guns • 6 × 76 mm (3 in) AA guns • some Vickers 2-pounder AA guns • 10 × machine guns • 4 × 533 mm (21 in) torpedo tubes • 9 × depth charges
Aircraft carried	2 x floatplanes
Aviation facilities	Hangar and hoist crane

The Ning Hai (traditional Chinese: 甯海 "Peaceful Seas") was a light cruiser in the Chinese fleet before World War II and the lead ship of her class. It was laid down and launched before the dust of Mukden Incident settled, meaning that the progress of its construction ran far more smoothly than its sistership Ping Hai. Ning Hai has a small hangar for two seaplanes; two Aichi AB-3 biplanes, one bought from Japan and one built locally using a spare engine and domestic lumbers, were assigned to it. There was no catapult, and the seaplanes were hoisted onto and deployed from the cruiser via a crane.

Service record

Ning Hai served as the flagship of the Republic of China Navy since its commissioning until Ping Hai took over in April 1937. As one of the more powerful surface combatants within the ROCN, Ning 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 Kiangyin Fortress (which guarded segment of Yangtze River near Nanking), for Ning Hai to come under severe attack by japanese bombers,sustaining 4 bomb hits while Ping Hai was hit by 8 bombs and sunk.It was not until 25th September when B3Y1 torpedo bombers scored 2 direct hits on Ning Hai.The fate of the escorting cruiser Ying Jui and the gunboat remains unknown for lack of evidence.These airstrikes were 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 Ioshima (五百島) on June 28th, 1944. The ship lost all cruiser armaments but gained radar sets; the final weapons fit included two 127mm DP guns and five triple 25mm AA cannons.

Ioshima was sunk by American submarine USS Shad on September 19th, 1944.

External links

• http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/japan/exchina-cl.htm
• http://big5.chinabroadcast.cn/gate/big5/gb.cri.cn/3821/2004/08/26/151@280506.htm