View source for Ning Hai-class cruiser

{{no footnotes|date=January 2013}}

{|{{Infobox ship begin}}
{{Infobox ship image
|Ship image=Chinese cruiser NING-HAI in 1932.jpg
|Ship caption=''Ning Hai'' on trials
}}
{{Infobox ship class overview
|Name=''Ning Hai'' class
|Builders=
|Operators=*{{navy|Republic of China}}
*{{navy|Empire of Japan}}
|Class before={{sclass|Zhào Hé|cruiser|4}}
|Class after=''None''
|Subclasses=
|Cost=
|Built range=
|In service range=   
|In commission range=  
|Total ships building= 
|Total ships planned=2
|Total ships completed=2 
|Total ships lost=2
}}
{{Infobox ship characteristics
|Hide header=
|Header caption= 
|Ship type=[[Light cruiser]]
|Ship displacement={{convert|2526|t|LT|0|abbr=on}} standard
|Ship length={{convert|360|ft|m|abbr=on|1}}
|Ship beam={{convert|39|ft|m|abbr=on|1}}
|Ship height=
|Ship draught={{convert|13|ft|m|abbr=on|1}}
|Ship propulsion=Triple-expansion Reciprocating Steam Engines; coal/oil-fired boilers
|Ship speed= {{convert|21|-|23|kn}}
|Ship range={{convert|5000|nmi|km|lk=in|abbr=on}} at {{convert|12|kn|mph km/h|abbr=on}}  
|Ship endurance=
|Ship complement=361
|Ship armament=*Common
*6 × {{convert|140|mm|in|abbr=on}} guns
*4 × {{convert|533|mm|in|0|abbr=on}} [[torpedo tube]]s
*9 × [[Depth Charge]]s
*''Ning Hai'' only
*6 × [[8 cm/40 3rd Year Type naval gun]] (AA guns)
*some [[QF 2 pounder naval gun|Vickers 2-pounder]] AA guns
*10 × [[machine gun]]s
*9 × [[depth charge]]s
*''Ping Hai'' only
*3 × {{convert|76|mm|in|0|abbr=on}} AA guns
*4 × {{convert|57|mm|in|0|abbr=on}} AA guns
*4 × [[machine gun]]s
|Ship armour=*[[Belt armor|Belt]]: {{convert|25|mm|abbr=on}}
*[[Deck (ship)|Deck]]: {{convert|19|to|25|mm|abbr=on}}
*[[Gun turret|Turrets]]: {{convert|25|mm|abbr=on}}
*[[Conning tower]]: {{convert|25|mm|abbr=on}}
|Ship aircraft=2 x [[floatplane]] (''Ning Hai'' only)
|Ship aircraft facilities=Hangar and crane only (''Ning Hai'' only)
|Ship notes=
|Builders=Harima Dock Co., Ltd. (''Ning Hai''), Jiangnan Shipyard (''Ping Hai'')
|Operators={{navy|ROC}}
}}
|}

The '''''Ning Hai'' class''' were a pair of [[light cruiser]]s in the Chinese fleet before [[World War II]].  {{ship|Chinese cruiser|Ning Hai||2}} ({{Lang-zh|t=甯海|l=Peaceful Seas}}), the lead ship of the class, was laid down in Japan while the follow-on, {{ship|Chinese cruiser|Ping Hai||2}} ({{Lang-zh|t=平海|l=Amicable Seas}}), was laid down in China and completed with Japanese assistance to a slightly modified design that included the deletion of seaplane facilities (''Ning Hai'' had a small hangar for two seaplanes). While ''Ning Hai'' was quickly commissioned, tensions between China and Japan plagued the efforts to complete ''Ping Hai''. Both served as flagships of the [[Republic of China Navy]] (ROCN), with ''Ping Hai'' taking over the role from its older sister ship since April 1937. The ROCN had an ambitious plan to procure a larger and more-powerful command cruiser and then to reassign the two vessels as scouts/flagships of submarine flotillas, but the outbreak of war with Japan put an end to all related efforts (including the acquisition of submarines).

''Ning Hai'' and ''Ping Hai'' were sunk in defense of the Kiangyin Fortress, [[Yangtze River]], near [[Nanking]] by Japanese aircraft (of which the two ships shot down four) on 23 September 1937, but then refloated by the Japanese. Originally they were to be transferred to the [[Wang Jingwei regime|puppet government of Wang Jing-Wei]], but the Japanese then had a change of heart and outfitted them first as barracks hulks and ultimately as escort ships ''Ioshima'' (''Ning Hai'') and ''Yasoshima'' (''Ping Hai'') in 1944.

==Design==
The ''Ning Hai'' class were a compact cruiser design, with the main armament of six {{convert|140|mm|in|abbr=on}} guns in three twin turrets giving each ship the same [[Broadside (naval)|broadside]] as the {{ship|Japanese cruiser|Yūbari}} at around half the cost. The lead ship of the class ''Ning Hai'' also had a small hangar for two single-seat floatplanes, a Japanese-built [[Aichi AB-3]] and a similar aircraft of local design, the [[Naval Air Establishment Ning Hai]].

The ''Ning Hai'' class did have a number of drawbacks. Their high centres of gravity, a common flaw to [[Japanese torpedo boat Tomozuru#The Tomozuru Incident|numerous Japanese-designed warships of the era]], made the ships unstable in heavy seas. Their use of obsolescent triple-expansion engines, dictated by building cost considerations, kept their maximum speed at around {{convert|21|-|23|kn|lk=in}}. Given the ships' primary role as [[coastal defence ship]]s, these were probably acceptable trade-offs.

==Ships==

{| class="wikitable" 
|-
! Name
! Builder 
! Laid
! Launched 
! Completed 
! Fate
|-
| {{ship|Chinese cruiser|Ning Hai||2}} 
| [[IHI Corporation|Harima Dock Co., Ltd.]]
|20 February 1931
|10 October 1931
|1 September 1932
|Sunk in Yangtze River on 23 September 1937 by Japanese aircraft
|-
| {{ship|Chinese cruiser|Ping Hai||2}}
| [[Jiangnan Shipyard|Kiangnan Dock and Engineering Works]]
|28 June 1931 
|28 September 1935 
|18 June 1936 
|Sunk in Yangtze River on 23 September 1937 by Japanese aircraft
|-
|}

==References==
*{{cite journal |last1=Tamura |first1=Toshio |title=The Chinese Light Cruisers ''Ning Hai'' and ''Ping Hai'' (1930–1936) |journal=Warship International |date=1984 |volume=XXII |issue=2 |pages=118–131 |issn=0043-0374}}
*{{cite book | last = Whitley  | first = M.J.  | authorlink =Michael J. Whitley | year = 1995 | title = Cruisers of World War Two: An International Encyclopedia  | publisher = Naval Institute Press | location =Annapolis, Maryland | isbn = 1-55750-141-6}}

== External links ==
{{Commons category|Ning Hai class cruiser}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20100510015014/http://big5.chinabroadcast.cn/gate/big5/gb.cri.cn/3821/2004/08/26/151@280506.htm]

{{Ning Hai class cruisers}}
{{WWII Chinese ships}}

[[Category:Cruiser classes]]
[[Category:Ning Hai-class cruisers| ]]
[[Category:World War II naval ships of China]]
[[Category:China–Japan military relations]]


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