Old Photo | The Destruction of the Beiyang Fleet

On February 17, 1895, the Beiyang Fleet surrendered to the Japanese at Weihaiwei. Before that, “Dingyuan” had been stranded and used as a water cannon. “Laiyuan”, “Jingyuan” and the training ship “Weiyuan” were sunk by Japanese torpedo boats that broke into Weihaiwei, while the Beiyang torpedo boat team fled in front of the array. Finally, they were stranded, lost or captured by the Japanese army. Finally, there were “Zhenyuan” ships with scraped bilges, the infamous “Jiyuan” ships The “Guang C” ship and six mosquito boats of poor quality, as well as some logistics ships. Except that the transport ship “Kangji” was released for carrying coffins of surrendered officers and soldiers who were repatriated and self killed, the rest of these ships were captured by the Japanese army. The Beiyang Navy, which was once the eighth strongest in the world, has been wiped out ever since

The defeat of Beiyang was not a sea battle but a land battle. When Li Hongzhang ordered Beiyang ships to retreat into Weihai guard ships after the Dadonggou sea battle, the Beiyang fleet actually lost the freedom of maritime mobility and became a water fort to guard the port. However, the army of the Qing Dynasty and the fort guards were afraid of fighting and escaped, which made it easier for the Japanese army to occupy the fort at the commanding heights around Weihai guard and turn the muzzle to bombard Beiyang ships in the harbor, This was the main reason for the demise of the Beiyang Fleet

 
1895年2月8日「靖远」在威海卫港内被日军鱼雷艇击沉，当时管带為叶祖圭，图為该舰被击沉的水域。

 
北洋海军练习舰「威远」沉於威海卫。

 
北洋水师代表在威海卫日本军舰上向日方递交降书。

1895年2月17日，「平远」在威海卫港与其他受困清舰共十艘同时向日军投降，此為当天早晨所摄。

 
1895年日军在威海卫俘虏了北洋水师全部的「镇」字号蚊子船。

 
日军在威海卫利用俘虏的「镇」字号蚊子船来载运清军投降官兵遣散回籍。

 
日军在威海卫利用俘虏的「镇」字号蚊子船来载运清军投降官兵遣散回籍。

 
日军在威海卫利用俘虏的「镇」字号蚊子船来载运清军投降官兵遣散回籍。

被日军佔领的威海卫北洋水师司令部「海军公所」。它原来在旅顺，旅顺被日军佔领后迁往威海卫刘公岛现址。

 
「操江 」是北洋水师各舰中最早被俘的船，她在丰岛海战时即被俘虏。

 
「康济」是北洋各舰各舰中唯一被日军释放回来的船，因為她要负责载运投降官兵回籍遣散与自裁军官的棺木，当时的舰长是萨镇冰，本舰后来做為练习舰使用。