French aviso Kien Chan (1860)

The Kien Chan was a Chinese-built ship, originally named Toey-Wan, purchased by the French Navy in 1860 and commissioned as an aviso.

Kien Chan under fire in the events that would lead to the Bombardment of Shimonoseki.
History
France
Name:	Kien Chan
Namesake:	Capture of the Kien Chan forts during the Siege of Tourane
Builder:	China[1]
Commissioned:	1860[1]
Stricken:	30 October 1873[1]
Fate:	Broken up in Saigon between 1874 and 1876[1]
General characteristics
Propulsion:	Sail 320 shp steam engine
Complement:	44 men
Armament:	2 to 4 guns
Armour:	Timber

Career

Purchased in 1860, Kien Chan was used as a hospital ship during the Second Opium War.[1]

In 1861, her engine out of service, she explored the Hai River under Lieutenant Eugène Nielly. In 1863, she explored the Yangtze river up to Hankou, under Ensign Laurens. That same year, while sailing the Shimonoseki Straits, she came under fire from pro-imperial forces of the Chōshū Domain, an event that would lead to the Shimonoseki Campaign; Kien Chan sustained damage to her engine and lost four men.

In 1866, captained by Trève, Kien Chan took part in the French campaign against Korea.[1]

Notes, citations, and references

Notes

Citations

1. Roche, vol.1, p.271

References

• Roche, Jean-Michel (2005). Dictionnaire des bâtiments de la flotte de guerre française de Colbert à nos jours 1 1671 - 1870. p. 430. ISBN 978-2-9525917-0-6. OCLC 165892922.