The Battle of Foochow occurred in August 1884 during the Sino-French War. The navy recently built by China was utterly destroyed while at anchor by the forces of France in a brief battle lasting a little over thirty minutes.

The battle heralded a change in the balance of power in the region, and helped indirectly to lead to the Sino-Japanese War of 1894-1895.

Ships involved:

France:
Volta (flagship)
Triomphante
Duguay-Trouin
Villars
d'Estaing
Aspic
Lynx
Vipere
? (torpedo launch)
? (torpedo launch

China:
Yang Wu (flagship) (1393t)
Fei Yun (c.1393t)
Chi An (1200t)
i Hsin (small wooden gunboat/launch) - sunk
Chien Sheng - sunk
Fu Hsing (wooden gunboat, 3 guns) - sunk
Chen Wei (wooden paddle gunboat, c.650t, 6 guns)
Fu Sheng (gunboat) - sunk
Yung Pao - sunk in dock
Fu Po (1258t)

12 large junks were nearby, but took no part

Account of the battle

See also: Fuzhou