Japanese corvette Tenryū

Tenryū (天龍) was a sail-and-steam corvette of the early Imperial Japanese Navy. Tenryū was named after the Tenryū River in Shizuoka and Nagano Prefectures.

History
Tenryū was designed as an iron-ribbed, wooden-hulled, three-masted bark-rigged sloop with a coal-fired double expansion reciprocating steam engine with four boilers driving a single screw. It was based on the design of the JAPANESE CORVETTE Kaimon, except slightly larger in displacement and with slightly heavier weaponry. As with the Kaimon, construction took much longer than initially anticipated, and it required over seven years to complete. However, even after launching, numerous issues needed to be addressed, including a problem with stability that required the addition of bulges to the hull.

Tenryū was laid down at the Yokosuka Naval Arsenal on 9 February 1878, launched on 18 August 1883 and commissioned on 5 March 1885.

Tenryū saw combat service in the First Sino-Japanese War, at the Battle of Lushunkou and subsequently at the Battle of Yalu River (1894). On 21 March 1898, Tenryū was designated a second-class gunboat, and was used for coastal patrol duties. It caught fire on November 1897, and required extensive repairs.

During the Russo-Japanese War, Tenryū was based as a guard ship at Kobe port. After the war, it was transferred to the Maizuru Naval District, where it served as a training vessel. Tenryū was retired on 21 December 1911, and sold for scrap on 20 October 1912.