I am currently doing research into the naval guns of the late 19th century. China, and to a lesser extent Japan, are problems. Except for the Peiyang fleet, I seriously question the armament listings for Nanyang and Fukien ships. In short, I think a lot of the guns listed as Armstrong were actually Blakely and Vavasseur guns, but cannot confirm my suspicion.

My reasoning is this; the guns were owned by the Provincial government, and thus subject to the preferences of that government. A ship transferred from one Provincial fleet to another would arrive unarmed, and then be re-armed by the receiving Provincial fleet. Over time, Nanyang seemed to have a preference for Krupp and Vavasseur guns. Very reports in his 1880 book that"three of the first four "alphabeticals" were armed with 12-in Vavasseur, though the standard lists show Armstrong guns.

Does anyone have any thoughts on this matter?