conducted a desultory bombardment of the port's coastal defenses when he did not find the Chinese ships. No damage was inflicted on either side and the Combined Fleet returned to Kunsan. For the rest of the month, the Flying Squadron escorted troop convoys to Kunsan. Itō sent Naniwa and Yoshino back to Weihahiwei on 14–15 September to find the Chinese ships, but they were unsuccessful, although their appearance convinced Admiral Ding Ruchang, commander of the Beiyang Fleet, that his ships were needed to defend the Chinese troop convoys to the mouth of the Yalu River. Their failure convinced Itō that the Beiyang Fleet was further north. Battle of the Yalu River The Flying Squadron led the rest of the Combined Fleet northwest on 16 September to investigate the anchorage at Haiyang Island. Finding it empty the following morning, Itō ordered his ships to head northeast and search the area around the Yalu River estuary. At 11:23 lookouts aboard Yoshino spotted the Chinese ships some away. Knowing that his ships were faster than the Chinese ones, Itō intended to cross the T of the Beiyang Fleet and then concentrate his fire on the weakly protected ships of the Chinese right wing. Ding's ships had been caught by surprise, but were able to weigh anchor and assume Ding's preferred line abreast formation while the Combined Fleet was still out of range. The Chinese ships opened fire at long range and were unable to hit any of the Japanese ships as they passed in front. The Flying Squadron's ships opened fire as the range closed to and soon set the unprotected cruisers and on fire. The battle quickly devolved into a melee at close range, and the protected cruiser and the armored cruiser were sunk as the Flying Squadron's ships concentrated on the Chinese cruisers. During the battle Naniwa was slightly damaged by nine hits that only wounded two men. She fired 33 shells from her main guns, 154 from her secondary armament and several thousand from her smaller guns. Subsequent activities Ding's surviving ships were able to disengage in the growing darkness and they steered to Port Arthur for repairs. Itō believed that the Chinese ships would head for Weihaiwei and briefly searched that area the following morning before returning to the Yalu where the wreck of the Yangwei was destroyed. The Combined Fleet then returned to Kunsan to recoal. Itō sent