 The Chinese turret ship was purportedly hit and disabled by a torpedo after numerous attacks by Japanese torpedo boats during the First Sino-Japanese War in 1894.At this time torpedo attacks were still very close range and very dangerous to the attackers.Several western sources reported that the Qing dynasty Imperial Chinese military, under the direction of Li Hongzhang, acquired "electric torpedoes," which they deployed in numerous waterways, along with fortresses and numerous other modern military weapons acquired by China.