⑯ Why Did the Turtle Ship Fight for Only Three Months? (Part 2)

In Part 1, we looked at why the turtle ship was absent from Admiral Yi's first sortie -- the battles of Okpo, Hapo, and Jeokjinpo -- and the likely reason: there simply wasn't enough time to prepare it.

Then, on May 29, 1592, the turtle ship finally makes its first appearance, during Admiral Yi's second sortie.

Admiral Yi's Second Sortie -- the Report “Dangpo pawoe byeongjang”

The Battle of Sacheon: The Turtle Ship's Debut

On May 29, Admiral Yi set out with 23 warships. The Gyeongsang Right Naval Commander, Won Gyun, joined with three more. Together they headed for Sacheon.

At Sacheon, the Japanese had already gone ashore and set up camp on a hill, mooring their ships below. The dispatch Admiral Yi submitted to the court afterward describes the situation that day:

Our arrows could not reach far enough, and even if we tried to burn the enemy ships, the tide had already gone out, so our large panokseon warships could not easily charge straight in -- and on top of that, they held the high ground while we held the low, putting us at a disadvantage in terrain.

If we feigned a retreat, they would surely take to their ships and try to fight us, so it would be an excellent plan to draw them out into open water and strike together.

Before the ships had gone even one ri (about 400 meters) on their retreat, some 200 Japanese soldiers took the bait. Some climbed aboard their ships; the rest stayed on the bluff, firing cannon and rushing about wildly. Meanwhile, the tide came in, and the water gradually rose high enough to float the ships.

“Your servant had separately built turtle ships” -- right as the tide rose, the dispatch continues:

The turtle ship, which first appeared in Admiral Yi's second sortie

Your servant, long concerned about the danger of invasion from the island barbarians, had separately built turtle ships. At the front, a dragon's head is mounted, its mouth firing cannon; on its back, iron spikes are set; those inside can see out, but those outside cannot see in, so that even in the midst of several hundred enemy ships, it can charge straight through and fire its cannon.

A vanguard officer boarded this ship and charged first into the enemy fleet, firing every kind of cannon.

This was the Battle of Sacheon -- the place where the turtle ship first appeared in actual combat.

The Battle of Dangpo: Charging the Enemy's Tower Ship

Two days later, at Dangpo.

One of the enemy ships was as large as a panokseon, with a Japanese commander seated in a tower built on its deck. The dispatch records:

We had the turtle ship charge straight in beneath the tower, firing a hyeonja cannon round upward through the dragon's mouth, and also fired the cheonja and jija cannons and the daejanggunjeon arrow, breaking apart that great ship.

The Japanese commander was struck by an arrow and fell.

The Battle of Danghangpo: A Second Charge

Four days later, on June 5, at Danghangpo.

On the western shore of the Sosogang River, there was a Japanese ship flying a black flag inscribed with Buddhist scripture. The dispatch records:

We had the turtle ship charge straight in first, firing the cheonja and jija cannons.

The turtle ship, with the vanguard officer aboard, again rammed in beneath the enemy's tower. Fire arrows set the canopy ablaze, the enemy commander was struck down by an arrow, and the ship was destroyed.

The Battle of Yulpo: No Turtle Ship in the Chase

Two days later, on June 7, at Yulpo.

The Japanese were already fleeing toward Busan. The Joseon navy pushed against a headwind, rowing hard to give chase.

The dispatch recording this battle, the Dangpo pawoe byeongjang, lists only the individual achievements of various officers, each capturing or burning a single enemy ship -- the word “turtle ship” does not appear.

Sacheon, Dangpo, and Danghangpo were battles where the enemy came at them. Yulpo was a battle of chasing down an enemy already broken and fleeing, ship by ship. Yulpo simply wasn't a situation that called for the turtle ship.

Still, the absence of a record at Yulpo doesn't mean the turtle ship wasn't there.

It went unrecorded, but the turtle ship was likely present at Yulpo too, alongside the other panokseon warships.

Admiral Yi's second sortie came to a close with this run from Sacheon through Dangpo, Danghangpo, and Yulpo.

👉 Next post: ⑰ Why Did the Turtle Ship Fight for Only Three Months? (Part 3)

— Momcheolhak