Insect class gunboat
Encyclopedia
The Insect class patrol boats (or Large China Gunboats ) were a class of small, but well-armed Royal Navy
ships designed for use in shallow rivers or inshore. They were intended for use on the Danube
(the name was to disguise their function). The first four ships - Gnat, Mantis, Moth and Tarantula - were actually first employed during the World War I Mesopotamian Campaign
on the Euphrates
and Tigris
rivers.
The ships were designed to operate in shallow fast-flowing rivers, with a shallow draught
and a good turn of speed to counter river flow. They were fitted with two reciprocating
(VTE) engines operating two propeller shafts to offer some redundancy. The propellers were housed in tunnels to minimise the operating draught.
, HMS Glowworm, Cicala, Cockchafer , Cricket, Moth and Mantis served on the Dvina River
(northern Russia, in Arkhangelsk Oblast
), fighting in support of White Russia
n forces. Glowworms captain and some other crew members were killed when a nearby ammunition barge exploded. The crew of Cicala mutinied, as part of a wider wave of unrest in the Royal Navy, and five "ringleaders" were sentenced to death, later commuted
to five years imprisonment.
Between the two World Wars, the class were mainly used in the Far East
and they were present during the Japanese invasion of China. In 1937, on the Yangtze river, the Japanese attacked HMS Ladybird, firing on her from a shore battery. A US gunboat, USS Panay
was also attacked
, by Japanese aircraft, and sunk. HMS Ladybird sailed the 20 miles to the scene of the sinking, took on board some of the Panay survivors and took them to Shanghai
. HMS Scarab and Cricket were off Nanking in 1937 as the Japanese started to bomb the city.
In 1939 the original 2 6 inch Mk VII 45-calibre guns
on Aphis and Ladybird
were replaced by more modern and 30 inches longer 6-inch Mk XIII 50-calibre guns from the decommissioned HMS Agincourt
.
At the start of World War II, three vessels, HMS Cricket, Gnat and Ladybird, were transferred to the Mediterranean Fleet's Inshore Squadron. They joined the monitor
HMS Terror
and provided bombardment support for the 8th Army. Their shallow draught allowed them to act also as supply and landing vessels, able to close in to beaches.
In June 1943, HMS Aphis took part in the bombardment of Pantelleria
(Operation Corkscrew
).
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
ships designed for use in shallow rivers or inshore. They were intended for use on the Danube
Danube
The Danube is a river in the Central Europe and the Europe's second longest river after the Volga. It is classified as an international waterway....
(the name was to disguise their function). The first four ships - Gnat, Mantis, Moth and Tarantula - were actually first employed during the World War I Mesopotamian Campaign
Mesopotamian Campaign
The Mesopotamian campaign was a campaign in the Middle Eastern theatre of World War I fought between the Allies represented by the British Empire, mostly troops from the Indian Empire, and the Central Powers, mostly of the Ottoman Empire.- Background :...
on the Euphrates
Euphrates
The Euphrates is the longest and one of the most historically important rivers of Western Asia. Together with the Tigris, it is one of the two defining rivers of Mesopotamia...
and Tigris
Tigris
The Tigris River is the eastern member of the two great rivers that define Mesopotamia, the other being the Euphrates. The river flows south from the mountains of southeastern Turkey through Iraq.-Geography:...
rivers.
The ships were designed to operate in shallow fast-flowing rivers, with a shallow draught
Draft (hull)
The draft of a ship's hull is the vertical distance between the waterline and the bottom of the hull , with the thickness of the hull included; in the case of not being included the draft outline would be obtained...
and a good turn of speed to counter river flow. They were fitted with two reciprocating
Reciprocating engine
A reciprocating engine, also often known as a piston engine, is a heat engine that uses one or more reciprocating pistons to convert pressure into a rotating motion. This article describes the common features of all types...
(VTE) engines operating two propeller shafts to offer some redundancy. The propellers were housed in tunnels to minimise the operating draught.
Deployment
In 1919, during the Russian Civil WarRussian Civil War
The Russian Civil War was a multi-party war that occurred within the former Russian Empire after the Russian provisional government collapsed to the Soviets, under the domination of the Bolshevik party. Soviet forces first assumed power in Petrograd The Russian Civil War (1917–1923) was a...
, HMS Glowworm, Cicala, Cockchafer , Cricket, Moth and Mantis served on the Dvina River
Northern Dvina
The Northern Dvina is a river in Northern Russia flowing through the Vologda Oblast and Arkhangelsk Oblast into the Dvina Bay of the White Sea. Along with the Pechora River to the east, it drains most of Northwest Russia into the Arctic Ocean...
(northern Russia, in Arkhangelsk Oblast
Arkhangelsk Oblast
Arkhangelsk Oblast is a federal subject of Russia . It includes the Arctic archipelagos of Franz Josef Land and Novaya Zemlya, as well as the Solovetsky Islands in the White Sea....
), fighting in support of White Russia
White movement
The White movement and its military arm the White Army - known as the White Guard or the Whites - was a loose confederation of Anti-Communist forces.The movement comprised one of the politico-military Russian forces who fought...
n forces. Glowworms captain and some other crew members were killed when a nearby ammunition barge exploded. The crew of Cicala mutinied, as part of a wider wave of unrest in the Royal Navy, and five "ringleaders" were sentenced to death, later commuted
Commutation of sentence
Commutation of sentence involves the reduction of legal penalties, especially in terms of imprisonment. Unlike a pardon, a commutation does not nullify the conviction and is often conditional. Clemency is a similar term, meaning the lessening of the penalty of the crime without forgiving the crime...
to five years imprisonment.
Between the two World Wars, the class were mainly used in the Far East
Far East
The Far East is an English term mostly describing East Asia and Southeast Asia, with South Asia sometimes also included for economic and cultural reasons.The term came into use in European geopolitical discourse in the 19th century,...
and they were present during the Japanese invasion of China. In 1937, on the Yangtze river, the Japanese attacked HMS Ladybird, firing on her from a shore battery. A US gunboat, USS Panay
USS Panay (PR-5)
|-External links:* * *...
was also attacked
Panay incident
The USS Panay Incident was a Japanese attack on the American gunboat while she was anchored in the Yangtze River outside Nanking , China on December 12, 1937. Japan and the United States were not at war at the time. The Japanese claimed that they did not see the American flags painted on the deck...
, by Japanese aircraft, and sunk. HMS Ladybird sailed the 20 miles to the scene of the sinking, took on board some of the Panay survivors and took them to Shanghai
Shanghai
Shanghai is the largest city by population in China and the largest city proper in the world. It is one of the four province-level municipalities in the People's Republic of China, with a total population of over 23 million as of 2010...
. HMS Scarab and Cricket were off Nanking in 1937 as the Japanese started to bomb the city.
In 1939 the original 2 6 inch Mk VII 45-calibre guns
BL 6 inch Mk VII naval gun
The BL 6 inch Gun Mark VII was a British naval gun dating from 1899, which was mounted on a heavy traveling carriage in 1915 for British Army service to become one of the main heavy field guns in the First World War, and also served as one of the main coast defence guns throughout the British...
on Aphis and Ladybird
HMS Ladybird (1916)
HMS Ladybird was an Insect-class gunboat of the Royal Navy, launched in 1916. This class are also referred to as "Large China Gunboats"....
were replaced by more modern and 30 inches longer 6-inch Mk XIII 50-calibre guns from the decommissioned HMS Agincourt
HMS Agincourt (1913)
HMS Agincourt was a dreadnought built in the early 1910s. The ship was originally ordered by Brazil, but the collapse of the rubber boom plus a lessening of the rivalry with Argentina led to her resale while still under construction to the Ottoman Empire who renamed her as Sultan Osman I...
.
At the start of World War II, three vessels, HMS Cricket, Gnat and Ladybird, were transferred to the Mediterranean Fleet's Inshore Squadron. They joined the monitor
Monitor (warship)
A monitor was a class of relatively small warship which was neither fast nor strongly armoured but carried disproportionately large guns. They were used by some navies from the 1860s until the end of World War II, and saw their final use by the United States Navy during the Vietnam War.The monitors...
HMS Terror
HMS Terror (I03)
HMS Terror was an Erebus-class monitor built for the Royal Navy in 1915-16 at the Harland and Wolff shipyard in Govan, Scotland.The Erebus-class monitors were of displacement, long, with a maximum speed of produced by reciprocating engines with two shafts, and a crew of 223. The ship's main...
and provided bombardment support for the 8th Army. Their shallow draught allowed them to act also as supply and landing vessels, able to close in to beaches.
In June 1943, HMS Aphis took part in the bombardment of Pantelleria
Pantelleria
Pantelleria , the ancient Cossyra, is an Italian island in the Strait of Sicily in the Mediterranean Sea, southwest of Sicily and just east of the Tunisian coast. Administratively Pantelleria is a comune belonging to the Sicilian province of Trapani...
(Operation Corkscrew
Operation Corkscrew
During World War II, Operation Corkscrew was the Allied invasion of the Italian island of Pantelleria on 10 June 1943. There had been an early plan to occupy the island in late 1940 , but this was aborted when the Luftwaffe strengthened the Axis air threat in the region.The Allied focus returned...
).
The ships
- HMS Aphis: scrapped SingaporeSingaporeSingapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
, 1947 - HMS BeeHMS Bee (1915)HMS Bee was an Insect class gunboat of the Royal Navy, launched on 8 December 1915. This class are also known as "Large China Gunboats".Initially built for service on the River Danube, after World War I the Insects were transported to China and served on the Yangtze River...
: flagship of Rear Admiral, Yangtze (RAY), sold in March 1939. - HMS Cicala: sunk by Japanese bombs on 21 December 1941.
- HMS CockchaferHMS Cockchafer (1915)HMS Cockchafer was a Royal Navy Insect class gunboat. She was built by Barclay Curle and launched on 17 December 1915 as the 5th Royal Navy ship to carry this name...
: sold for scrap in 1949, the last surviving member of the class. - HMS Cricket: heavily damaged by bombs on 29 June 1941; reportedly scrapped 1944; report false as sunk off Cyprus 1944.
- HMS Glowworm: scrapped September 1928.
- HMS GnatHMS Gnat (T60)HMS Gnat was a Royal Navy Insect class gunboat. She was built by Lobnitz and launched in 1915.During the First World War, Gnat took part in the Mesopotamian Campaign as part of the gunboat squadron operating on the Euphrates and Tigris rivers....
: Damaged by U-boat, declared total loss, and then used as anti-aircraft platform. Scrapped 1946 - HMS LadybirdHMS Ladybird (1916)HMS Ladybird was an Insect-class gunboat of the Royal Navy, launched in 1916. This class are also referred to as "Large China Gunboats"....
: sunk on 12 May 1941 off TobrukTobrukTobruk or Tubruq is a city, seaport, and peninsula on Libya's eastern Mediterranean coast, near the border with Egypt. It is the capital of the Butnan District and has a population of 120,000 ....
during World War II, then used as an anti-aircraft position - HMS Mantis: sold in January 1940 and subsequently scrapped.
- HMS MothHMS Moth (1915)HMS Moth was an Insect class gunboat of the Royal Navy.HMS Moth was laid down during the first half of 1915 at the yards of the Sunderland Shipbuilding Company, with her sister ship HMS Mantis. Moth was launched on 9 October 1915 and completed on 5 January 1916.- Royal Navy service :She was...
: captured by the Japanese and renamed Suma, sunk by mines in Yangtze River on 19 March 1945. - HMS Scarab: scrapped in 1948.
- HMS Tarantula briefly flagship of the British Pacific FleetBritish Pacific FleetThe British Pacific Fleet was a British Commonwealth naval force which saw action against Japan during World War II. The fleet was composed of British Commonwealth naval vessels. The BPF formally came into being on 22 November 1944...
, expended as a target 1946