Insect class gunboat

The Insect class patrol boats (or Large China Gunboats: the "Fly" class were Small 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 propellor shafts to offer some redundancy. The propellors were housed in tunnels to minimise the operating draught.

In 1919, during the Russian Civil War, HMS "Glowworm", "Cicala", "Cockchafer" and "Cricket" served on the Dvina River (northern Russia, in Arkhangelsk Oblast), fighting in support of White Russian forces. "Glowworm"'s captain and some other crew members were killed when a nearby ammunition barge exploded.

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.

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 Pantellaria (Operation Corkscrew).

The ships

* HMS "Aphis": scrapped Singapore, 1947
* HMS "Bee": flagship of Rear Admiral, Yangtze (RAY), sold in March 1939.
* HMS "Cicala": sunk by Japanese bombs on 21 December 1941.
* HMS "Cockchafer"": sold in 1949.
* 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 "Gnat": Damaged by U-boat, declared total loss, and then used as anti-aircraft platform. Scrapped 1946
* HMS "Ladybird": sunk on 12 May 1941 off Tobruk during WWII, then used as an anti-aircraft position
* HMS "Mantis": sold in January 1940 and subsequently scrapped.
* HMS "Moth": captured by the Japanese, sunk by mines in Yangtze River on 19 March 1945.
* HMS "Scarab": scrapped in 1948.
* HMS "Tarantula" briefly flagship of the British Pacific Fleet, expended as a target 1946

External links

* [http://www.hmsfalcon.com/index.htm#Aphis Detailed history of class]
* [http://www.steelnavy.com/1250ChinaStation.htm Summary of the China gunboats of various nations]
* [http://www.battleships-cruisers.co.uk/r_n_gunboats.htm More photos]

References