by River Gunboats- An Illustrated Encyclopaedia (retail) (epub)
Hsien Ning
On 13 July 1937 Hsien Ning was sunk by Japanese aircraft on the Yangtze between Matang and Hankow.
Launched:
16 August 1928 by Kiangnan Dockyard, Shanghai.
Dimensions:
Displ: 418 tons (approx. 500 tons full load); L: 54.9m/215ft 6in; B: 7.32m/29ft 6in; D: 1.98m/11ft 6in.
Crew:
115.
Power/Speed:
Twin screws; VTE steam engines, 2,500ihp/17 knots.
Guns/Armour:
1 × 4.7in Vickers; 1 × 4in Vickers; 3 × 6-pounder Hotchkiss QF; 1 × 3-pounder Vickers.
Fate:
Sunk 13 July 1937.
Hsien Ning in 1929.
Yung Sui
The second of the series was much larger, with higher power and speed, and a more powerful armament, with a 6in gun forward. Surviving the war, in April 1949 Yung Sui was sunk by Communist forces on the Yangtze. Salvaged and repaired, she served in the navy of the People’s Republic until 1975.
Yung Sui in 1929.
Launched:
27 January 1929 by Kiangnan Dockyard, Shanghai.
Dimensions:
Displ: 650 tons (approx. 800 tons full load); L: 68m/215ft 6in; B: 9.12m/29ft 6in; D: 1.83m/11ft 6in.
Crew:
100.
Power/Speed:
Twin screws; VTE steam engines, 4,000ihp/18.5 knots.
Guns/Armour:
1 × 6in/50 Vickers; 1 × 4.7in Vickers; 3 × 3in Vickers; 4 × 6-pounder Hotchkiss QF; 1 × 40mm Pom-Pom.
Fate:
Stricken 1975.
Ming Chuen
Taken over by the People’s Republic in 1949, she was first renamed Hsien Ning, and then Zhangjiang, serving up until the late 1970s.
Launched:
21 September 1929 by Kiangnan Dockyard, Shanghai.
Dimensions:
Displ: 455 tons (approx. 500 tons full load); L: 61.8m/215ft 6in; B: 7.92m/29ft 6in; D: 1.80m/11ft 6in.
Crew:
146.
Power/Speed:
Twin screws; VTE steam engines, 2,400ihp/16.6 knots.
Guns/Armour:
1 × 4.7in Vickers; 1 × 4in Vickers; 1 × 3in Vickers; 2 × 6-pounder Hotchkiss QF; 1 × 3-pounder Hotchkiss QF. 1960s: 2 × twin 37mm/73 Type 69; 3 × twin 25mm/68 Type 61.
Fate:
Stricken late 1970s.
Ming Chuen in 1930.
Ming Sen
Badly damaged by Japanese aircraft on 27 October 1938 on the Yangtze, Ming Sen was scuttled at Hankow on 12 November 1938. Salvaged by the Japanese in 1939, she was renamed Hitonose, and served as a repair ship, armed only with MG. On 21 December 1944 she collided with the freighter Kosho in Shihi harbour on the Yangtze and sank. Salvaged and recommissioned, she was finally lost on a mine.
Launched:
5 May 1931 by Kiangnan Dockyard, Shanghai.
Dimensions:
Displ: 460 tons (approx. 600 tons full load); L: 64m/209ft 11in; B: 8.2m/26ft 11in; D: 1.98m/6ft 6in.
Crew:
115.
Power/Speed:
Twin screws; VTE steam engines, 3,600ihp/18 knots.
Guns/Armour:
1 × 4.7in Vickers; 1 × 4in Vickers; 2 × 3in Vickers; 2 × 3-pounder Hotchkiss QF. As Hitonose: Several MG only.
Fate:
Mined 1945.
Ming Sen in 1931.
Chai We Class
The final two gunboats built by Bailey in Hong Kong were the Chai We and her sister-ship Chang Chiang, launched in 1931 and 1932 respectively. Surprisingly for such a late date, their design is said to have been inspired by the old British ‘Fly’ class of the First World War.
Chai We was sunk by Japanese aircraft at Canton either in late September or early October 1937. The fate of her sister is unknown.
Launched:
1931 (Chai We), 1932 (Chang Chiang) by Bailey, Hong Kong.
Dimensions:
Displ: 210 tons; L: 43m/141ft; B: 7.4m/24ft 3in; D: 1.47m/4ft 10in.
Power/Speed:
Twin screws; VTE steam engines 520ihp/12 knots.
Guns/Armour:
1 × 3in Vickers; 1 × 3-pounder Hotchkiss QF; 6 × .303in Lewis MG.
Fate:
Chai We sunk September/October 1937.
The Chinese Navy also operated a series of small patrol craft displacing some 300 tons, beginning with the Shun Sheng of 1928, which was followed by the ten-ship Hai Ning class built in 1932–4. An eleventh vessel was captured incomplete by the Japanese.
Shun Sheng
The stern 3in gun was on an HA mounting. On 11 November 1938 Shun Sheng was scuttled on Lake Dongting Hu.
Shun Sheng in 1930.
Launched:
1928 by Kiangnan Dockyard, Shanghai.
Dimensions:
Displ: 280 tons (Full load: 350 tons); L: 44.5m/146ft; B: 7.47m/24ft 6in; D: 1.83m/6ft.
Crew:
65.
Power/Speed:
Single screw; VTE steam engines, 500ihp/10.7 knots.
Guns/Armour:
2 × 3in Vickers; 2 × 37mm Maxim Pom-Poms; 4 × .303in MG.
Fate:
Scuttled 11 November 1938.
Hai Ning Class
The class were built between 1932 and 1934 with technical assistance from the German firm of HAPRO. They were also capable of being used as minelayers.
On 11 November 1937 Kiang Ning was captured by the Japanese at Shanghai. Between Matang and Hankow on the Yangtze on 3 July 1938 Chung Ning and Chang Ning were sunk by Japanese aircraft, as was Sui Ning ten days later. On 14 July 1938 the class leader Hai Ning was sunk by Japanese aircraft on the Poyang Hu Lake. During 1938 Japanese aircraft sank Wu Ning, Su Ning and Cheng Ning on the Ming River in Fujian Province. Only Wei Ning and Yi Ning survived the war, to be stricken in 1949.
An eleventh member of the class, Tai Ning, was laid down as the first Chinese ship with an all-welded hull. She was captured by the Japanese on the slipway and subsequently broken up.
Hai Ning in 1933, with what appears to be a 6-pounder forward and a Pom-Pom aft.
Launched:
1933 and 1934 by Kiangnan Dockyard, Shanghai.
Dimensions:
Displ: 300 tons; L: 43.5m/142ft 8in; B: 6.1m/20ft; D: 2.38m/7ft 10in.
Crew:
44.
Power/Speed:
Single screw; VTE steam engines, 6.500ihp/10 knots.
Guns/Armour:
2 × 6-pounder Hotchkiss QF or 2 × 40mm Pom-Poms; 3 × .303in MG.
Fate:
See the text.
Ruijin Class
In the early 1950s a mercantile company purchased six former USN AKL-Class coastal freighters. They were subsequently armed as gunboats for the People’s Republic Navy.
Ruijin was sunk by Nationalist P-47 fighter-bombers on 18 May 1954. The remaining units, Xingguo, Zunyi, Handan, Huaiyang and Yancheng, were discarded during the 1960s.
Launched:
By various US builders 1944.
Dimensions:
Displ: 570 tons (Full load: 704 tons); L: 55m/88ft 6in; B: 10m/13ft 1in; D: 3m/4ft 11in.
Crew:
100.
Power/Speed:
Twin screws; General Motors diesels, 500bhp/12 knots.
Guns/Armour:
3 × 3in/50 Mk 20 or 1 × 105mm/22 M101 + 2 × 3in/50 Mk 20; 2 × twin 37mm LC/30; 4 × twin 25mm Type 96.
Fate:
Ruijin sunk by aircraft 18 May 1954; remainder stricken 1960s.
A typical AKL-class freighter in USN service. This is AKL-25 USS Banner seen in Hong Kong. The type was also used by the US Army as the FS-Class Design 381. Along with other AKLs, she was converted to a surveillance/spy ship, and one, USS Pueblo (AGER-2) was captured by North Korea, where she is retained as a ‘museum ship’. (US Navy photo from ‘All Hands’ magazine, March 1960, via www.navsource.org)
Post-war vessels described as river patrol craft were the small (50-ton) Type 53A, and the even smaller Fuijan and Yu
lin classes. The final series, described as Patrol Launches, were the larger and much more effective Type 062, displacing 100 tons.
Type 53A
Launched:
82 units between 1950 and 1955 by Kiangnan Shipyard, Shanghai.
Dimensions:
Displ: 42 tons (Full load: 50 tons); L: 27m/88ft 6in; B: 4m/13ft 1in; D: 1.5m/4ft 11in.
Power/Speed:
Twin screws; diesels, 1,000bhp/14 knots.
Guns/Armour:
2 × twin 25mm/82 Type 61M or 1 × twin 37mm/63 Type 61; 1 × twin 12.7mm HMG.
Fate:
Stricken between 1977 and late 1990s.
Type 53A, a poor-quality photo but rare enough to include.
Fujian Class
Mostly manned by the Naval Militia.
Launched:
30 units in the 1950s.
Dimensions:
L: 20m/65ft 7in.
Power/Speed:
Diesels.
Guns/Armour:
2 × twin 12.7mm HMG; 1 × 7.62mm MG.
Fate:
Discarded late 1980s.
Yulin Class
Transfers: four to Congo; three to Cambodia; four to Tanzania.
Launched:
100 units between 1964 and 1968.
Dimensions:
Displ: 10 tons; L: 12.8m/42ft; B: 2.9m/9ft 6in; D: 1.1m/3ft 7in.
Crew:
10.
Power/Speed:
Single screw; diesel 300bhp/24 knots.
Guns/Armour:
2 × 12.7mm HMG.
Fate:
Stricken 1970s and 1980s.
Another poor-quality but rare photo, this time of the Yulin class.
Profile of a Type 062 II.
Type 062
EARLY UNITS
Transfers: 1960s, eight units to North Korea.
Launched:
25 units between 1959 and 1963 by Wuzhou Shipyard.
Dimensions:
Displ: 100 tons (Full load: 120 tons); L: 35.1m/115ft 1in; B: 5.5m/18ft; D: 1.55m/5ft 1in.
Crew:
25.
Power/Speed:
Four shafts; 4 × M50F-4 diesels, 4,800bhp/28 knots.
Guns/Armour:
1 × twin 57mm/62 Type 63 cannon; 1 × twin 37mm/63 Type 61 cannon; 1 × twin 450mm torpedo tube (some); 8 depth charges; 10 mines.
Fate:
Stricken between 1978–1980s.
LATER UNITS
Transfers:
1966: Eight units to North Vietnam
1970s: Six units to Guinea; twelve units to North Korea; twelve units to Pakistan; six units to Albania
Between 1970 and 1992: nine units to Tanzania
1972 to 1994: Eight units to Sri Lanka
1973: Two units to Sierra Leone
1977: Two units to Tunisia
1980s: Eight units to Bangladesh; three units to Congo; four units to Egypt.
Launched:
350 units between 1963 and 1988 by Wuzhou Shipyard.
Dimensions:
Displ: 123 tons (Full load: 135 tons); L: 38.8m/127ft 3in; B: 5.41m/17ft 9in; D: 1.55m/5ft 1in.
Crew:
36.
Power/Speed:
Four shafts; 2 × M-50F-4 diesels (2 × 1,200bhp) + 2 × 12D6 diesels (2 × 910bhp), total 4,200bhp/28.5 knots.
Guns/Armour:
2 × twin 37mm/63 Type 61 cannon; 2 × twin 25mm/82 Type 61M cannon; 2 × AS rocket launchers (some); 4 DCs; 10 mines.
Fate:
All stricken by 2015.
FOREIGN RIVER GUNBOATS INCORPORATED INTO THE CHINESE NAVY
Two ex-Portuguese
Fu Yu, ex-Portuguese Pátria. For details see PORTUGAL. Purchased by China in 1931 at Macau.
Fate: Sunk at Canton in late September 1937 by Japanese aircraft from the carriers Ryujo and Hosho.
Wu Feng ex-Portuguese Macau. For details see PORTUGAL. Taken over by the Japanese in 1943 and commissioned by them as Maiko. Ceded to China at the end of the war.
Fate: Stricken in the 1960s.
Two ex-German
Li Sui, ex-German Vaterland. For details see GERMANY. Seized by the Chinese on 20 March 1917 at Nanking.
Fate: Captured by Japanese troops on the Songhua (Sungari) River in 1932. Transferred to the Manchukuo River Flotilla. Captured by Soviet troops on 22 August 1945 and commissioned into the Soviet Amur Flotilla as Pekin.
Li Chieh, ex-German Otter. For details see GERMANY. Seized by the Chinese on 20 March 1917 at Nanking. Transferred to the Songhua (Sungari) River.
Fate: Sunk on 12 October 1929 by the Soviet river monitor Sverdlov.
Two ex-Italian
Kiang Kun, ex-Italian Ermanno Carlotto. For details see ITALY. Scuttled by her crew at Shanghai on 9 September 1943. Salvaged by the Japanese and commissioned as Narumi on 15 October 1943. August 1945 ceded to China.
Fate: Stricken in the 1960s.
Hsien Ning, ex-Italian Lepanto. For details see ITALY. Scuttled by her crew at Shanghai on 9 September 1943. Salvaged by the Japanese and commissioned as convoy escort Okitsu. AA armament changed to two twin 25mm and DCTs added. 21 March 1945 badly damaged by US aircraft. Surrendered to the Allies and allocated to China. In 1949 her crew sailed her to Taiwan.
One ex-French
Fa Ku, ex-Balny. For details see FRANCE. Laid up at Chungking since September 1940, the Balny was officially handed over to China in 1944.
Fate: Stricken in the 1960s.
Sources mention the French river gunboat Argus as being transferred to China. This appears to be a misinterpretation of her attempted transfer in October 1940 to Indochina, towed by the sloop Tahure. Caught by a typhoon during the transfer, and badly damaged, she was scrapped by the French at Haiphong in 1941.
Three ex-RN
Ying Shan, ex-HMS Gannet. For details see GREAT BRITAIN. Handed over to the Chinese Government on 8 February 1942.
Fate: Captured by the Communists in 1949, Ying Shan was stricken in 1966.
Ying Teh, ex-HMS Falcon. For details see GREAT BRITAIN. Handed over to the Chinese Government on 8 February 1942.
Fate: Commissioned into the People’s Republic Navy in 1949, Ying Teh was stricken in 1970.
Ying Hao, ex-HMS Sandpiper. For details see GREAT BRITAIN. Handed over to the Chinese Government on 8 February 1942.
Fate: Commissioned into the People’s Republic Navy in 1949, Ying Hao was stricken in 1966.
Two ex-USN
Tai Yuan, ex-IJNS Tatara, ex-PR3 USS Wake. For details see UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. Taken over from the Japanese in 1945, commissioned as Chinese Tai Yuan in 1946.
Fate: Stricken 1966.
Mei Yuan, ex-PR4 USS Tutuila. For details see UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. Presented to China on 19 March 1942.
Fate: Stricken 1966.
Eight ex-Japanese
An Tung, ex-IJNS Ataka. For details see JAPAN. Surrendered at Shanghai in August 1945. By the early 1950s she was armed with: 1 × 4.7in/45; 5 × single 25mm Type 96 AA,; 1 × twin 13.2in HMG, 1 × DCT.
Fate: Stricken in the 1970s.
Yang Ch`I, ex-IJNS Toba. For details see JAPAN. Surrendered at Shanghai in August 1945. Renamed Ho Hseuh in 1949.
Fate: Stricken in the 1960s.
Chang Teh, ex-IJNS Seta. For details see JAPAN. Surrendered at Shanghai in August 1945.
Fate: Stricken in the 1960s.
Yung Ping, ex-IJNS Atami. For details see JAPAN. Transferred to China 1945.
Fate: Stricken in the 1960s.
Yung An, ex-IJNS Futami. For details see JAPAN. Transferred to China 1945.
Fate: Stricken in the 1960s.
Kiang Shih, ex-IJNS Fushimi. Transferred to China 1945. In 1949 renamed Chiang Feng.
Fate: Stricken in the 1960s.
Nan Chang, ex-IJNS Sumida. Transferred to China 1945.
Fate: Stricken in the 1960s.
Chang Chi, ex-IJNS Uji of the Hashidate class. For details see JAPAN. In 1950 she was rearmed with: 2 × 130mm/51 Model B-13; 6 × 37mm/73 AA. By t
he 1970s she had been rearmed with: 6 × single 37mm/73; 2 × twin 37mm/73; 2 × twin 25mm Type 61.
Fate: Stricken 1986.
COLOMBIA
Colombia has almost 8,000 miles (13,000km) of navigable rivers. The river system is the main means of transportation, especially in the south of the country. It is patrolled by the Colombian Navy and by the Colombian Marines Force. The Colombians have specialised in recent years in building or modifying riverine vessels as troop transports and motherships, to carry Marines and provide fire support when they land. Their Patrullera de Apoyo Fluvial (PAF) or Riverine Support Patrol Boats have been developed into state-of-the-art vessels with remote-control weapons mounts and extensive armour protection.
Between 1964 and 2017 the Colombian armed forces had to try to counter the operations of several guerrilla groups, the most important of which was the FARC. With financial and material aid from the United States the army was finally able to gain the upper hand, leading to a ceasefire and the gradual absorption of the former guerrilla fighters into the political mainstream. At the same time, narcotraffickers took advantage of the general lawlessness to greatly expand the production and export of cocaine, the river network being used to transport the raw materials used in drug production as well as to export the finished products. Once again, the United States was instrumental in providing aid, including $89 million between 2000 and 2009, to disrupt this traffic.
Given the recognition by both Peru and Brazil that the latest PAF river gunboats are superior in design and combat performance to their own vessels, both neighbours have agreed to cooperate in riverine defence strategy by purchasing a Colombian design, the PAF-A, where the ‘A’ stands for ‘Amazon’.