River Gunboats
Page 33
HMS Sandpiper at speed, showing her wide beam, necessary to carry her shallow draught.
Launched:
1933 by Thornycroft, reassembled by Kiangwan DY 9 June 1933.
Dimensions:
Displ: 185 tons; L: 48.8m/160ft; B: 9.4m/30ft 9in; D: 0.61m/2ft.
Crew:
40.
Power/Speed:
Twin screws; VTE steam engines, 600ihp/11.25 knots.
Guns/Armour:
1 × 3.7in howitzer; 1 × 6-pounder Hotchkiss QF; .303in Lewis MG/Bulletproof plating to bridge; gun shields.
Fate:
Transferred to China February 1942.
HMS Robin (1934)
Like Sandpiper, Robin was of shallow draught to be able to move further up the rivers. She also reverted to VTE reciprocating engines. She operated as the mother ship to the 2nd MTB Flotilla in Hong Kong from 10 February 1940 to 25 December 1941. The two ex-Kuomintang 55ft CMBs Kuai 19 and 20 were too small to have on-board sleeping quarters, so their crews messed on board Robin. She was scuttled in Aberdeen Channel just prior to the colony’s surrender.
Launched:
1934 by Yarrow.
Dimensions:
Displ: 236 tons; L: 45.7m/150ft; B: 8.15m/26ft 9in; D: 0.91m/3ft.
Crew:
42.
Power/Speed:
Twin screws; VTE steam engines 800ihp/12.75 knots.
Guns/Armour:
1 × 3.7in howitzer; 1 × 6-pounder Hotchkiss QF; .303in Lewis MG/Bulletproof plating to bridge; gun shields.
Fate:
Scuttled at Hong Kong 25 December 1941.
HMS Robin at Hong Kong with MTB 27 alongside. (Photo The Hide Collection, courtesy of Richard Hide)
HMS Dragonfly. (Author’s collection).
Vickers quad 0.5in AA machine guns. Dragonfly carried two of these mountings, one on top of the bridge and the other on the stern. They could throw up an impressive volume of projectiles to deter low-flying aircraft, but their combined effect was dissipated by normally arranging the guns’ fire to disperse in a spray rather than concentrate in a cone.
Dragonfly Class
The last class of river gunboat designed for the Royal Navy to operate on the China Station. The leader Scorpion was larger, in order to serve as flagship, replacing HMS Bee. A new HMS Bee was to have been part of this class, but she was cancelled in March 1940.
In December 1940, Scorpion, Dragonfly and Grasshopper transferred to Singapore, and were sunk by Japanese naval forces south of the island in February 1942. Mosquito and Locust were built too late to serve in the Far East and were retained in home waters, where Mosquito was lost off Dunkirk. Locust served at Dunkirk, Dieppe and Normandy. Used for many years as the drill ship for the Severn Division of the Royal Naval Reserve, she went to the breakers in June 1968.
Launched:
Scorpion December 1937 by J S White & Co.; Dragonfly 1938 and Grasshopper 1939 by Thornycroft; Locust and Mosquito 1940 by Yarrow.
Dimensions:
Scorpion: Displ: 700 tons; L: 63.6m/208ft 9in; B: 10.6m/34ft 8in; D: 1.68m/5ft 6in. Others: Displ: 585 tons; L: 60m/197ft; B: 10m/33ft; D: 1.5m/5ft.
Crew:
Scorpion: 93. Others: 74.
Power/Speed:
Twin screws; geared steam turbines, Scorpion 4,500shp, others 3,800shp/17 knots.
Guns/Armour:
2 × 4in; 1 × 3.7in howitzer; 2 × quadruple 0.5in MG; 2 × 81mm mortars; .303in Lewis MG/Bulletproof plating. Locust later: 2 × 4in; quad 2-pounder Pom-Pom; 3 × 20mm Oerlikons; 20 depth charges.
Fate:
Mosquito sunk 1 June 1940; Scorpion, Dragonfly and Grasshopper sunk February 1942; Locust scrapped 1968.
DANUBE GUNBOATS
HMS Bramble
Lead ship of the Bramble class of composite gunboats, HMS Bramble served on the Danube for several years in accordance with the terms of the Treaty of Berlin signed in 1878, which had reinforced the powers of the Commission Européen du Danube (CED).
Launched:
1886 at Belfast.
Dimensions:
Displ: 715 tons; L: 54m/192ft; B: 9m/30ft; D: 0.79m/6ft.
Crew:
58.
Power/Speed:
Single screw; steam engine, 1,000ihp/10 knots.
Guns/Armour:
6 × 4in QF guns.
Fate:
Sold at Chatham 1906.
Humber Class 1918
After the Armistice in 1918, the three ex-Brazilian river monitors passed up the Dardanelles. While class leader Humber stayed at Istanbul, her two sisters Severn and Mersey spent the winter on the Danube as part of the effort to supervise the terms of the Armistice. All three were then recalled for duty in North Russia.
‘Insect’ Class 1919–1925
The victorious Allies ended German control of the Danube in 1918, and three ‘Insect’ class gunboats finally arrived on the very river for which they had been designed four years earlier. Aphis, Ladybird and Glowworm would be stationed on the Danube River for some years following the war. Their hulls and superstructures were painted green to merge with the verdant banks of the Danube, and in order to pass under low bridges their funnels were arranged to hinge, and the mast plus the top-deck guard rails, and even the tiny wheelhouse on top, could be removed as and when necessary. To prepare them for alternate heat and cold on the Danube, the internal accommodation was lined with cork and plywood insulation.
HMS Glowworm moored at Komarom on the Danube, during the winter of 1924–5.
Ladybird and Glowworm travelled far up the Danube, passing the Iron Gates, the Kazan Gorge and the Jucz ‘Ledge’, in connection with various treaty-signings and flag-showing. On one occasion, in Vienna, the crew of Glowworm provided meals during two days and two nights for groups of up to 150 starving children per sitting.
On 22 October 1921 Lieutenant Gilbert Roberts and a guard from Glowworm took charge of ex-Emperor Karl of Austria-Hungary, following his abortive coup. Their orders were to return with him to their gunboat for the royal party to be conveyed as swiftly as possible down the Danube. As the river level had fallen the gunboat was unable to pass the ‘Ledge’, so Karl and his party were transferred to a train to continue their journey into exile.
At the end of November 1921 the two gunboats were attempting to reach their winter base at Galatz, aided by two of the Danube Commission’s dredgers acting as icebreakers. However, when these vessels were baulked, they and the gunboats were forced to moor up near the small village of Icaccea. Here the crews spent four long months iced in, trying to make the best of their isolation, far from food and fuel supplies.
When the work of the Danube Flotilla came to a close, Glowworm would be the last to leave, in 1925. For details, see China Gunboats above.
HOME DEFENCE
Humber Class 1914
In a brief interlude following their bombardment duties off the Belgian coast, all three ex-Brazilian river monitors served as guardships at Boston in November–December 1914 because of an invasion scare.
‘Insect’ Class 1916–1918
The growing threat of Zeppelin raids, and the initial inability of home-based aircraft to intercept them, led the Admiralty to allocate the last four ‘Insect’ class gunboats, Cicala, Cockchafer, Cricket and Glowworm, to the defence of the east coast of Britain.
On each gunboat the forward LA 6in gun was removed and temporarily replaced by a 6in QF Mk II on a CP.II anti-aircraft mounting. Its 53.5° elevation enabled them to engage Zeppelins. Ultimately these and other efforts forced the German Army and Navy Zeppelins to fly much higher, compounding their navigational difficulties in the strong winds experienced at such altitudes.
An unidentified ‘Insect’ class gunboat, one of the four deployed on Home Defence. The aerial photo was shot in August 1918.
In early June 1916 Cicala and Cricket patrolled the Humber Estuary. Cricket was sent by the Admiralty to moor off Hunstanton Pier, due to fears that the Germans would attempt to bomb the naval wireles
s listening posts which tuned in to German High Seas Fleet radio chatter. Her 6in AA gun reportedly almost deafened the residents who felt it would awake the dead when it fired at Zeppelins passing overhead. Cicala even towed back and forth a captive balloon carrying an observer trying to spot U-boats.
In July Glowworm defended Lowestoft, and Cockchafer the area around Brightlingsea. On more than one occasion the latter ‘Insect’ engaged German aircraft attempting to cross the East Coast.
The four gunboats were relieved from this duty in September 1918, in order to prepare them for intervention in North Russia, as described below. For specifications, see China Gunboats above.
MEDITERRANEAN SERVICE
Although strictly speaking not a riverine or lake environment, ‘Insect’ class river gunboats operated with varying degrees of success in his theatre, and a complete record of their service requires that they be mentioned here.
During the First World War, between November 1915 and May 1916 four ‘Insects’, in a stripped-down and reinforced condition, were towed all the way to Port Said to defend the Suez Canal. They were, in order of arrival: Aphis, Scarab, Bee and Ladybird. In early November 1917, Aphis and Ladybird took part in the naval bombardments which led to the capture of Gaza and the crushing of the Turkish counter-attack.
In the Second World War, Aphis, Gnat, Cricket and Ladybird formed part of Force W, their task being to harass by shore bombardment the Italian forces advancing along the North African coast towards Egypt. They obtained significant success in this role, until the entry of Hitler’s Afrika Korps and Luftwaffe to support Mussolini turned the tide against the British. In short order, Ladybird was dive-bombed in a mass attack by forty-seven Ju-87s and Ju-88s and sunk in Tobruk harbour, Cricket was near-missed by a bomb from a Ju-88 which exploded beneath her hull, flooding her boilers and bending the stern upwards, and the bows of Gnat were blown off by a torpedo from U-79. Army gunners were able to carry on using Ladybird’s undamaged 3in AA gun which protruded above the shallow waters of Tobruk harbour, and the other two gunboats were eventually towed to safety in Alexandria. Their damage, however, was so serious that both were never to return to service. And this despite a rumour to the effect that one good ‘Insect’ gunboat could be obtained by joining the undamaged stern of Gnat to the undamaged bows of Cricket, similar to the operation during the Great War which had joined halves of destroyers Zulu and Nubian to produce HMS Zubian. The necessary dockyard time, however, could not be spared to save these two old and practically worn-out gunboats.
HMS Aphis as AA guard ship at Alexandria in 1942, reprising her role from the Great War. Note in particular the armoured box on top of the bridge for her searchlight and air-defence positions, her extended bridge wings, the protection around the battery deck, and her substantial forward bulwarks. Not forgetting the disruptive camouflage scheme.
Joined by Cockchafer and Scarab from the Persian Gulf, Aphis next took part in the invasions of Sicily and Italy, and then the hard-fought battle for Elba. While Cockchafer was by then virtually out of commission due to worn propellers and bent shafts, her two sisters went on to fight a running gunnery duel with two German warships. In the course of Operation ‘Dragoon’, the invasion of Provence, Aphis and Scarab provided support for small vessels carrying out the radar spoof to divert attention from the real landing beaches. When these craft were attacked by the ex-Italian corvette Capriola and the German auxiliary Kemid Allah, both ‘Insects’ steamed at speed to the rescue. In a running gun battle, during which they were joined by the American destroyer Endicott, 6in shells from the ‘Insects’ knocked out both German vessels.
Their final actions were to support the Eighth Army’s advance up the Italian Peninsula by shelling German positions on the Adriatic coast forming part of the Gothic Line. Following that they were reduced to care and maintenance in early 1945. For specifications, see China Gunboats above.
MESOPOTAMIA
HM Sloops
In the opening stages of the Mesopotamia campaign during the Great War, the sloops HMS Odin, Espiegle and Clio were extremely active, often steaming well inland to support Army advances and shell Turkish positions. On 7 and 8 December 1914, Espiegle had to literally screw herself across the mud of the river bed to the North-West of Umrash. The Turks, for their part, continued to send floating mines downriver, and on one occasion attempted to lure HMS Odin over a large electrically-controlled mine: On 19 March 1915, Odin and HMS Miner observed the Turkish gunboat Marmaris coming downriver to engage them. The Turks stopped just out of range of Odin’s 4in guns, hoping to lure the British sloop over the mine. The sapper controlling the mine evidently misjudged its position, as he fired it just in front of Odin, and alongside Miner, without having caused any damage. Having failed in their duty as a lure, the crew of the Marmaris prudently retreated upriver before the sloops could range on her.
Sloop HMS Espiegle.
Cutaway profile of the Espiegle class sloops, from the plans held in the National Maritime Museum, Greenwich.
4in L/27 QF gun on a Vavasseur mounting on the deck of a typical sloop. (HMS Partridge circa 1895, Notman Studio of Halifax/Library and Archives Canada Photo PA-028424)
On 1 June 1915 the sloops had their revenge, when Odin, Espiegle and Clio shelled and sank Marmaris. The Turkish gunboat burned through the night, her magazines exploding in turn as the fire reached them. On 7 January 1916, gunners from HMS Odin removed Marmaris’ guns.
With the arrival on station of the ‘Fly’ class and then the ‘Insect’ class gunboats, which with their shallower draft could more easily manoeuvre in the upper reaches of the Tigris and Euphrates, the sloops pulled back to the river mouth.
Launched:
Espiegle 8 December 1900, Odin 30 November 1901, by Sheerness DY, Clio 14 March 1903 by Sheerness DY.
Dimensions:
Displ: 1,070 tons; L: 54m/210ft; B: 9m/33ft; D: 1.8m/11ft.
Crew:
150.
Power/Speed:
Twin screws; 2 × VTE steam engines, 1,400ihp/13 knots.
Guns/Armour:
6 × 4in /27 cal QF; 4 × 3-pounder QF; Maxim MG.
Fate:
All sold at Bombay: Odin and Clio 1920; Espiegle 7 September 1923.
Armed Launches
HMS Miner, one of the small steam launches which enforced the Persian Gulf gun-runner blockade before the Great War, saw a great deal of action during the Mesopotamia campaign. Operating often in company with the sloops, Miner shelled Turkish positions. On one occasion she was holed on the water-line in her engine room by return fire, on 4 December 1914, with three crewmen wounded. The steam cutter from her faithful shepherd HMS Odin carried workmen to help plug the hole and repair the damage. On 11 March 1915 Miner pursued the Turkish Marmaris up Basilisk Creek, but the enemy escaped. Odin supplied Miner with boxes of .303 ammunition which her Maxim gunners proceeded to use against snipers on the river bank. She was one of the targets when Marmaris tried to draw the British ships over the electrically-fired mine on 19 March 1915. When on 12 May 1915 Miner fouled her screw on a cable, once more Odin’s crew came to the rescue, this time with diving gear. On 10 August 1915, during a respite from fighting, artificers from Odin worked to overhaul Miner’s 12-pounder main gun. Miner was then used as a tug for horse boats armed with 4.7in guns. During the remainder of the campaign she ran messages, and delivered the mail.
The gunboat HMS Miner, photographed at Muscat in October 1913, with the famous ships’ names painted on the rocks. She accompanied the sloops up-river during the Mesopotamia campaign. (Photo courtesy of Heath Caldwell)
Launched:
1880, as launch-tug.
Dimensions:
Displ: 100 tons.
Power/Speed:
Single screw; VTE steam engine.
Guns/Armour:
1 × 12-pounder QF; 1 × 3-pounder QF; 1 × .303in Maxim MG.
Other armed launches included:
• Government yacht Lewis Pelly, formerly used by the po
litical service in the Persian Gulf. She was armed with two 3-pounder QF and a .303in Maxim MG.
• Launch-tugs Garmsir, Sirdar-I-Naphte and Mashona, all manned, armed and commissioned by the crew of the pre-dreadnought battleship HMS Ocean. Mashona was a 100ft (30.48m) tug built by Irvine Shipbuilding and Engineering Company and launched in 1902.
• Comet, an armed paddle-steamer launch-tug, ex-Royal Indian Marine, which before the war was the official yacht of the British Resident at Baghdad. She was hired on 5 November 1914. Displacement: 144 tons; armament: one 3-pounder QF from HMS Espiegle, later one 6-pounder QF, three 3-pounder QF and two Maxim MG. On 1 December 1915, Comet went aground trying to take HMS Firefly in tow. A tug dropped two barges to try to pull her off but failed. The tug managed to get away but lost the barges, one full of wounded. Comet was set ablaze by Turkish gunfire.
• Shaitan, an armed launch, taken over 1 December 1914. Armament: originally one 3-pounder QF; later a 12-pounder QF. Her bridge was protected by ½in (12.7mm) armour, but this was penetrated by a Turkish shell on 7 December 1914, and her captain was killed. On 28 November 1915 Shaitan went aground just above Aziziya, and was abandoned on the approach of the Turkish advance guard.
• Sumana, an armed launch-tug, armed with a 12-pounder QF and two 3-pounder QF, plus several Maxim MG. On 5 July 1915, Sumana was supporting the advance along the Euphrates towards Nasiriya when a Turkish shell cut her main steam pipe. She was out of action for a day while repairs were effected.