River Gunboats
Page 38
Guns/Armour:
2 × 76mm L/28 QF, later changed for 76mm L/40 QF; 6 × 6.5mm MG/Bulletproof plating.
Fate:
To China 1945.
Saga
It has been suggested that Saga was inspired by the RN Bramble class, the last of a long line of Victorian overseas gunboats. Saga was completed on 8 November 1912, and at the start of the Great War she took part in the capture of Tsingtao.
During the Japanese attack on China, Saga was part of the 11th Sentai on the Yangtze. From 15 November 1939 she was part of the Second China Expeditionary Fleet, China Area Fleet. In December 1941 she took part in the capture of Hong Kong.
On 26 September 1944 outside Hong Kong, Saga struck a mine and sank. She was raised and towed to the dockyard, where she was sunk on 22 January 1945 by an American B-24 bomber.
Launched:
27 September 1912 by Sasebo DY.
Dimensions:
Displ: 785 tons; L: 63.6m/208ft 8in; B: 9m/29ft 6in; D: 2.2m/7ft 3in.
Crew:
98.
Power/Speed:
Twin screws; VTE steam engines, 1,600ihp/15 knots.
Guns/Armour:
1 × 4.7in/45; 3 × 3in QF; 3 × 6.5mm MG.
Fate:
Sunk Hong Kong January 1945.
Although not considered a successful design, nevertheless Saga served in both World Wars.
Profile of Saga clearly showing her mixed armament layout.
Ataka
The gunboat Ataka was designed to improve on the Saga, which was not considered totally satisfactory. Originally laid down as Nakoso, she was launched as Ataka in April 1922 and completed on 1 October 1923. Ataka was the first ship built by the Yokohama Dock Co. Before being handed over, small bulges were added to her hull, a portent of things to come. In January 1932 she took part in the ‘First Shanghai Incident’, when Japanese troops were landed in the city for the first time.
Following the capsizing of the large torpedo boat Tomozuru in May 1934, the stability of all Japanese warships was re-examined. Ataka with her high freeboard was especially suspect, and as an immediate emergency measure, additional ballast was added at Sasebo Naval Yard. Between April and July 1937 Ataka underwent reconstruction at Kure Naval Yard: her heavy foremast with its fighting top was replaced by a lightweight tripod, and anti-torpedo bulges were added which increased her beam to 9.378m/32ft 11in and her displacement to 1,094 tons. At the same time her stern 4.7in was replaced by a twin 3in AA, and 13.2mm HMG were added.
Ataka as originally built.
Ataka as rebuilt in 1937 at Kure, with shields added to her main armament. (Photo MARU SPECIAL No 45)
Profile of Ataka as rebuilt. Note her unusually high freeboard compared with most other Japanese warships, and her straight stem.
On 13 December 1937, as part of the 11th Sentai, she attacked Chinese soldiers fleeing up the Yangtze from Shanghai. On 13 June 1938 she participated in the landing of 12,000 troops at Anqing on the Yangtze, leading to the battle of Wuhan. There followed patrols on the Yangtze, and convoy escort duties in the South China Sea.
In September 1945 Ataka was taken over by Lieutenant Zumwalt and crewmen from destroyer USS Robinson, who sailed her up the Huangpu River to Shanghai to restore order and help to disarm the Japanese garrison. Handed over to the Chinese, she was renamed An Tung, and was later seized by the Communist forces. She was stricken in the 1970s.
Launched:
11 April 1922 by Yokohama Dock Co.
Dimensions:
Displ: 880 tons; L: 67.66m/222ft; B: 9m/29ft 6in; D: 2.26m/7ft 5in.
Crew:
118.
Power/Speed:
Twin screws; VTE steam engines, 1,700ihp/16 knots.
Guns/Armour:
2 × 4.7in L/45; 2 × 3inch QF; 6 × 6.5mm MG.
Fate:
To China September 1945.
Seta, Katata, Hira and Hozu
The four gunboats of the Seta class were a continuing development of the Toba, of similar dimensions but slightly greater displacement. The family resemblance to Teal was still evident. The triple screw arrangement had evidently not produced any worthwhile improvements as all subsequent Japanese river gunboats reverted to twin screws.
Seta and Katata were built by Harima Zosensho and then dismantled for transport to Tunghwa Shipbuilding in Shanghai for reassembly. The second pair, Hira and Hozu, were built by Mitsubishi Zosensho, transported in sections to Hankow and reassembled there by Yangtze Engineering Co. All four formed part of the 11th Sentai and participated in all that unit’s actions on the Yangtze.
In around 1940 Seta was rearmed with DP 3in guns and received five 13.2mm HMG. At some time in 1943 or 1944 the 13.2mm MG were replaced with Type 96 25mm cannon. On 6 June 1943 Seta was badly damaged in an attack by P-40 fighter-bombers. Fourteen crewmen including her CO were killed. After three more air attacks without damage, on 17 August 1944 a bomb hits her, wrecking her stern. The repaired gunboat was ceded to the Chinese Navy at the end of the war, as Chang Teh, and in 1949 was taken over by the Communists.
Katata or Hozu. (Box lid illustration of the 700th scale Aoshima model)
Profile of the Seta class, showing their typical spoon bow, shared with several French China gunboats.
Katata was also rearmed in circa 1940 with DP main guns and five 13.2mm HMG, later exchanged for 25mm cannon. She was bombed and driven aground on 12 December 1944, then salvaged. On 2 April she was bombed and damaged by P-51 Mustangs. In May 1945 her armament was landed for use ashore. In poor condition at the end of the war, Katata was ceded to China, but shortly after she was dismantled and scrapped.
After avoiding being attacked by aircraft for the whole of her service in China, Hozu’s luck ran out on 26 November 1944 when she ran aground with her sister-ship Hira. Hozu was bomber by Chinese aircraft and sunk in shallow water. She was later broken up.
Hira was the target of several air attacks: on 31 May 1943 she was hit by several P-40 fighter-bombers in the engine room, boiler room, compass platform, upper bridge, midships upper deck and crew space, and was left unable to steer. Eight men including her CO were killed. Repairs took two months. On 17 August she was damaged by unidentified US fighter-bombers. Finally on 26 November 1944 in company with her sister-ship Hozu, the Hira ran aground in the Yangtze. Hira was so badly damaged by Chinese aircraft bombs that she was broken up for scrap.
Launched:
Seta 30 June 1922; Katata 16 July 1922; Hira 14 March 1923; Hozu 19 April 1943.
Dimensions:
Displ: 340 tons; L: 56m/184ft; B: 8.2m/27ft; D: 1m/3ft 3in.
Crew:
62.
Power/Speed:
Twin screws; compound steam engines, 2,100ihp/16 knots.
Guns/Armour:
2 × 3in LA guns; 6.5mm MG/Bulletproof plating.
Fate:
Seta to China; Katata broken up by the Chinese; Hira scrapped early 1945; Hozu sunk and broken up early 1945.
Atami and Futami
Reversions to a smaller type of gunboat, the Atami and Futami both sailed from Japan to the Yangtze under their own power. They were originally armed with a short LA 3inch L/28 gun. To bolster their anti-aircraft defences this was replaced in around 1940 by a longer DP 3in L/40 weapon, with the addition of five Type 96 25mm AA guns.
Hitting rocks or running aground in the Yangtze and other Chinese rivers was a common hazard, but it must be said that the Japanese (and the French and Americans too) managed to do it in style. Here is the Futami high and dry on an uncharted rock.
Atami and Futami as originally armed with a single-purpose LA main gun.
Atami was damaged by aircraft near Tung Ting Lake on 10 June 1943. In common with the other gunboats her guns were landed in May 1945 for use ashore. Handed to the Chinese at the end of the war, she was renamed Yung Ping, and later fell into the hands of the Communists. She was scrapped in the 1960s.
On 14 June 1933 Futami stranded on an uncharted rock in the Yangt
ze, and was not refloated until the following August. She was repaired at Shanghai. At the end of the war Futami was handed to the Chinese and renamed Yung An. She was later taken over by the Communists.
Launched:
Atami 30 June 1929 by Mitsui Zosensho, Tamano; Futami 20 November 1929, by Fujinagata Zosensho, Osaka.
Dimensions:
Displ: 225 tons; L: 46.3m/151ft 11in; B: 6.78m/22ft 3in; D: 1.1m/3ft 8in.
Crew:
54, later 77 when rearmed.
Power/Speed:
Twin screws; compound steam engines, 1,300ihp/16.75 knots.
Guns/Armour:
1 × 3in L/28 QF; 1 × 13mm HMG; 5 × 6.5mm MG. 1940: 1 × 3in L/40 DP QF; 5 × 25mm Type 96 AA/Bulletproof plating.
Fate:
Both to China 1945.
Small gunboat Kotaka. (Drawing from Warships of the Imperial Japanese Navy)
Kotaka
Kotaka was a diesel-powered armed river launch, designed for use on the Upper Yangtze. She was compact enough to be carried in one piece as deck cargo on the transport Seito on 1 November 1930 for passage to Shanghai. Kotaka was present at the battle of Wuhan and that of Madang in June 1938. In 1942 she was used as a passenger transport on the Yangtze, and her armament was later reduced to two 7.7mm MG. On 31 May 1944 she was bombed and sunk by Chinese aircraft.
Launched:
18 January 1930 by Mitsui Zosensho.
Dimensions:
Displ: 62.7 tons; L: 30.4m/100ft; B: 5.1m/16ft 10in; D: 0.64m/2ft 1in.
Power/Speed:
Twin screws; diesels 540bhp/15.5 knots.
Guns/Armour:
5 × 6.5mm MG.
Fate:
Sunk May 1944 by aircraft.
Fushimi and Sumida
The last of the Japanese-built Yangtze river gunboats, and also the largest, Fushimi and Sumida were not as long overall as Tosa and the Seta class, but were much broader of beam than the previous vessels. They were also the first to be powered by geared steam turbines, which meant they were the fastest of the Japanese gunboats. Originally armed with the short-barrelled LA 3in gun, both would receive a longer DP 3in in around 1940, together with a substantial increase in the number of their 25mm Type 95 AA cannon.
During Operation ‘SE-Go Sakusen’ on 22 June 1942, Sumida was attacked and damaged by five fighters, her CO and eleven crew being killed. On 22 June 1944 she was damaged in an attack on Hankow by 20 B-24 Liberator bombers, and eight crewmen were killed. In a second attack by twenty-one B-24s on 25 November 1944, Sumida escaped with minor damage.
Profile of Fushimi and Sumida. The central superstructure slopes inwards to the upper deck level presumably to save weight.
On 29 November 1944 Chinese aircraft sank Fushimi and damaged Sumida. Fushimi was refloated and repaired at Shanghai. In early 1945 their armament was placed ashore.
Fushimi was ceded to China in 1945 and renamed Kiang Hsi. She was later taken over by the Communists and renamed Chiang Feng. Sumida was also ceded to China as Nan Chang. The Communists renamed her Chang Hsi.
Launched:
Fushimi 26 March 1939, Sumida 30 October 1939, by Fujinaga Zosensho, Osaka.
Dimensions:
Displ: 374 tons; L: 50m/164ft; B: 9.78m/32ft 1in; D: 1.24m/4ft 1in.
Crew:
64.
Power/Speed:
Twin screws; geared steam turbines, 2,200shp/17 knots.
Guns/Armour:
1 × 3in L/28 QF; 2 × 25mm Type 96 AA. 1940: 1 × 3in L/40 DP QF; 8 × 25mm Type 96 AA/Bulletproof plating.
Fate:
Both to China 1945.
Hashidate Class
On trials these ships averaged 20.15 knots at full load.
Hashidate was used as an ocean escort vessel, and was torpedoed and sunk 25 May 1944 off Pratas Isand by the submarine USS Picuda, at 23°08’ N, 117° 20’ E.
At the end of the war Uji was transferred to China as reparations. For details, see CHINA.
Launched:
Hashidate 23 December 1939, Uji 29 September 1940 by Sakurajima, Osaka.
Dimensions:
Displ: 1,100 tons (full load: 1,204 tons); L: 78m/257ft 6in; B: 9.7m/31ft 9in; D: 2.4m/8ft.
Crew:
170.
Power/Speed:
Twin screws; geared steam turbines, 4,600shp/19.5 knots
Guns/Armour:
2 × twin 4.7in/45 forward; 1 × 4.7in/45 stern; 2 × twin 25mm AA.
Fate:
Hashidate sunk 22 May 1944; Uji ceded to China as Chang Chi 1945.
CAPTURED FOREIGN GUNBOATS
Tatara (ex-Wake, ex-Guam)
In early December 1941, USS Wake, too small to effect the planned withdrawal to the Philippines, was left behind at Shanghai with a caretaker crew of just fourteen reservists. Although she was rigged to be scuttled by explosive charges, her small crew were surprised and overwhelmed by Japanese Special Landing Force troops at 0400hrs on 8 December, without being able to set off the charges.
Incorporated in the Imperial Japanese Navy, Wake was renamed Tatara. During a refit she received two 3in DP guns. Tatara spent the rest of the war on patrol on the Yangtze, and survived no less than five air attacks. Handed over to the Chinese at the end of the war, she was renamed Tai Yuan. Later she was taken over by the Communists, and served into the 1960s. For specifications, see UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.
Wake in Japanese hands as Tatara.
Profile of Tatara.
Class leader Hashidate and Uji were fitted out to act as flagships for river gunboat flotillas.
Karatsu (ex-Luzon)
USS Luzon was successfully evacuated from China to the Philippines in early December 1941. She was scuttled there when the islands fell, and was salvaged by the Japanese. Renamed Karatsu, she did not return to the Chinese rivers but spent the remainder of her career in the Philippines. Badly damaged by a torpedo from the submarine USS Narwhal, she was sunk as a blockship in Manila Bay. For specifications, see UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.
Suma (ex-Moth)
HMS Moth was caught at Hong Kong by the Japanese attack on 8 December 1941, laid up in drydock for repairs to her hull plating. Her armament had been removed to aid in the defence of the Colony. When the drydock was flooded she was allowed to sink, but no deliberate demolition work had been carried out. The Japanese were therefore able to pump out the drydock and begin repairs in early February 1942. On 14 July she was commissioned as a gunboat in the Imperial Japanese Navy and renamed Suma.
The ex-Moth proudly wearing the Imperial chrysanthemum badge on her fore-peak, as the Japanese Suma. Her upperworks and bridge have been substantially altered.
A drawing of Suma before the addition of anti-aircraft armament. Note the small construction built onto the quarterdeck, probably a more permanent heads facility than the primitive canvas structure used by the British.
Over the next three years Suma undertook patrols in the Yangtze and the Pearl River, and engaged American aircraft on multiple occasions. On 25 October 1942 at Hong Kong she suffered her first air attack, by B-25 bombers of the 14th Air Force. The next day, on leaving Hong Kong, she was again attacked by B-25s and claimed one aircraft shot down. Another air attack was launched on her in the Yangtze on 30 December but she received only slight damage. It seems that Lieutenant Commander Asahi Tatsuo was manoeuvring his agile ‘Insect’ class gunboat as adroitly as his RN counterparts commanding her sisters in the Mediterranean theatre.
While immobilised for repairs at Hong Kong in July 1943 Suma suffered several air attacks, and one dud bomb landed near her. On 29 December, at anchor, Suma was attacked by three B-25 bombers and the following day by two more. During the second attack she claimed one B-25 shot down.
On 11 June 1944 she was attacked at Auking by P-38 Lightning fighters and claimed two shot down. The following day, the P-38s returned escorting B-25s, and Suma was one of the four Japanese river gunboats near-missed by ten bombs. On 26 December Suma was targeted by seven P-51 fighters, which destroy her af
t twin 25mm AA mounting with a bomb, killing eighteen gunners and wounding four. Two days later the repair ship Hayase fitted a replacement twin 25mm mounting.
On 11 February 1945, she was attacked by seven P-51s, Suma claimed one shot down. Finally, the US 14th Air Force had their revenge, when on 19 March 1945 Suma hit an aerial mine laid by planes a fortnight earlier, and sank with the loss of eight men killed and forty wounded.
Launched:
11 December 1941 scuttled in drydock at Hong Kong. Repaired 14 July 1942. renamed Suma.
Dimensions:
Displ: 625 tons; L: 72.39m/237ft 6in; B: 11m/36ft; D: 1.2m/4ft.
Crew:
55.
Power/Speed:
Twin screws in tunnels with Yarrow patented balanced flap; VTE steam engines, 2,000ihp/14 knots.
Guns/Armour:
2 × 6in; 2 × 2-pounder Pom-Poms; 13.2mm MG. Later: 2 × twin 25mm Type 96 AA/Armour plating added around bridge 1 September 1943.
Fate:
19 March 1945 sunk by aerial mine near Tienshenchiao on the Yangtze.
Maiko (ex-Macau)
The Yarrow-built gunboat Macau was at Hong Kong on 8 December 1941, but quickly moved to Macao, which as Portuguese territory remained neutral during the Second World War, acting as a refuge for people fleeing China and Hong Kong. However, by August 1943 the isolated Portuguese colony was bankrupt, and the Governor, Commander Gabriel Mauricio Teixeira, offered to sell the gunboat to the Japanese. Whether the sale went through, or whether as some reports suggest she was seized by the Japanese, on 15 August 1943 Macau was commissioned as IJNS Maiko.
After an uneventful career in the Japanese Navy, she was surrendered on 9 September 1945 and handed over to the Chinese as Wu Feng. Later captured by the Communists, she continued to serve up until the early 1960s. For specifications, see PORTUGAL.