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HMS Bee (RAY) after becoming the Yangtze flagship under the Rear Admiral
(RAY being the acronym of: Rear Admiral, Yangtze). Note how the aft deck
of the Bee has been modified in comparison to the Cockchafer (below), removing
her aft guns in order to accommodate more quarters.
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HMS Moth
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HMS Moth at Hong Kong on October 10, 1939. A high resolution (700k) version
of the full photograph can be found here.
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HMS Moth at Hong Kong September 6, 1939. A high resolution (700k) version
of the full photograph can be found here.
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HMS Moth after striking a rock in 1929 (photograph taken in China).
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Photographs above taken from the WWI campaign to capture Bahgdad (from
the Turks). LEFT: HMS Gnat on the Tigris (a later shot of the Gnat can
be seen here). RIGHT: HMS Mantis in the Middle East with recaptured HMS Firefly along
side.
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Above: HMS Mantis seen in 1920 at Suez. On January 17, 1920, the Insect
Class ships HMS Cricket, HMS Cockchafer, HMS Moth, HMS Mantis and HMS Scarab
set out from Chatham, England for China. All except Scarab had been in
Northern Russia and somewhat recently returned to England following their
support of White Russian forces. These ships were not designed for open
sea service due to their flat bottoms which caused them to roll in high
seas. Although some refurbishment occurred prior to the trip, it was discovered
that thousands of rivets had been replaced with wooden dowels during the
Northern Russian Expedition and all the ships were ultimately brought into Devonport for repairs.
Over a number of months the ships made their way through the Mediterranean,
Suez and out to China. I know that HMS Colombo (cruiser) and four sloops
set off with with the five Insects, these ships escorting for the purpose
of towing in bad weather and at the exhaustion of the Insects' fuel (some
legs of the trip were beyond the fuel capacity of the Insects). I have
verified that four of the five escorting ships (there was one escort for
each of the five Insects) were: HMS Colombo (cruiser), HMS Bluebell (sloop),
HMS Cornflower (sloop) and HMS Magnolia (sloop). The fifth ship was a mystery
but, given the photograph above (taken from an album of someone onboard
on HMS Hollyhock (sloop) showing Mantis in tow), it seems highly likely
HMS Hollyhock was the final escort ship. Given the other photos from the
album, HMS Hollyhock was also clearly on her way to China at the time.
The raw image of that seen above can be found here.
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HMS Mantis near Shanghai on March 10, 1939. A high resolution (700k) version
of the full photograph can be found here.
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LEFT: HMS Glowworm on the Dvina River (northern Russia, general vicinity
of Archangel) with a Bolshevik shell exploding in the water next to her.
On August 24, 1919, HMS Glowworm went to the assistance of a barge that
was burning on a bank of the Dvina River. As the Glowworm came along side
the barge, which unbeknownst to the Glowworm was laden with explosives,
blew up killing Glowworm's captain (Commander Sebald Green, who was also
commanding the flotilla) and 17 of the officers and men of the Glowworm's
crew. At least 18 other crew members were injured in the incident. RIGHT:
HMS Aphis - c. December 1940.
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| VIDEO OF HMS LADYBIRD AFTER JAPANESE ATTACK |
| I located a short clip (20 seconds) of HMS Ladybird following the attack
by the Japanese upon her and USS Panay on December 12, 1937. HMS Ladybird
was on the Yangtze and about 20 miles away from USS Panay when she was
fired upon by a Japanese shore battery. Meanwhile, USS Panay was attacked
by Japanese aircraft and sunk. HMS Ladybird immediately sailed to the scene
of the sinking and took onboard a number of the Panay survivors. She then
proceeded to Shanghai. The two shots further below show the beginning of
the two sequences. |
Low resolution video for dialup users (Windows Media Players format - 350k)
Higher resolution video for cable and DSL users (Windows Media Players
format - 1.4Mb)
Very high resolution video for cable and DSL users (Real Player (avi) format
- 11.5 Mb)
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| This sequence out of the video shows the damage to HMS Ladybird after "accidentally"
being fired upon by Japanese artillery. Note that she has been holed below
the waterline and a tarp has been tied around her to stop water from entering
her hull. |
This sequence from the video shows HMS Ladybird returning to Shanghai with
some of the survivors of USS Panay. (Note: The Japanese cruiser Idzumo
is seen behind Ladybird. Several years later after the Pearl Harbor attack
she sunk HMS Peterel, the remaining RN commissioned gunboat then on the
Yangtze) |
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ABOVE: The Royal Army using the antiaircraft gun of HMS Ladybird after
she was sunk in shallow water near shore off of Tobruk during WWII.
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ABOVE: Another shot of HMS Ladybird after she was sunk in shallow water near shore off of Tobruk during WWII. The Australian War Museum has an excellent set of shots regarding HMS Ladybird during her final days. To view them, click here and type into "HMS Ladybird" in the search field.
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ABOVE: HMS Ladybird arriving in Hong Kong from Shanghai on October 26,
1939 (photograph notation states she is in "sea rig"). A high
resolution (700k) version of the full photograph can be found here.
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ABOVE: HMS Ladybird.
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ABOVE: HMS Ladybird patrolling the Danube immediately following WWI (Budapest,
Hungarian Parliament behind). The Insect Class gunboats were called "China
gunboats" to disguise the fact that they were to be broken into pieces
and brought overland to fight on the Danube against the enemy flotilla
during WWI. This plan was scrapped but HMS Ladybird, HMS Aphis and HMS
Glowworm did patrol the Danube immediately following the end of WWI.
LEFT: The Hungarian Parliament as seen in 2005. To see unedited versions
of both of photographs click here.
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ABOVE: HMS Ladybird on the Danube following WWI (most likely in Budapest).
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HMS Aphis in June of 1943 after bombarding Pantellaria.
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HMS Cricket in Northern Russia in 1919.
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HMS Cricket - written on the reverse of the photograph is, "Arrival
Aalsund Oct 1, 1919. Left Aberdeen Oct 21, 1919." Cricket looks to
be equipped for the open sea as all of her guns have been removed. She
is therefore probably seen on the way back from fighting in support of
White Russian forces on the Dvina River in Northern Russia. For a very
high resolution of the raw image click here (700k).
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ABOVE: Reported to be the bow of HMS Cockchafer (c. 1917). To see the whole image click here.
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HMS Cockchafer being repaired at Archangel in Northern Russia. (c. 1919)
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HMS Cockchafer at Ichang in 1924
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HMS Cockchafer somewhere around Italy in 1943.
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HMS Cockchafer in Taranto (Italy) after a refit in 1944. For a high resolution
version (230k) of the full photograph click here. (For a really high resoution, high contrast shot (1.7MB) only useful
for model ship builders click here - it may provide some structural information.)
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All rights reserved. Copyright 2004 - Ian Sloan. |
HMS Cicala at Canton.
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ABOVE: Reported to be HMS Cicala at Canton in October of 1925. To see the whole photograph click here.
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HMS Cicala at Hong Kong on December 10, 1939. A high resolution (700k)
version of the full photograph can be found here.
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HMS Cicala at Hong Kong on October 10, 1939. A high resolution (700k) version of the full photograph can be found here.
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HMS Tarantula after modifications to her forward deck, removing a six inch
gun and replacing it with more accommodations. Tarantula was the senior
officer's ship on the West River in China.
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HMS Tarantula at Hong Kong on October 10, 1939. A high resolution (700k)
version of the full photograph can be found here.
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ABOVE: HMS Tarantula in her final years. In 1940-41 she made her way from
Singapore to Trincomalee in Ceylon (Sri Lanka). Due to her poor condition
she was used for storage and eventually, office space. Although never actively
participating in WWII, for twelve days in late 1944 she became the flagship
for the British Pacific Fleet, as Admiral Sir Bruce Faser hoisted his flag
upon her. In 1945 she was used as a workshop during the salvage of a floating
dock at Trincomalee. Finally, on May 1, 1946, HMS Tarantula was taken out
and used for target practice by the Sixth Destroyer Flotilla, being sunk
by HMS Carron and HMS Carysfort (she was sunk at Latitude 08.45 degrees
North Longitude 81.33 degrees East - I have not heard that her wreck has
been discovered). I have, however, heard mention that actual footage of
her sinking exists which is somewhat embarrassing as she just refused to
go under. Ultimately, depth charges were placed and exploded beside her
causing her to finally slip beneath the waves.
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HMS Scarab foreground, HMS Cricket behind. Ships pictured off of Nanking
in 1937 as the Japanese commenced the bombing of the city. The Japanese
"Rape of Nanking" followed thereafter involving the wholesale
slaughter of the general Chinese population by the Japanese. For the log
of Captain Brotchie on SS Wantung (one of the ships HMS Scarab was protecting)
please click here. The actions of HMS Scarab and HMS Cricket are mentioned several times
in this log as they were defending UK merchant vessels near Nanking during
the Panay Incident.
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All rights reserved. Copyright 2004 - Michael Till.
Very probably HMS Scarab left, HMS Falcon to her right and a US gunboat to her right (location yet to be identified).
Photograph from the Stanley Till photograph gallery.
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All rights reserved. Copyright 2004 - Michael Till.
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HMS Scarab in 1935. Photograph from the Stanley Till photograph gallery.
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HMS Scarab somwhere in China (undoubtedly on the Yangtze as junk in larger
shot - name identified on forward bow).
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HMS Gnat somwhere (very probably in China given color - name identified
on aft hull in larger shot).
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| A postcard of HMS Gnat on the Yangtze. |
