Only the British , I guess !
--Though the Cockchafer herself is still not specifically represented, a proxy gunboat is available in SAS_Skipper's Steamship Mod
https://www.sas1946.com/main/index.php/topic,12538.0.htmlHMS Cockchafer 1943 -- Insect Class Gunboat Med Duty
What can I say? I was trolling for ideas and this vessel caught my eye in an irritating kind of way. The name made me curious, then as I read the history of her class and their characteristics, I realized that this was a truly unique vessel with a wide range of appeal...
The Insect class patrol boats (or Large 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 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 propeller shafts to offer some redundancy. The propellers were housed in tunnels to minimise the operating draught.
A few of the Insects...(HMS Gannet),Insects Gnat,Cockchafer,Mantis,Scarab
Insect Class included the following vessels:
HMS Aphis, HMS Bee, HMS Cicala, HMS Cockchafer, HMS Cricket, HMS Glowworm, HMS Gnat, HMS Ladybird, HMS Mantis, HMS Moth, HMS Scarab, HMS Tarantula.
HMS Aphis
HMS Bee
HMS Cicala
HMS Cockchafer
HMS Cricket
HMS Glowworm - Insect Class Image unavailable
HMS Gnat
HMS Ladybird
HMSMantis
HMS Moth
HMS Scarab
HMS Tarantula
Name: HMS Cockchafer / Insect Class Gunboat
Ordered: 1915
Builder: Barclay Curle
Laid down: 1915
Launched: 17 December 1915
Honours and
awards: Sicily 1943, Mediterranean 1940-45
Fate: Broken up 1949 at Singapore
General characteristics HMS Cockchafer
Class and type: Insect-class gunboat
Displacement: 625 tons
Length: 72.40 m (237 ft 6 in) (overall)
Beam: 11.00 m (36 ft 1 in)
Draft: 1.20 m (3 ft 11 in)
Propulsion: 2 x Yarrow water tube boilers,
2 x North Eastern Marine Engineering Works expansion turbines,
2 shafts, 2000 SHP
Speed: 14.0 knots (16.1 mph; 25.9 km/h)
Complement: 55
Armament:
(on 1916)
2 x BL 6 inch Mk VII
2 x 12 pdr. guns
6 x 7.7 mm Maxim guns
(on October 1938)
2 x BL 6 inch Mk VII
1 x 3 inch AAG
1 x QF 2 pdr. naval gun
8 x Lewis guns
During the First World War, Cockchafer was assigned to the defence of the
south east coast of England, based at Brightlingsea.During the Russian Civil
War, she served with some of her sister ships as part of the British
intervention forces fighting in support of White Russian forces on the Dvina
River during 1919-1920. On 17 January 1920, the Insect class ships HMS
Cricket, HMS Cockchafer, HMS Moth, HMS Mantis and HMS Scarab set out from
Chatham, England for China. Cockchafer was stationed on the Yangtze River
where her duties were patrolling and protection of British nationals and
interests in China.
One significant event which Cockchafer was involved in was the Wanhsien
Incident in August and September 1926. Wanhsien, now known as Wanzhou
District, is a port on the Yangtze River about 1500 miles upstream from
Shanghai. The local warlord, Marshal Wu Pei Fu controlled the area and his
local commander was General Yang Sen.
General Yang's troops seized a British merchant ship, SS Wanhsien in August
1926.The crew of Cockchafer heard the British crew calling for help and sent
an officer and boarding party to Wanhsien to investigate. They found the
ship occupied by 100 Chinese soldiers. The Navy party obtained the release
of the ship after a heated argument.
Two days later another British ship, SS Wanliu was boarded by Chinese
soldiers. The captain ordered the ship to leave and rumours spread that the
ship had intentionally rammed boats full of Chinese soldiers drowning them.
In fact two of the boats had collided and one had capsized and it is unclear
how many soldiers were lost. The Wanliu steamed upstream while the Chinese
soldiers aboard attempted to capture the ship. They were unable to do so by
the time the Wanliu reached Wanhsien where Cockchafer sent a boarding party
to remove the soldiers.
The reports about the escape of the Wanliu reached General Yang whose troops
captured SS Wanhsien again. The British officers were held aboard.Another
British merchant ship SS Wantung was also captured. Chinese troops with
artillery gathered on the shore. General Yang seized several of Cockchafer's
Chinese crewmembers who were ashore and one was killed in full view of the
rest of the crew. Yang refused to negotiate with the commander of Cockchafer
and the senior officer on the Upper Yangtze, commander of HMS Widgeon headed
for Wanhsien while Cockchafer remained at Wanhsien in a standoff with the
overwhelming numbers of Chinese troops.
On 1 September 1926 HMS Widgeon arrived at Wanhsien but negotiations did not
go well and the Rear Admiral on the Yangtze decided that the matter would
have to be settled by force. A British merchant ship, SS Kiawo, was
camouflaged and armoured and manned by a naval crew gathered from
Cockchafer, HMS Despatch (a light cruiser), HMS Scarab and HMS Mantis
boarded Kiawo and she sailed on 4 September 1926.
In the evening of 5 September 1926 the Kiawo arrived in sight of Wanhsien.
The plan was to board and re-take SS Wanhsien and SS Wantung. While HMS
Widgeon and HMS Cockchafer would provide covering fire. Kiawo came under
fire from the Chinese troops ashore. She came alongside Wanhsien and boarded
under fire. The boarding party rescued the British seaman held onboard after
fierce fighting.
In the meantime, Chinese troops onshore and aboard Wantung opened fire on
Cockchafer and Widgeon which returned fire. The boarding party aboard SS
Wanhsien suffered a number of casualties including the senior British
officer from HMS Despatch and Cockchafer's sub-lieutenant who were killed.
Having rescued the British merchant seamen onboard SS Wanhsien the attacking
force retired to SS Kiawo. After an hour of fighting, the action was
discontinued and the two merchant ships were abandoned. The British ships
then retired having rescued the crews.
In 1939 Cockchafer started the war on Yangtze River patrol. After
consideration for conversion to a minelayer, she was then transferred to the
East Indies Squadron. In 1941 she assisted in the landings of British and
Indian Army troops at Basra, Iraq during the Anglo-Iraqi War. She played
host to the regent of Iraq, Amir Abdul Illah who had been deposed and fled
an assassination plot in Baghdad.
She also played a part in the Anglo-Soviet invasion of Iran, which was the
invasion of Iran by British and Commonwealth forces and the Soviet Union,
codenamed Operation Countenance, from 25 August 1941 to 17 September 1941.
The purpose of the invasion was to secure Iranian oil fields and ensure
supply lines (see Persian Corridor) for the Soviets fighting against Nazi
Germany on the Eastern Front.
In 1943, Cockchafer was transferred to the Mediterranean Fleet at Malta. She
took part in support operations for Operation Husky, the invasion of Sicily.
Following the invasion of Italy and the invasion of Elba, Cockchafer was
employed on harbour duties in Taranto in late 1944. In 1945, she was
despatched to the Eastern Fleet in the Indian Ocean again to support
operations in Burma. After the end of the war against Japan in August
1945, she was sent to Singapore where she was placed in Reserve. In 1949 as
the last surviving Insect class gunboat, she was sold for scrap and broken
up.
HMS Aphis
Cockchafer 1924
Cockchafer 1944
Kopfdorfer
Author
Topic: Irritation for the Day : HMS Cockchafer , Insect Class Gunboats (Read 17851 times)
