River Gunboat ordered from John I Thornycroft
at Woolston and
launched on 19th January 1939, She was the
9th
RN ship to carry this name, introduced in
1779 and last used for a destroyer
in 1909 which was sold in 1921. Build
was completed
in June 1939. This
ship, unlike those in early design,
was able to make the journey to China and
under own power.
B
a t
t l e
H o n o
u r s
CHINA
1860 - DARDANELLES 1915-16
H
e r a l d i
c D a t a
Badge:
On
a Field Blue,
on
a fesse
wavy cottisied
wavy White
a
Grasshopper proper.
D
e t a i
l s o f
War S e r v i
c e
(for more
ship information,
go
to
Naval History Homepage
and
type name in Site Search
1
9 3 9
September
Passage
to join China Squadron for
service with the Yangtse
Flotilla.
October
Deployed
in Far East for Yangtse
River patrol and to assist British
communities.
to
(Note:
China was at war
with Japan and communist
elements in China were in
open
December
conflict
with the Chinese
government forces resulting in incidents
which
frequently involved
safety of British citizens.
1
9 4 0
Yangtse
Patrol and assistance
duties in continuation.
1
9 4 1
January
Yangtse Patrol
and assistance duties in continuation.
to
November
December
After
outbreak of war with Japan transferred to
Singapore for support duties in
conjunction with military operations in defence of
Malaya.
1
9 4 2
January
Deployed
in support of military
units during the retreat to Singapore
from
Johore area.
February
Assisted
in evacuation from Singapore.
14th
Capsized
after Japanese
air attacks off Rusuk
Buaja Island,
east of Sumatra.
Ship sank
quickly with very few survivors.
(Casualty
List - note
on casualties)
Special Note
In 1943 this name was used for a
Combined Operations base at Weymouth.