WWII Insect Class

I’d be interested in seeing those pics mate, do you have a scanner and if so could you email them to me please? [email]Ja.Worsley@gmail.com[/email]

You mention the travels up the Yangtse, would that happen to be around the time of the Japanese invassion of Manchuria?

Cockchaufer

Have found some useful info about the insect class at last. Thanks folks.
My Father served on the Cockchaufer as Stoker !st class up the Yangtse for about 2 years and I have his album of the gorges and exicution of prisoners by the Chinese on the river banks and visits to the Rev. Darlintons abode, One photo of the USS Isobela and I think heres one of the Cockchaufer taken during the winter, Han-Cow was the ammunition and store base, would have to sit for hours and listen to Him telling my brother and i all the yarns and happenings I hope that this may be of use to you all. Going to my scratcher now as its getting late.Bye for now folks.

just spoke to him about the aphis
he says the aphis was the last ship out of tabruck when it fell.
they had the job of blowing up the dockyards etc.
as they left the harbour they were being fired on by tiger tanks.

Yeah that’s it mate, I remember reading that. Up off the Lybian coast IIRC.

ladybird was sunk in shallow water off tabruck my dad says they used it as a anti aircraft
platform.

Wasn’t one sunk during the war? Couldn’t they raisde it?

All were sold or lost before the end of WWII except Scarab (broken up 1948), Tarantula (which, apart from not being an insect, was expended as a target 1946), Aphis, and Cockchafer. This last pair was sold off by 1949; I’d be surprised if they weren’t scrapped.

Would be nice to have another Royal Navy ship being restored – not many left from WWII. There’s a WWI monitor (M33 I believe) at Portsmouth Historic Dockyard, too.

I have a vague recollection that one of them survives somewhere and is being restored – I’ll have to do some digging.

Tony Williams: Military gun and ammunition website and discussion forum

hi my dad sydney haddon was on hms aphis in the med.
if you need any info etc i’ll ask him.

mark

Ja

Some details for you:

There were originally 12 in this class. GLOWWORM and BEE were scrapped in 1928 and 39 respectfully. They were all to be scrapped but the war halted that program.

Some history:

APHIS was in China until 1940, then the Med and then the Pacific. Scrapped in Singapore 1947.

CICALA was lost in China in 1941.

COCKCHAFER was scapped in Singapore in 1947 after service in Hong Kong, the East Indies, the Med and the Pacific.

CRICKET was scrapped in Alexandria in 1944 after she hit a mine.

GNAT was torpedoed in the Med in 1941 and finally scrapped in 1945.

LADYBIRD was bombed and sunk at Tobruk in 1941.

MANTIS was captured at Singapore and scrapped in 1946.

MOTH was captured at Hong Kong, salvaged by the Japanese and served as the SUMA. Lost in 1945.

SCARAB went to the East Indies in 1941, the Med in 1943 and finally to the Pacific. Srapped in 1948.

TARANTULA was in the East Indies thoughout the war and was sunk as a target in 1946.

This class was 625 tons, 237′ in length and carried 2-6inch guns.

It’s interesting that similar but newer river gunboats with similar names were built in 1937-39. DRAGONFLY lost 1942, GRASSHOPPER lost 1942, LOCUST which was around until 1951, MOSQUITO lost 1940, and SCORPION lost 1942. Another was to be called BEE (again) but was cancelled.

There were 11 or so smaller river gunboats mostly in the 300 ton range that served in the RN as well. Most came to a bad end.

Hope this gives you some of the info you were asking about. If you have a copy of Warships of World War II (Ian Allan 1970) you will find some details starting on page 312.

Regards

Sauron