HMS ''Ladybird'' was an of the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

, launched in 1916. This class is also referred to as "large China gunboats". Originally built to patrol the

River Danube The Danube ( ; see also other names) is the second-longest river in Europe, after the Volga in Russia. It flows through Central and Southeastern Europe, from the Black Forest south into the Black Sea. A large and historically important riv ...

during the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, she sailed for China from Malta in February 1927 to serve on the

Yangtze River The Yangtze or Yangzi ( or ) is the longest river in Eurasia and the third-longest in the world. It rises at Jari Hill in the Tanggula Mountains of the Tibetan Plateau and flows including Dam Qu River the longest source of the Yangtze, i ...

History

On 12 December 1937, ''Ladybird'', along with became involved in the ''Panay'' incident and came under fire from a Japanese

artillery Artillery consists of ranged weapons that launch Ammunition, munitions far beyond the range and power of infantry firearms. Early artillery development focused on the ability to breach defensive walls and fortifications during sieges, and l ...

unit near

Wuhu Wuhu () is a prefecture-level city in southeastern Anhui province of China, province, China. Sitting on the southeast bank of the Yangtze River, Wuhu borders Xuancheng to the southeast, Chizhou and Tongling to the southwest, Hefei City to the n ...

on the

. ''Ladybird'' was hit by six shells and ''Bee'' dodged one as she came upon the scene. ''Ladybird'' was not badly damaged and with ''Bee'' picked up survivors from the sunk . HMS Ladybird 31-12-1940 Bardia AWM 005012

HMS Ladybird 31-12-1940 Bardia AWM 005012

In 1939 the original pair of Mk VII 45-calibre guns was replaced by more modern and longer 6-inch Mk XIII 50-calibre guns from the decommissioned

battleship A battleship is a large, heavily naval armour, armored warship with a main battery consisting of large naval gun, guns, designed to serve as a capital ship. From their advent in the late 1880s, battleships were among the largest and most form ...

. ''Ladybird'' was allocated to

Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...

in 1940 and then, along with five others of the class, stripped down and towed to the

Mediterranean Sea The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern Eur ...

. During the journey she sustained damage which meant she was limited to a speed of due to a misaligned

hull Hull may refer to: Structures * The hull of an armored fighting vehicle, housing the chassis * Fuselage, of an aircraft * Hull (botany), the outer covering of seeds * Hull (watercraft), the body or frame of a sea-going craft * Submarine hull Ma ...

. She was initially used to guard

Port Said Port Said ( , , ) is a port city that lies in the northeast Egypt extending about along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea, straddling the west bank of the northern mouth of the Suez Canal. The city is the capital city, capital of the Port S ...

. In late December 1940 and early January 1941 ''Ladybird'' was engaged at close range, bombarding the Italian port of

Bardia Bardia, also El Burdi or Bardiyah ( or ) is a Mediterranean seaport in the Butnan District of eastern Libya, located near the border with Egypt. It is also occasionally called ''Bórdi Slemán''. The name Bardia is deeply rooted in the ancient ...

in Libya, in support of the Allied Capture of Bardia on 5 January 1941 as part of

Operation Compass Operation Compass (also ) was the first large British military operation of the Western Desert Campaign (1940–1943) during the Second World War. British metropolitan, Imperial and Commonwealth forces attacked the Italian and Libyan forces of ...

. On 25 February 1941 she landed a

Royal Marine The Royal Marines provide the United Kingdom's amphibious warfare, amphibious special operations capable commando force, one of the :Fighting Arms of the Royal Navy, five fighting arms of the Royal Navy, a Company (military unit), company str ...

s unit during

Operation Abstention Operation Abstention (25–28 February 1941) was the code name of a British invasion of the Italian island of Kastelorizo (Castellorizo) off the Turkish Aegean coast, during the Second World War. The goal was to establish a motor torpedo-boat ...

, an ill-fated attempt to seize the Italian island of

Kastelorizo Kastellorizo or Castellorizo ( ; ), officially Megisti (), is a Greek island and municipality of the Dodecanese in the Eastern Mediterranean.Bertarelli, 131 It lies roughly off the south coast of Turkey, about southeast of Athens and east of R ...

, where she was hit by an aerial bomb. Later, acting in support of the

Tobruk Tobruk ( ; ; ) is a port city on Libya's eastern Mediterranean coast, near the border with Egypt. It is the capital of the Butnan District (formerly Tobruk District) and has a population of 120,000 (2011 est.)."Tobruk" (history), ''Encyclop� ...

garrison, she shelled the

Gazala Gazala, or ʿAyn al-Ġazāla ( ), is a small Libyan village near the coast in the northeastern portion of the country. It is located west of Tobruk. History In the late 1930s (during the Libya as Italian colony, Italian occupation of Libya), th ...

airfield and ferried in supplies. During this duty, on 12 May 1941, she was severely damaged by

dive bomber A dive bomber is a bomber aircraft that dives directly at its targets in order to provide greater accuracy for the bomb it drops. Diving towards the target simplifies the bomb's trajectory and allows the pilot to keep visual contact througho ...

s and set on fire, settling on an even

keel The keel is the bottom-most longitudinal structural element of a watercraft, important for stability. On some sailboats, it may have a fluid dynamics, hydrodynamic and counterbalancing purpose as well. The keel laying, laying of the keel is often ...

in of water. Still above water, her gun was used as an

anti-aircraft Anti-aircraft warfare (AAW) is the counter to aerial warfare and includes "all measures designed to nullify or reduce the effectiveness of hostile air action".AAP-6 It encompasses surface-based, subsurface ( submarine-launched), and air-ba ...

gun; replaced ''Ladybird'' in supporting Tobruk.

External links

History of Yangtze River Patrol
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ladybird

Ladybird Coccinellidae () is a widespread family of small beetles. They are commonly known as ladybugs in North America and ladybirds in the United Kingdom; "lady" refers to mother Mary. Entomologists use the names ladybird beetles or lady beetles ...

Gunboats sunk by aircraft World War II shipwrecks in the Mediterranean Sea 1916 ships Maritime incidents in May 1941 Maritime incidents in Libya Ships sunk by German aircraft