was a

river gunboat A river gunboat is a type of gunboat adapted for river operations. River gunboats required shallow draft for river navigation. They would be armed with relatively small caliber cannons, or a mix of cannons and machine guns. If they carried more ...

of the

Imperial Japanese Navy The Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN; Kyūjitai: Shinjitai: ' 'Navy of the Greater Japanese Empire', or ''Nippon Kaigun'', 'Japanese Navy') was the navy of the Empire of Japan from 1868 to 1945, Potsdam Declaration, when it was dissolved followin ...

, that operated 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 ...

in China during the 1940s, and during the

Second Sino-Japanese War The Second Sino-Japanese War was fought between the Republic of China (1912–1949), Republic of China and the Empire of Japan between 1937 and 1945, following a period of war localized to Manchuria that started in 1931. It is considered part ...

and

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

Background

''Sumida'' was the second of two vessels in the river gunboats authorized under the 3rd Naval Armaments Supplement Programme of 1937.Jentsura, ''Warships of the Imperial Japanese Navy''; page 121

Design

''Sumida'' had a hull with an overall length of and width of , with a normal displacement of 338 tons and draft of . She was propelled by two Kampon steam turbine engines with two boilers driving two shafts, producing and had a top speed of 17 knots. The ship was armed with one /28 cal. gun and one 25mm machine gun.

Service record

'' Sumida'' was laid down on 13 April 1939 and launched 30 October 1939 at the Fujinagata Shipyards in

Osaka is a Cities designated by government ordinance of Japan, designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the List of cities in Japan, third-most populous city in J ...

, Japan. On commissioning on 31 May 1940, she was assigned to the

Yokosuka Naval District was the first of four main administrative districts of the pre-war Imperial Japanese Navy. Its territory included Tokyo Bay and the Pacific Ocean, Pacific coasts of central and northern Honshū from the Kii Peninsula to Shimokita Peninsula. Its h ...

and attached to the 1st China Expeditionary Fleet, arriving in

Shanghai Shanghai, Shanghainese: , Standard Chinese pronunciation: is a direct-administered municipality and the most populous urban area in China. The city is located on the Chinese shoreline on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the ...

on 17 June. From July to November, she was assigned to patrols of the lower

, and from November to April 1942, to patrols of the middle Yangtze as far as

Hankou Hankou, alternately romanized as Hankow (), was one of the three towns (the other two were Wuchang and Hanyang) merged to become modern-day Wuhan city, the capital of the Hubei province, China. It stands north of the Han and Yangtze Rivers w ...

. After April 1942, she was assigned to patrols of the upper Yangtze. On 22 June ''Sumida'' was attached to the Tung Ting Lake force, along with and was part of “Operation SE”. She was damaged the same day in an air raid, which killed her captain and 11 crewmen. After repairs at Shanghai, she was again assigned to patrols of the lower Yangtze from 19 August 1942, and the middle Yangtze from 1 September 1943. On 22 June 1944, a flight of twenty

USAAF The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...

B-24 Liberator The Consolidated B-24 Liberator is an American heavy bomber, designed by Consolidated Aircraft of San Diego, California. It was known within the company as the Model 32, and some initial production aircraft were laid down as export models desi ...

s attached to the

Fourteenth Air Force The Fourteenth Air Force (14 AF; Air Forces Strategic) was a numbered air force of the United States Air Force Space Command (AFSPC). It was headquartered at Vandenberg Air Force Base, California. The command was responsible for the organizatio ...

bombed the docks at Hankou, damaging '' Sumida'' and killing eight crewmen. She was again damaged in another air raid on 25 November. After the

surrender of Japan The surrender of the Empire of Japan in World War II was Hirohito surrender broadcast, announced by Emperor Hirohito on 15 August and formally Japanese Instrument of Surrender, signed on 2 September 1945, End of World War II in Asia, ending ...

, ''Sumida'' was given to the

Republic of China Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...

as a

prize of war A prize of war (also called spoils of war, bounty or booty) is a piece of enemy property or land seized by a belligerent party during or after a war or battle. This term was used nearly exclusively in terms of captured ships during the 18th and 1 ...

, and commissioned into the

Republic of China Navy The Republic of China Navy (ROCN, Chinese, 中華民國海軍) , colloquially known as the Taiwanese Navy ( Chinese, 台湾海军) by Western or mainland Chinese media, or commonly referred as the National Military Navy ( Chinese, 國軍海軍) ...

as the ''Chiang Hsi'' (). She was removed from the Japanese navy list on 3 May 1947. Captured during the

Chinese Civil War The Chinese Civil War was fought between the Kuomintang-led Nationalist government, government of the Republic of China (1912–1949), Republic of China and the forces of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Armed conflict continued intermitt ...

by the

People’s Republic of China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the second-most populous country after India, representing 17.4% of the world population. China spans the e ...

, she was commissioned into the

People's Liberation Army Navy The People's Liberation Army Navy, also known as the People's Navy, PLA Navy or simply Chinese Navy, is the naval warfare military branch, branch of the People's Liberation Army, the national military of the People's Republic of China. It i ...

on 30 November 1949 as the gunboat ''Fu Jiang'' (). She was finally scrapped in the 1960s.

Notes

References

* * *

External links

*
Japanese gunboats (with photos)
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Sumida Fushimi-class gunboats Second Sino-Japanese War naval ships of Japan 1939 ships Maritime incidents in November 1944 Ships built by Fujinagata Shipyards Ships of the Republic of China Navy Ships of the People's Liberation Army Navy