HMS Gnat: Motto: "Protect by a sting" or "Furnished with wit" The HMS Gnat was one of 12 Insect Class patrol boats built for the Royal British Navy ordered in 1915 under the Emergency War Programme. The class, originally designated as Large China Boats, was originally designed for operating in shallow waters, rivers, and inshore areas. Their intended function was to serve on the Danube in order to fight the Austrio-Hungarian Danube Flotilla. The class designation as Large China Boats was used to disguise their intended destination. Ironically, most of these vessels never made it to the Danube, but were deployed in other arenas throughout their lives. The HMS Gnat was ordered from Barclay Curie and built at Lobnitz and Company, Limited, Renfrew, Scotland (Yard No. 803). Launched on 03 December 1915, the ship was 625 long tons, 72.39 meters in length, 11 meters in beam, and 1.2 mters in draught. Propulsion was provided by Yarrow Boilers and twin VTE reciprocating engines generating 2000 IHP connected to two propellers recessed in hull tunnels in order to reduce the vessel's draft. Speed was typically around 14 knots. Fuels consisted of 35 tons of coal and 54 tons of fuel-oil. Normal crew compliment was 55 personnel. A rather unique feature of this class of ship was that the twin smoke stacks were not placed one-behind-the-another as was the norm, rather, they were placed side-by-side, which gave the appearance of the ship having a single smoke stack when viewed in profile. Ship's Armament, as built, was typically: 2 X BL 6-inch MK VII Guns 2 X 12-pounder Guns .303 Maxim Machine Guns (6-each) (There were later variations to this armament configuration which included Oerlikon 20mm Cannons, QF AA Guns, .303 Lewis Machine Guns, or Pom-Poms.) In 1916 the Gnat, along with three other ships of the class, HMS Mantis, HMS Trantula, and HMS Moth were towed to Abadan, Persia, and went on to join the British Royal Navy's flotilla on the Tigris River during the Mesopotamia Campaign in order to protect British oil interests. On 13 December 1916, the Gnat, her sister ships, and ships of the Fly Class participated in the advance up the Tigris River, under the command of Captian Wilfred Nunn, in order to re-take the city of Kut-EL-Amarna from the occupying Turkish forces. This advance up the Tigris lasted until February 1917 when Kut-EL-Amarna was finally re-taken. After WWI, the HMS Gnat was transferred to the Yangtze Flotilla at Shanghai to assist in protecting British flagged shipping, British Nationals, and provide a British presence in the region. It is not known when the ship arrived on station at Shanghai, however, it is known that on June of 1921 the ship was at the city of Ichang where a landing party of approximately 20 men were put ashore in order to protect British citizens at the British consulate against the looting soldiers of Wu Pei-fu's army. In 1927 the Gnat was one of numerous ships from 5 countries which were sent to Nanking in order evacuate their countries citizens during the civil war between Chiang Kai-Shek's Nationalist Party and Mao Tse-Tung's Communist Party. One of the common goals of both of these parties was to drive foreigners out of China. In July/August of 1938, the Gnat conducted a rescue mission in order to recover the bodies of British Customs agents killed on the Chianghsing. A letter of appreciation for their services can be found here. (Shipwrecks of Egypt would like to mention here that the www.hmsfalcon.com website has some great information on the Insect class ship's service in China, as well as some great photos of these ships.) Sometime between September and December 1939, the ship was nominated for conversion for minesweeping duties. January/February of 1940 found the Gnat and one of her sister ships, the Cockchafer being ordered to depart the Yangtse and make for Singapore. The HMS Gnat arrived safely at Singapore and, along with 6 other Insect class ships, the ships were stripped down in preparation for transferring to the Mediterranean, either under their own power or under tow. Upon arrival in the Mediterranean, the HMS Gnat was deployed for minesweeping duties in the eastern mediterannean theatre and for bombardment duties along the North African coast until December, when the ship was deployed in support of the 8th Army's advance on Tobruk. Deployed on 9 December 1940 with sister ships Aphis and Ladybird, and the HM Monitor Terror in support of ANZAC Troops "Force A's" attack on Tobruk. The ship then made passage to Alexandria, Egypt on 17 December. From January 1941 until the following March the HMS Gnat conducted minesweeping operations in the eastern Mediterranean. However, one source states that the Gnat, Terror, Ladybird, Bagshot and motor boat S.O.3 were deployed on 20 January 1941 and conducted bombardment of Tobruk from 2300 until 0200 on 21 January, after which, the ships returned to Alexandria (unable to find corroborating source). Early April found the ship involved with assisting in the military withdrawal from Tobruk. Then on 9 April, and again on the 13th, the ship was deployed to conduct bombardment of enemy positions at Bomba and Gazala, Libya. May of 1941 found the Gnat continuing support duties as required until being deployed in June for bombardment duties off of the North African Coast. On 21 October, at 0334 in the morning, the ship was struck by a torpedo fired from the German submarine U-79 (Wolfgang Kaufmann) off of Bardia at position 32.08 N / 25.22 E which resulted in approximately 20-feet of the ship's bow being blown away all the way back to the 6-inch gun mount. The HMS Jaguar and HMS Griffin were deployed to rescue the Gnat. The HMS Griffin then towed the Gnat to Mersa Matruh, where tugboats took over the tow, delivering the ship to Alexandria where the Gnat was beached upon arrival. Soon thereafter the ship was declared a total constructive loss. The HMS Gnat was then converted into an anti-aircraft defense platform for the Alexandria Harbour where she would remain until the end of the war. The ship was eventually sold for scrap in 1945. References: Miramar Single Ship Report for 6130567 http://www.hmsfalcon.com/index.htm http://www.uboat.net/allies/merchants/ships/1174.html http://www.naval-history.net/xGM-Chrono-23RGB-Gnat.htm SUPPLEMENT TO THE LONDON GAZETTE, 24 FEBRUARY, 1942 Yangtze Patrol: The U.S. Navy in China (By Kemp Tolley) http://www.naval-history.net/xGM-Chrono-10DD-37J-Jaguar.htm http://www.naval-history.net/xGM-Chrono-10DD-25G-Griffin.htm http://ahoy.tk-jk.net/GentlemansCordite/AfewdaysinthelifeofaDestr.html http://www.ubootwaffe.net/ops/ships.cgi?boat=79;nr=4 THE NAVAL FRONT (By Gordon S. Maxwell) Jane's Fighting Ships of World War I   (1919 edition) Jane's Fighting Ships of World War II   (1998 reprint edition of Jane's 1940/41/42/43/44/45) Of Note here, a supplement to the London Gazette dated 24 February 1942, stated the following awards were awarded to crewmembers of the HMS Gnat: For resource and devotion to duty: The Distinguished Service Medal. Petty Officer John Coats, D/J.102874, H.M.S. Gnat. Mention in Despatches. Lieutenant-Commander Samuel Reginald Halls,Davenport, Royal Navy, H.M.S. Gnat. Lieutenant Richard Hill Sandys Litchfield,Royal Navy, H.M.S. Gnat. Sub-Lieutenant George Irvine Finch Twyman,R.N.R., H.M.S. Gnat. Acting Chief Engine Room Artificer Arthur Ronald Gilbert Dyett, P/MX.476i4, H.M.S. Gnat. Acting Petty Officer George Edward Debell, C/J.114115, H.M.S. Gnat. Acting Stoker Petty Officer John Henry Wootton, P/K.66908, H.M.S. Gnat. It is unknown when these awards were given, or under what circumstances. Research ongoing....