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| History | |
|---|---|
 United States | |
| Namesake | Panay |
| Builder | Jiangnan Dockyard and Engineering Works,Shanghai |
| Launched | 10 November 1927 |
| Commissioned | 10 September 1928 |
| Fate | Sunk by Japanese aircraft, 12 December 1937 |
| General characteristics[1][2] | |
| Type | River gunboat |
| Displacement | 474 long tons (482 t) |
| Length | 191 ft (58 m) |
| Beam | 29 ft (8.8 m) |
| Draft | 5 ft 3 in (1.60 m) |
| Propulsion | 2 ×Vertical triple-expansion steam engines 2 × Shafts 3 ×Rudders |
| Speed | 15 kn (28 km/h; 17 mph) 17.73 knots (trials) |
| Complement | 59 officers and enlisted |
| Armament | |
The secondUSSPanay (PR–5) of theUnited States Navy was aPanay-classriver gunboat that served on theYangtze Patrol inChina until beingsunk by Japanese aircraft on 12 December 1937 on theYangtze River.
The vessel was built byJiangnan Dockyard and Engineering Works,Shanghai, China, and launched on 10 November 1927. She was sponsored by Mrs. Ellis S. Stone and commissioned on 10 September 1928.
Built for duty in theAsiatic Fleet on theYangtze River,Panay had as her primary mission the protection of American lives and property frequently threatened in the disturbances that the 1920s and 1930s brought to a China struggling to modernize, create a strong central government, and latercounter Japanese aggression. ThroughoutPanay’s service, navigation on the Yangtze was constantly menaced by bandits and soldier outlaws, andPanay and her sister ships provided protection for U.S. shipping and nationals, as other foreign forces did for their citizens.
Often detachments fromPanay served as armed guards on American steamers plying the river. In 1931, her commanding officer, Lieutenant Commander R. A. Dyer, reported, "Firing on gunboats and merchant ships have [sic] become so routine that any vessel traversing the Yangtze River sails with the expectation of being fired upon. Fortunately," he added, "the Chinese appear to be rather poor marksmen and the ship has, so far, not sustained any casualties in these engagements."
As the Japanese moved through south China, American gunboats evacuated most of the embassy staff fromNanjing during November 1937.Panay was assigned as station ship to guard the remaining Americans and take them off at the last moment.Panay evacuated the remaining Americans from the city on 11 December, bringing the number of people aboard to five officers, 54 enlisted men, four US embassy staff, and 10 civilians, including Universal News cameraman Norman Alley, Movietone News’ Eric Mayell,The New York Times' Norman Soong,Collier's Weekly correspondent Jim Marshall,La Stampa correspondent Sandro Sandri andCorriere della Sera correspondentLuigi Barzini Jr.Panay moved upriver to avoid becoming involved in the fighting around the doomed capital. Three U.S. merchant tankers sailed with her. The Japanese senior naval commander in Shanghai was informed both before and after the fact of this movement.
%2c_12_December_1937_(NH_50830).jpg)
On 12 December 1937, theImperial Japanese Army ordered Japanese naval aircraft to attack "any and all ships" in the Yangtze above Nanjing. Knowing of the presence ofPanay and the merchantmen, theImperial Japanese Navy requested verification of the order, which was received before the attack began about 13:27 that day. Although there were several large US flags flown on the ship as well as one painted atop the cabin, the Japanese planes continued strafing and bombing.Panay was hit by two of the eighteen 60 kg (130 lb) bombs dropped by threeYokosuka B4Y Type-96 bombers and strafed by nineNakajima A4N Type-95 fighters.[3] The bombing continued untilPanay sank at 15:54. Storekeeper First Class Charles L. Ensminger,Standard Oil tanker captain Carl H. Carlson and Italian reporter Sandro Sandri were killed, Coxswain Edgar C. Hulsebus died later that night.[4][5] 43 sailors and five civilians were wounded.Panay's lifeboats were machine-gunned by Japanese fighter planes in the attack.[6]
Twonewsreel cameramen, Norman Alley ofUniversal Newsreel and Eric Mayell ofFox Movietone News, were present onPanay and were able to take considerable film during the attack and afterwards from shore asPanay sank in the middle of the river. The newsreels are now available online at usspanay.org (see external links below).
Also on 12 December 1937 two British gunboats,HMSLadybird and HMSBee, came under fire from a Japanese artillery unit near Wuhu on the Yangtze River.Ladybird was hit by six shells, andBee dodged one as she came upon the scene.Ladybird was not badly damaged, and withBee, picked up survivors fromPanay.
A formal protest was immediately lodged by the U.S. ambassador. The Japanese government accepted responsibility, but insisted the attack was unintentional. A large indemnity was paid (approximately $2,000,000,[7] which is equal to $44,676,123 today) on 22 April 1938 and the incident was officially settled; however, further deterioration of relations between Japan and the United States continued.
Fon Huffman, the last survivor of the incident, died in September 2008.[8][9]
This article incorporates text from thepublic domainDictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entry can be foundhere.
31°41′12″N118°26′12″E / 31.68667°N 118.43667°E /31.68667; 118.43667
