 During service as the JapaneseSuma in 1942 | |
| History | |
|---|---|
 United Kingdom | |
| Name | HMSMoth |
| Ordered | 1915 |
| Builder | Sunderland Shipbuilding Company |
| Laid down | 1915 |
| Launched | 9 October 1915 |
| Commissioned | 5 January 1916 |
| Fate | Scuttled 12 December 1941 atHong Kong |
| General characteristics HMSMoth | |
| Class and type | Insect-classgunboat |
| Displacement | 625 tons |
| Length | 72.40 m (237 ft 6 in) (overall) |
| Beam | 11.00 m (36 ft 1 in) |
| Draft | 1.20 m (3 ft 11 in) |
| Installed power |
|
| Propulsion |
|
| Speed | 14.0knots (25.9 km/h; 16.1 mph) |
| Complement | 55 |
| Armament |
|
 Empire of Japan | |
| Name | Suma (須磨) |
| Namesake | Suma-ku, Kobe |
| Builder | Navy 2nd Construction Department at Hong Kong |
| Acquired | February 1942 |
| Commissioned | 1 July 1942 |
| Decommissioned | 10 May 1945 |
| Stricken | 11 May 1945 |
| Fate | Sunk 19 March 1945 bynaval mine |
| General characteristicsSuma | |
| Displacement | 645 tons |
| Length | 72.40 m (237 ft 6 in) (overall) |
| Beam | 10.97 m (36 ft 0 in) |
| Draft | 1.22 m (4 ft 0 in) |
| Speed | 14.0knots (16.1 mph; 25.9 km/h) |
| Complement | 84 (March 1945) |
| Armament |
|
HMSMoth was anInsect-classgunboat of theRoyal Navy. Entering service in 1916,Moth had a varied career with service in theMiddle East, theWhite Sea and theFar East in two world wars.Scuttled inWorld War II during the invasion ofHong Kong, the ship was raised and put into service by theImperial Japanese Navy asSuma (須磨). The ship remained active throughout the war, before striking anaval mine in theYangtze River in 1945 and sinking.
Moth waslaid down during the first half of 1915 at the yards of the Sunderland Shipbuilding Company, with hersister shipMantis.Moth waslaunched on 9 October 1915 and completed on 5 January 1916.
Moth was dispatched to theMiddle East (Mesopotamia area) in 1916. In 1919, she was dispatched to theWhite Sea, and by 1920 she had been reassigned to theChina Station. Her edited logbooks and maps of her journeys for 1919 and 1920 can be viewed at naval-history.net. In December 1941 she became a member of theFar East fleet withCicala at Hong Kong. On 8 December 1941,Moth andCicala were in port during an air raid by theImperial Japanese Army Air Force.Cicala was sunk on 21 December.Moth was in the dock for repairs, but with the fall of the city to the Japanese imminent,Moth was scuttled on 12 December.
TheImperial Japanese Navy dispatched the Navy 2nd Construction Department (海軍第二工作部,Kaigun Dai-2 Kōsaku-Bu) to Hong Kong to investigateMoth, and on 1 July 1942, she was refloated and renamedSuma (須磨).Suma is a Japanese beauty spot appearing inThe Tale of Genji.
On 29 July 1943 she fired on US aircraft during an air raid on Hong Kong.Suma was attacked by three 14th Air ForceB-25s on 29 December 1943, and by two B-25s the next day receiving some damage, while claiming to kill one B-25 (11 Bomb Squadron 42-30457 lost 30 December 1943; 4 KIA/BNR[1]). On 11 June 1944, the ship was attacked byP-38s and on 18 June, by three B-25s. On 26 DecemberSuma was attacked by sevenP-51s, with the aft 25 mm gun wrecked and 18 killed and four wounded. The aft gun was replaced and repairs made to the ship 28–30 December atYanhu.[2]
Suma was attacked by P-51s on 11 February 1945, when it claims downing one. The ship was repaired at Mitsubishi Yangshupu Shipyard,Shanghai from 17 February to 12 March 1945.[2] She was active on theYangtze River in anti-insurgency operations. On 19 March 1945, she struck anaval mine which was previously laid by 14th Air Force planes on 4 March atAnqing, and sank with a loss of 8 crewmen.Narumi evacuated 40 wounded and 36 survivors.
