HMS Bee was an Insect class gunboat

Insect class gunboat

The Insect class patrol boats were a class of small, but well-armed Royal Navy ships designed for use in shallow rivers or inshore. They were intended for use on the Danube...

 of the Royal Navy

Royal Navy

The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...

, launched on 8 December 1915. This class are also known as "Large China Gunboats".

Initially built for service on the River Danube

Danube

The Danube is a river in the Central Europe and the Europe's second longest river after the Volga. It is classified as an international waterway....

, after World War I

World War I

World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

 the Insects were transported to China

China

Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...

 and served on the Yangtze River

Yangtze River

The Yangtze, Yangzi or Cháng Jiāng is the longest river in Asia, and the third-longest in the world. It flows for from the glaciers on the Tibetan Plateau in Qinghai eastward across southwest, central and eastern China before emptying into the East China Sea at Shanghai. It is also one of the...

. In 1920, Bee became the flagship of the Yangtze patrol.

On 12 December 1937, Bee, along with Ladybird

HMS Ladybird (1916)

HMS Ladybird was an Insect-class gunboat of the Royal Navy, launched in 1916. This class are also referred to as "Large China Gunboats"....

, became involved in the Panay incident

Panay incident

The USS Panay Incident was a Japanese attack on the American gunboat while she was anchored in the Yangtze River outside Nanking , China on December 12, 1937. Japan and the United States were not at war at the time. The Japanese claimed that they did not see the American flags painted on the deck...

 and came under fire from a Japanese artillery unit near Wuhu on the Yangtze. Ladybird took six shells and Bee dodged a shell as she came upon the scene.

Bee was paid off in 1938 when the gunboat

Gunboat

A gunboat is a naval watercraft designed for the express purpose of carrying one or more guns to bombard coastal targets, as opposed to those military craft designed for naval warfare, or for ferrying troops or supplies.-History:...

 Scorpion, the new flagship, arrived. She was sold in Shanghai

Shanghai

Shanghai is the largest city by population in China and the largest city proper in the world. It is one of the four province-level municipalities in the People's Republic of China, with a total population of over 23 million as of 2010...

for scrap on 22 March 1939 for £5,225.

External links

• History of Yangtze River Patrol