USS Panay
Encyclopedia
Three vessels of the United States Navy
have been named USS Panay, after the Visayan Island
Panay
.
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
have been named USS Panay, after the Visayan Island
Visayas
The Visayas or Visayan Islands and locally known as Kabisay-an gid, is one of the three principal geographical divisions of the Philippines, along with Mindanao and Luzon. It consists of several islands, primarily surrounding the Visayan Sea, although the Visayas are considered the northeast...
Panay
Panay Island
Panay is an island in the Philippines located in the western part of the Visayas. Politically, it is divided into five provinces: Aklan, Antique, Capiz, and Iloilo, all in the Western Visayas Region. It is located southeast of the island of Mindoro and northwest of Negros, separated by the...
.
- The first PanayUSS Panay (1899)USS Panay was laid down for the Spanish Navy in 1884 by Cavite Navy Yard; completed in 1885; purchased by the United States Army upon American occupation of the Philippines; and transferred to the United States Navy in 1899...
was originally a SpanishSpainSpain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
gunboatGunboatA 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:...
in the Philippines, purchased in 1899 after the American occupation, and in various service until 1914, and sold in 1920. Among those who served upon her were future WWII admirals Chester Nimitz and John S. McCain. - The second Panay (PR-5)USS Panay (PR-5)|-External links:* * *...
was a river gunboatRiver gunboatA 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 than one cannon, one might be a howitzer, for shore...
launched in 1927, and served on the Yangtze RiverYangtze RiverThe 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 China until being sunk by JapaneseJapanJapan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
aircraftAircraftAn aircraft is a vehicle that is able to fly by gaining support from the air, or, in general, the atmosphere of a planet. An aircraft counters the force of gravity by using either static lift or by using the dynamic lift of an airfoil, or in a few cases the downward thrust from jet engines.Although...
on 12 December 1937; sometimes referred to as the 1937 Panay incidentPanay incidentThe 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...
. - The third Panay was the general auxiliary Midway (AG-41)USS Midway (AG-41)USS Midway – also known as USS Panay -- was a commercial cargo ship leased by the U.S. Navy during World War II. She was used by the Navy as a cargo ship and as a troop transport in the North Pacific Ocean...
, renamed in 1943 to make the name Midway available for an aircraft carrier.