HMS Amethyst - Yangtse River Incident 紫石英号事件

(Wikipedia) On 20 April 1949, HMS Amethyst was on her way from Shanghai to Nanjing (Nanking) ...22 men had been killed and 31 wounded in all...Consort came under heavy fire, and the attempt was abandoned with 10 killed and three injured... The cruiser London and the frigate (ex-sloop and Amethyst's sister ship) Black Swan were heavily shelled as they attempted to help Amethyst and retreated with 3 killed and 14 wounded... On 30 April, the PLA demanded that Britain, the United States, and France quickly withdraw their armed forces from any parts of China... This movie is claimed to be accurate depiction of the incident and is here for educational purposes.

Mao Zedong issued a statement on this incident：

http://www.marxists.org/reference/archive/mao/selected-works/volume-4/mswv4_6...

On 6 January 1950 - Britain recognises the PRC as the government of China and posts a chargé d'affaires ad interim in Beijing (Peking).

The following data were copied from Wikipedia.

Displacement: 1,350 tons
Length: 283 ft (86 m)
Beam: 38.5 ft (11.7 m)
Propulsion: Geared turbines
two shafts
Speed: 20 knots at 4,300 hp
Complement: 192 men
Armament: * six QF 4 in Mk XVI anti-aircraft guns * 12 20 mm anti-aircraft guns

Notes: Pennant number U16 (later F116)

Class and type: County-class heavy cruiser
Name: HMS London
Builder: Portsmouth Dockyard, UK
Laid down: 23 February 1926
Launched: 14 September 1927
Commissioned: 31 January 1929
Fate: Sold for scrapping, 3 January 1950. Broken up from 22 January 1950
General characteristics
Displacement: 9,750 tons standard
13,315 tons full load
Length: 633 ft (193 m)
Beam: 66 ft (20 m)
Draught: 21 ft (6.4 m)
Propulsion: Eight Admiralty 3-drum boilers
Four shaft Parsons geared turbines
80,000 shp (60 MN)
Speed: 32 knots (59.3 km/h)
Range: 9,120 nm at 12kts
Complement: 784 officers and enlisted
Armament: * 8 x BL 8 inch (203 mm L/50) Mk.VIII in twin mounts Mk.I* * 4-8 x QF 4 inch (102 mm L/45) Mk.V in single mounts HA Mk.III * 4 x QF 2 pdr (40 mm L/39) Mk.II in single mounts HA Mk.I * 8 x QF 0.5 inch (12.7 mm L/50) Mk.III in quad mounts Mk.I * 8 x 21 inch (533 mm) torpedoes in quad mounts

Aircraft carried: One Supermarine Walrus, one catapult
Notes: Pennant number 69

On 25 April 1949, Vice Admiral A. Madden, second in command of the Far Eastern Station, flew his flag in HMS London and after learning of the frigate HMS Amethyst being trapped on the Yangtse river, decided to sail upriver to render assistance in company with the frigate HMS Black Swan. Madden hoped that the mere presence of the cruiser would be enough, but it was soon clear that the Chinese Communists were not to be overawed. Within ten minutes of beginning her upriver dash, London came under fire from 105 mm and 37mm guns. She replied with her main armament and secondary 4 inch guns. The Communists scored hits on London's bridge and she turned back. London had both her forward turrets put out of action, and one of her aft turrets damaged. She had expended 132 8 inch, 449 4 inch, and over 2,000 rounds from her light AA guns. Her casualties were 13 killed and 30 wounded.

Category:

Education

Tags:

• PLA
• HMS
• Amethyst
• Gun
• Battle
• Yangtse
• River
• 紫石英
• 事件

[timpovikings]

Great sequence - and the real HMS Amethyst!