USS Panay (PR-5)
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 Panay underway during the standardization trial off Woosung, China on August 30, 1928 |
|
| Career |  |
|---|---|
| Ordered: | |
| Laid down: | |
| Launched: | 10 November 1927 |
| Commissioned: | 10 September 1928 |
| Fate: | 12 December 1937 Sunk by enemy action |
| Struck: | |
| General characteristics | |
| Displacement: | 474 tons |
| Length: | 191 ft |
| Beam: | 29 ft |
| Draft: | 5 ft 3 in |
| Propulsion: | |
| Speed: | 15 kt |
| Complement: | 59 officers and enlisted |
| Armament: | 2 3”, 8 .30 caliber machine guns |
The second USS Panay (PR–5) of the United States Navy was a river gunboat that served on the Yangtze Patrol in China until lost in the Panay incident of 1937.
The vessel was built by Kiangnan Dockyard and Engineering Works, Shanghai, China; launched 10 November 1927; sponsored by Mrs. Ellis S. Stone; and commissioned 10 September 1928, Lt. Comdr. James Mackey Lewis in command.
Built for duty in the Asiatic Fleet on the Yangtze River, Panay had as her primary mission the protection of American lives and property frequently threatened in the disturbances the 1920s and 1930s brought to China struggling to modernize, to create a strong central government, and, later, to meet Japanese aggression. Throughout Panay’s service, navigation on the Yangtze was constantly menaced by bandits and soldier outlaws of various stripes, and Panay and her sisters provided the protection necessary for American shipping and nationals, as other foreign forces did for their citizens. Often parties from Panay served as armed guards on American steamers plying the river. In 1931 her commanding officer, Lt. Comdr. 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.” and “Fortunately, 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 from Nanking during November 1937. Panay was assigned as station ship to guard the remaining Americans and take them off at the last possible moment. They came on board 11 December and Panay moved upriver to avoid becoming involved in the fighting around the doomed capital. Three American merchant tankers sailed with her. The Japanese senior naval commander in Shanghai was informed both before and after the fact of this movement.
On 12 December, Japanese naval aircraft were ordered by their Army to attack “any and all ships” in the Yangtze above Nanking. Knowing of the presence of Panay and the merchantmen, the Imperial Japanese Navy requested verification of the order, which was received before the attack began about 13:27 that day and continued until Panay sank at 15:54. Three men were killed, 43 sailors and 5 civilian passengers wounded.
A formal protest was immediately lodged by the American ambassador. The Japanese government accepted responsibility, but claimed the attack unintentional. A large indemnity was paid 22 April 1938 and the incident officially settled. However, further deterioration of relations between Japan and the United States continued. (See Panay incident for further details of the episode.)
[edit] See also
- USS Panay for other Navy vessels of this name.
- List of patrol vessels of the United States Navy
- List of World War II ships of less than 1000 tons
[edit] Further reading
- Koginos, Manny T. (1967). The Panay Incident: Prelude to War. Purdue University Studies.
This article includes text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships.
