The were a class of riverine

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 Pre-ste ...

s of the

Imperial Japanese Navy The Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN; Kyūjitai: Shinjitai: ' 'Navy of the Greater Japanese Empire', or ''Nippon Kaigun'', 'Japanese Navy') was the navy of the Empire of Japan from 1868 to 1945, when it was dissolved following Japan's surrender ...

. The class consisted of two vessels, (熱海) and (二見). Designed for service on Chinese rivers, they were an improved version of the . They were constructed by Fujinagata at

Osaka is a designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the third most populous city in Japan, following Special wards of Tokyo and Yokohama. With a population of ...

, Japan in 1928 to 1930. The gunboats served in the

Second Sino-Japanese War The Second Sino-Japanese War (1937–1945) or War of Resistance (Chinese term) was a military conflict that was primarily waged between the Republic of China and the Empire of Japan. The war made up the Chinese theater of the wider Pacific T ...

and

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

until their surrender in 1945. They were taken over by the

Republic of China Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the northeas ...

and renamed ''Yung Ping'' and ''Yung An'' respectively. Both ships were captured in 1949 by Communist China during the

Chinese Civil War The Chinese Civil War was fought between the Kuomintang-led government of the Republic of China and forces of the Chinese Communist Party, continuing intermittently since 1 August 1927 until 7 December 1949 with a Communist victory on main ...

Design and description

The ''Atami'' class were improved versions of the preceding . Designed for use on Chinese rivers, the

s measured long overall and

between perpendiculars Length between perpendiculars (often abbreviated as p/p, p.p., pp, LPP, LBP or Length BPP) is the length of a ship along the summer load line from the forward surface of the stem, or main bow perpendicular member, to the after surface of the ster ...

and at the

waterline The waterline is the line where the hull of a ship meets the surface of the water. Specifically, it is also the name of a special marking, also known as an international load line, Plimsoll line and water line (positioned amidships), that indi ...

with a beam of and a draught of . The vessels had a light displacement and a

standard displacement The displacement or displacement tonnage of a ship is its weight. As the term indicates, it is measured indirectly, using Archimedes' principle, by first calculating the volume of water displaced by the ship, then converting that value into wei ...

of . The gunboats were powered by a

triple expansion engine A steam engine is a heat engine that performs mechanical work using steam as its working fluid. The steam engine uses the force produced by steam pressure to push a piston back and forth inside a cylinder. This pushing force can be tran ...

fed steam by two Kampon boilers turning two

shafts ''Shafts'' was an English feminist magazine produced by Margaret Sibthorp from 1892 until 1899. Initially published weekly and priced at one penny, its themes included votes for women, women's education, and radical attitudes towards vivisection, ...

creating . This gave the ships a maximum speed of . They had capacity for of coal and of oil for fuel. The ''Atami'' class were initially armed with one /28 cal.

anti-aircraft gun Anti-aircraft warfare, counter-air or air defence forces is the battlespace response to aerial warfare, defined by NATO as "all measures designed to nullify or reduce the effectiveness of hostile air action".AAP-6 It includes surface based ...

, one gun and five machine guns.

Ships in class

Construction and career

Two ships were authorised under the 1927 Programme. They were both constructed by Fujinagata at

between 1928 and 1930. Both gunboats sailed from Japan to China for service on the

Yangtze River The Yangtze or Yangzi ( or ; ) is the longest river in Asia, the third-longest in the world, and the longest in the world to flow entirely within one country. It rises at Jari Hill in the Tanggula Mountains (Tibetan Plateau) and flows ...

. On 14 June 1933, ''Futami'' ran aground on an uncharted rock. The gunboat was refloated in August and sent to

Shanghai Shanghai (; , , Standard Chinese, Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four Direct-administered municipalities of China, direct-administered municipalities of the China, People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the ...

for repairs. In 1937, at the onset of the

, both gunboats were assigned to the 11th Gunboat Division, with ''Atami'' acting as the force's

flagship A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of naval ships, characteristically a flag officer entitled by custom to fly a distinguishing flag. Used more loosely, it is the lead ship in a fleet of vessels, typically the ...

. The 11th Gunboat Division evacuated Japanese civilians from interior China to Shanghai in August. On 13 August, the division landed additional troops during the Second Battle of Shanghai and bombarded shore positions. In 1940, the two gunboats were rearmed with five guns replacing the machine guns and one 79 mm/40 cal. anti-aircraft gun. On 10 June 1943, ''Atami'' was damaged by Chinese aircraft on the Yangtze River near Tung Ting Lake. By 1945, the two gunboats had been stripped of their guns, which were used ashore. Both ships were surrendered by the Japanese in August 1945. Transferred to the

, ''Atami'' was renamed ''Yung Ping'' and ''Futami'' renamed ''Yung An''. Both ships were captured by Communist China in 1949 during the

Notes

Citations

References

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Atami Class Gunboat Riverine warfare Gunboat classes