- Yes, as built ( 2×BL 6 inch Mk VII, 2x12 pdr gun , 6x.303 Maxim guns)
- Yes, in 1938 refit ( 2×BL 6 inch Mk VII, 1×12 pdr. AA gun, 1×QF 2 pdr. “Pom Pom”, 8×Lewis guns)
- Yes in WW2 refit (2×BL 6 inch Mk VII, 1×12 pdr. AA gun, 8x20mm Oerlikon cannons, 8×Lewis guns)
- No
Hello again! and welcome to a rather unusual suggestion, one for probably the most inappropriately named ship ever to grace (or Curse, depending on your opinion) the Royal Navy, I feel this could come to the coastal tree as an analogue to ships such as the SF40 and to help diversify the British tree, which has hundreds of unique ships to offer.
History
Spoiler
HMS Cockchafer was a member of the Insect class of gunboats, built in the early stages of WW1, HMS Cockchafer was Built in Glasgow and launched on the 17th of December 1915, her name followed on from the previous Banterer Class gunboat sold in 1905, She was originally designed to fight in european rivers such as the Danube, however as you will hear, very little of her life was actually spent in that position.
During WW1 she spent most of her life in Britain, based out of Brightlingsea on the south east coast of england here she was deployed mainly to defend against Zeppelin attacks, with her forward 6 inch gun having its gun shield removed to allow for a higher firing angle. However, it wasn’t until 1918 during the russian civil war she would see action, being deployed in support of White russian forces along the Dvina river alongside several of her sister ships. This Deployment was short lived however, and in 1920 Cricket, Cockchafer, Moth, Mantis and Cicala set out for China where Cockchafer would spend most of the next two decades patrolling the Yangtze river to protect British nationals and holdings in China.
During this time there was one major incident Cockchafer was involved in, The Wanhsien incident in late 1926, Following tense relations throughout the year, Troops of the local warlord Marshal Wu Pei Fu took control of the British Merchant ship SS Wanhsien belonging to the The China Navigation company. Cockchafer heard the crews cries for help and dispatched a boarding party to investigate, to which they found the ship full of Chinese soldiers, and after a heated argument, the British regained partial control of the vessel. A few days later another British ship, SS Wanliu, caused a boat full of Chinese soldiers to capsize and sink, leading to the deaths of over 50 people, this lead to the Chinese soldiers onboard Wanliu to attempt to take control, however were unable to to so before she reached Cockchafer and Wanhsien’s location. As Cockchafer attempted to control the situation on Wanliu, the Chinese solders on Wanhsien once again regained control, this time with several british officers being held onboard. Another ship *SS Wantung was also seized whilst Chinese solders began to set up artillery along the shores, alongside capturing (and killing one of) Cockchafers Chinese Crew ashore. With the Chinese refusing to negotiate, it left cockchafer alone in a standoff against an impressive force of Chinese solders. Two days later the Gunboat Widgeon arrived however as there was still no clear resolution, the Rear admiral on the Yangtze called for the matter to be solved with force. The Merchant ship Kiawo was modified with Camouflaged and armoured, and a naval crew from Cockchafer and several other ships in the area boarded with the intent to board and retake Wanhsien by force. after a few days the Kiawo arrived and began to retake control of the Wantung, rescuing the British Officers onboard as the Chinese artillery opened fire, to which both Cockchafer and Widgeon returned fire. After taking some heavy losses, both of the crews from the Merchant ships were recovered with the dispute having been costly to both sides, with several senior officers on the british side being lost, and almost 1000 chinese soldiers and civilians being killed from the shelling.
Following this event, Cockchafers life was fairly uneventful, continuing on her patrols of the Yangtze, and by 1938 she received her first Refit which substantially upgraded her armament with her 12 pdr. guns being swapped out for a 12 pdr QF 3-inch 20 cwt anti-aircraft gun and a 2 pdr. “Pom Pom” AA gun as well as her 6 x .303 Maxim guns being upgraded to 8 Lewis Machine guns.
Start of the Second world war, in which she was assigned to the British East Indies fleet, supporting both the Invasion of Iraq in the Invasion of Iran both in 1941, During this time, she likely received her second Refit, whilst not as major as her 1938 refit, she swapped out her 2 pdr. “Pom Pom” for a further 8 20mm Oerlikon Cannons. Following this she was assigned to the Mediterranean in 1943 being based out of Malta, she then assisted in both the Invasion of Sicily and Elba, after which she was assigned to Taranto until 1945, when she moved back out east to support operations against the Japanese in Burma until the end of the war. She was then moved to the reserve fleet in Singapore, where she stayed until 1949 before being scrapped, making her the Last Surviving Insect Class gunboat.
Images
Spoiler
An Image of HMS Cockchafer, showing her forward 6 inch gun lacking the gun sheild
A side on view of Cockchafer in her early refit
A Diagram of HMS Cockchafer as built
HMS Cockchafer in transit from England to China in 1920
an artwork showing HMS Cockchafer during the Wanhsien incident, shown in the bottom left
Another image of Cockchafer in her 1915 config
HMS Cockchafer preparing to take a convoy along the Yangtze river
Specs/armament
Spoiler
General Characteristics
Displacement: 625 tons
Length: 72.40 m (237 ft 6 in) (overall)
Beam: 11.00 m (36 ft 1 in)
Draft: 1.20 m (3 ft 11 in)
Propulsion: 2 × Yarrow water tube boilers, 2 × North Eastern Marine Engineering Works expansion turbines), 2 shafts, 2,000 shp (1,500 kW)
Speed: 14.0 knots
Complement: 55 (May have varied depending on refit)
Armament
As built
- 2 x BL 6 inch Mk.VII Cannons
- 2 x QF 12-pounder 12-cwt gun
- 6 x .303 Maxim machine guns
1938
- 2 x BL 6 inch Mk.VII Cannons
- 1 x 12 Pounder QF 3-inch 20 cwt anti-aircraft gun
- 1 x 2 pounder “Pom Pom” AA gun
- 8 x Lewis guns
WW2
- 2 x BL 6 inch Mk.VII Cannons
- 12 Pounder QF 3-inch 20 cwt anti-aircraft gun
- 8 x Oerlikon 20mm cannons
- 8 x Lewis guns
Place in game
Spoiler
Personally I feel this would be a good addition to the British coastal line around 3.0, gameplay wise it would offer a strong progression from the Isles and Flower classes, being able to hold its own against almost every other coastal ship it meets alongside some larger destroyers, with her 6 inch guns being able to do serious damage to most of the lightly armoured ships it would face. It would also help to diversify the British tree and help to expand on the currently rather lackluster array of larger gunboats featured in the British coastal lines.
Sources
Spoiler
HMS Cockchafer (1915) - Wikipedia
Insect Class River Gunboats
HMS COCKCHAFER | Imperial War Museums
HMS Cockchafer, British River Gunboat, WW2
H. M. S. Cockchaferdropping anchor at point where she picks
WW1 British Gunboats: Bramble, Insect and Fly classes
https://www.worldnavalships.com/forums/thread.php?threadid=1626&page=1
