HMS Locust - HMS Mosquito - HMS Dragonfly - HMS Grasshopper

HMS LOCUST - HMS MOSQUITO - HMS DRAGONFLY - HMS GRASSHOPPER
For basic information regarding these gunboats click here.

I was contacted by Paul Jenkins who submitted some excellent research he is in the process of completing regarding HMS Locust (seen further below). I would note that some of the information also outlines the fate of the Locust's sister ship, HMS Mosquito. Any additional information regarding HMS Locust or HMS Mosquito would be greatly appreciated and anyone with such information should contact Paul Jenkins at jinxydiver@hotmail.com.

I was also fortunate to be contacted by Robin Bateman who submitted the best photograph of any of the Locust Class vessels I have seen to date (Below: HMS Locust and, given her gun configuration and paint work, the photograph was undoubtedly taken between 1941 and the autumn of 1942). Robin's grandfather, William George Bateman, or his great uncle, Peter Bullard, may have served on the ship during the aforementioned period. Any crew information or crew listings of the Locust would be greatly appreciated and should be directed to Robin Bateman.

HMS LOCUST

HMS Locust (I have seen this identified as Locust being towed to Newport for breakup - 6/1968).

H.M.S. Locust (1939 -1968)

H.M.S. Locust was a large river gunboat ordered on 20th June 1938. She was designed for service on the River Yangtze, China. Her role was to protect the river traffic and support general British interests in that region. Due to the worsening situation in home waters she never got to the "Big River", instead she spent her entire war career fighting German forces in the English Channel and North Sea.

Launched by her builders Yarrow & Company of Scotstoun, Glasgow on 28th September 1939. She finally commissioned into the Royal Navy on 17th May 1940, and was given the pennant number T28. Upon completion of sea trials she sailed for Devonport Naval Dockyard, taking up station on 19th May 1940.

H.M.S. Locust saw her first action only ten days later, on 29th May she sailed for Dunkirk accompanied by her sister ship from the same yard H.M.S. Mosquito. Together they were to participate in operation "Dynamo", the mass evacuation by sea of the retreating Allied Expeditionary Force. Between 29th May and 4th June the Locust saved 2,036 allied soldiers from the beaches.

H.M.S. Bideford was also saved from the beach at Dunkirk after being towed back home by the Locust; the Sloop Bideford had her stern blown off during a sustained air attack. H.M.S. Mosquito however was not so fortunate, she was sunk with great loss of life on 1st June after being bombed by JU87 Stuka dive-bombers off Dunkirk Mole. In an interesting but cruel twist of fate orders were issued to urgently send a demolition party to blow up the part sunken Mosquito, presumably to prevent any later salvage by Axis forces. The ship tasked with this sad mission was her own sister, the Locust.

Post Dunkirk the Locust was based at Sheerness in Kent, acting as an anti aircraft ship in the Thames Estuary, as well as escorting numerous convoys in the English Channel. H.M.S. Locust managed to shoot down a Messerschmitt 110 in June 1940, her crew rowing out to rescue the surviving pilot from the water.

On 8th October the Locust was out of action for three months after setting off an acoustic sea mine, this resulted in damage to her stern gear and injuries to four of her crew.

August 1942 saw the Locust re deployed along with many other vessels to take part in operation "Jubilee", the ill-fated Dieppe raid. Her task was to land some of the many Commandos taking part at Dieppe harbour. All did not gone to plan during the operation as a whole, progress was very slow and the loss of life was immense. Upon entering Dieppe harbour at 0607hrs on 19th August, the Locust came under heavy fire from German Shore Batteries. Sustaining direct hits to her upper deck and superstructure, she was ordered to immediately withdraw, a decision that undoubtedly saved the ship, her crew and the lives of all the embarked commandos. H.M.S. Locust stood off Dieppe and gave gunfire support to Commando units still ashore until orders arrived at 0915hrs for a complete withdrawal along with all other forces.

After the Dieppe raid some of the surviving vessels including the Locust were formed into a new military unit called "Force J", The Combined Operations Naval Assault Force. This force consisted of various units of the Royal Navy and Marine Commandos. H.M.S. Locust is listed as being based in the general Solent area.

In January 1943 the Locust was at Portsmouth having just finished a period in dock, having undergone, quote: "various repairs, alterations and additions". The next 18 months were officially spent "at Portsmouth" with "Force J" doing what exactly I am still not sure. I have heard only a couple of stories of this period from my Great Uncle, via my Grandfather, some of which may be fact, an embellishment of the truth or maybe just fiction? The stories that I have heard I will not recount here, but all are based on the general theme of "quiet night time visits" across the English Channel to occupied France.

On 6th June 1944 H.M.S Locust took part in the biggest combined air, sea and land assault in the history of warfare, operation "Neptune"(Overlord) the D-Day Normandy landings. H.M.S. Locust acted as group headquarters ship for force S1, stationed off Sword beach. On the 16th June still off "Sword" beach, the Locust came under attack from German artillery, one shell found its target, tragically killing three of her crew and seriously injuring 11 others.

After returning from the Normandy Landings, the Locust took on a new role of minesweeping headquarters ship, based at Harwich. She was sent to control the mine clearance operations being carried out around coast of Holland. During 1945 she took part in operation "Fireball" the clearance of mines from the Port of Rotterdam.

In October 1945 H.M.S Locust was sent to the Sheerness yard for a refit, including new anti aircraft weapons to prepare her for deployment in the Far East. Sadly the deployment never came and she was placed in reserve from May 1946.

In 1951 the Locust was converted to a R.N.V.R. drill ship, later commissioned to the Severn division of the Royal Navy Reserves in Bristol. H.M.S Locust was moored along side an existing training ship, the WWI Sloop H.M.S Flying Fox at Mardyke Wharf in Bristol city docks. H.M.S Locust retained many of her original features including her guns, engines and operational equipment. The Locust was used for training purposes, her main accommodation areas being converted into offices, classrooms, and wardrooms. 1968 sadly saw the closing chapter of her full and varied 28-year career, the Locust was decommissioned from service, and on 12th June towed by two tugs to her final resting place, the breakers yard in Newport, the last river gunboat to fly the white ensign.

In memory of Ruben Lane R.N. and the men of H.M.S. Locust.

Copyright P. A. Jenkins.
jinxydiver@hotmail.com

H.M.S. Locust Technical Specifications

Built Yarrow & Co. 1939
Yard No.
Pennant Number: T28
Displacement: 585 tons
Length: 197ft
Beam: 33ft
Draught: 5ft
Complement: 74
Engines: 2 x Parsons geared turbines 3,800 s.h.p.
Rudders: 3
Propellers: 2 x 78 inch, 3 bladed
Max speed: 17 kts
Fuel: 90 tons

Copyright P. A. Jenkins.

H.M.S. Locust Main Armament

Upper platform:	1 x BR 0.5 inch quad barrel machine gun. (1939 to 1946). 2 x Orelikon 20mm MkVIIIA machine gun (1946 onwards)

Battery deck :	1 x BR 4 inch QF Mk V gun (1939 to 1946). 1 x 25 pdr gun (1946 onwards)
	1 x 3.5 inch Howitzer (1939 to 1941). 1 x 2 pdr 4 barrel pom-pom (1941-onwards). 2 x 2 inch Deck mounted mortars. Main Deck: 1 x BR 4 inch QF Mk V gun. (1939 onwards) 1 x 0.5 inch quad barrel machine gun (1939 to 1946) 1 x Orelikon Mk VIIA machine gun (1946 onwards) Magazine Contents: (1941-1946) QF 4 inch H.E.D.A. Qty 500 rounds QF 4 inch Star shell Qty 50 rounds QF 4 inch L.A. practice Qty 35 rounds QF 4 inch Blank Qty 4 boxes 0.5 inch machine gun Qty 68 boxes 2 Pdr Pom Pom Qty 274 boxes 0.303 Lewis Qty 46 boxes 0.303 Lewis tracer Qty 9 boxes 0.303 Rifle ball Qty 4 boxes 0.303 Rifle blank Qty 1 box 0.303 Line thrower Qty 1 box 0.455 Revolver ball Qty 2 boxes 0.22 Rim fire Qty 1 box C.E Demolition primers Qty 1 box Fuses No.198 4 inch star shell Qty 2 boxes T Cutter Mk3 W69 Qty 4 boxes Copyright P. A. Jenkins.

HMS MOSQUITO

I know very little about HMS Mosquito other than her fate. On June 1, 1940 she was assisting in the Dunkirk evacuation when she came under attack by JU87 Stukas. A number of her crew were killed (I know of eleven so far) and she sunk off Dunkirk Mole. HMS Locust, her sistership, was later sent back to destroy the wreck so as to avoid German salvage. (Note: I have seen internet mention that HMS Mosquito was attacked by approximately 20 Stukas and that up to 50 of Mosquito's crew were killed. I have not had an opportunity to verify these figures.)

I was recently contacted by Ian Bowdler whose great uncle, Harold Parton (Leading Stoker - C/KX 79115), perished in the attack. Seen below is a photograph of Harold Parton taken onboard HMS Mosquito. I greatly appreciate this submission as it is the only photograph I have ever encountered relating to HMS Mosquito. Any further information regarding HMS Mosquito and her sinking would be greatly appreciated and should be submitted here.

Above: Harold William Parton (right) seen onboard HMS Mosquito prior to her sinking on June 1, 1940.

HMS DRAGONFLY AND HMS GRASSHOPPER

I have found little information regarding HMS Dragonfly and HMS Grasshopper which is especially surprising as they were ships built toward the end of the period discussed by the site. Both ships left the Keppel Harbour (Singapore) on February 14, 1942 for Batavia. While sailing south of Singapore, they were attacked by waves of Japanese bombers. HMS Dragonfly sank in the shallow waters of the Riau Archipelago (her wreck is still there and has become a dive site) and HMS Grasshopper, heavily damaged, managed to beach herself. Some eyewitness information about the final hours of these two ships can be found here. I would implore anyone with information regarding these vessels (or HMS Locust and HMS Mosquito) to please contact me.

Above: HMS Grasshopper.

I have seen mention that HMS Dragonfly lies in about 20 meters of water, somewhere near one of the Riau islands in the Linga Archipelago (which I believe is found in the larger Riau Archipelago region). I have also seen mention that the wreck of HMS Grasshopper still exists where she beached herself. Half in and out of the water, her forward section has been scavenged for metal, but her aft section still exists in shallow water.

After two years of searching I finally managed to locate a photograph of HMS Dragonfly (seen below). As photographs of this vessel are quite rare, I have put up a very high resolution version of the shot below which can be found here (be warned that it is about 750k so it may take a couple of minutes to download if you are using a dialup modem).

Above: HMS Dragonfly seen at Hong Kong on October 10, 1939. I believe that USS Mindanao is seen in the distance as she was the US gunboat in the Hong Kong area during the period. For a very high resolution version of the photograph click here. (It is 750k so may take some time to view depending on your connection.)

Above: Close-up of HMS Dragonfly taken from photograph above.

HMS Dragonfly was never salvaged and divers investigating the wreck have brought up a number of items. James Dooley perished on the Dragonfly when she was sunk and his nephew, Clive Coy, has been kind enough to forward along photos of several of the items recovered. The plate with the gold insignia was probably used in the wardroom.

One final note - Numerous photographs of HMS Grasshopper and HMS Dragonfly do exist at the National Maritime Museum. I have listed their current collections for these ships below and you can order prints (they are NOT cheap). If you should be interested in obtaining copies of any of these shots go to this link and type in the relevant ship name - National Maritime Museum. (I am somewhat suspect of pictures reporting to be Grasshopper or Dragonfly seen on the Yangtze. I have never seen any report that they went beyond Hong Kong and I wonder whether the reported shots are not of HMS Scorpion (a very similar ship) instead).

DRAGONFLY 60.73 1938
River gunboat (HMS)

G6026 (--) C 8 Dec. 1938 The official guests on the launching
platform with a bouquet being presented to Lady Dent.
G6027 (--) C 8 Dec. 1938 The official guests on the launching
platform with Lady Dent preparing to name the ship.
G6028 (--) C 8 Dec. 1938 The official guests watching the bottle
breaking during the naming ceremony.
G6029 (--) B 8 Dec. 1938 The guests watching the ship take the
water. A small piece of the bottom right corner
of the negative is missing.
G7063 (7S) B 21 Feb. 1938 In early stage of erection on the slip at
Woolston. Distant.
G7064 (--) B 21 Feb. 1938 Inside the hull at Frame 80, starboard
side, looking forward.
G7065 (--) B 21 Feb. 1938 Inside the hull at Frame 84 on the centre
line, looking forward.
G7066 (--) B 21 Feb. 1938 Inside the hull at Frame 7, looking aft.
G7067 (2P) B 26 Oct. 1938 On the slipway. Taken from the aft gun
deck of Yard No.1182 (HMS GRASSHOPPER)
which is under construction on the same slip. Slightly distant.
G7068 (--) B 26 Oct. 1938 Looking forward from the starboard side
of the bridge deck, showing Yard No.1182 (HMS
GRASSHOPPER) on the slip ahead.
G7069 (7S) B 26 Oct. 1938 On the slip. Hull completely plated and
superstructure under construction. Distant.
G7070 (3P) B 26 Oct. 1938 On the slip, first two plates of bridge
structure in place. Slightly distant.
G7080 (3P) C Jul. 1939 Under way on the Yangtze. Slightly distant.
A duplicate negative (a small image on a large plate).
N11917 (3S) C 1939 On trials.
N11918 (5S) B 1939 On trials.
N11919 (5S) C 1939 On trials.
N11920 (6S) B 1939 On trials.
N12428 (1S) B 8 Dec. 1938 Entering the waters of the River Itchen
at launching. Tip of foremast out of picture.

GRASSHOPPER 60.73 1939
River gunboat (HMS)

N11911 (1) B 19 Jan. 1939 Moving down the launching slip at Woolston.
N11912 (2P) B 19 Jan. 1939 Moving down the launching slip at Woolston.
N11913 (4P) B 1939 Under way on trials in Southampton Water.
N11914 (3P) A 1939 Under way on trials.
N11915 (3P) A 1939 Under way on trials.
N11916 (4P) C 1939 Negative badly marked. On trials.
N14249 (--) B 19 Jan. 1939 The guests on the launching platform
at Woolston after the ship has taken the water.
G7068 (9S) B 26 Oct. 1938 Under construction on the slip. Taken
from the bridge deck of Yard No.1181 (HMS DRAGONFLY)
G7071 (3P) B 21 Feb. 1938 In early stage of erection on the slip at
Woolston with Yard No.1181 (HMS DRAGONFLY
and Yard No.1180 (m.v. VECTA) also in the picture. Distant.
G7072 (--) B 21 Feb. 1938 Inside the hull at Frame 3, looking aft.
G7073 (--) B 21 Feb. 1938 Looking forward from the centreline
aft, showing the early stages of framing.
G7074 (--) B 19 Jan. 1939 The guests assembling on the launching
platform with a bouquet being presented to Mrs. R. G. Howe, the sponsor.
G7075 (--) B 19 Jan. 1939 The guests on the platform waiting for
the ceremony to begin.
G7076 (--) B 19 Jan. 1939 Similar to G7075.
G7077 (4P) C 1939 Under way on the Yangtze. Slightly distant. A
duplicate negative (small image on a large plate).
G7078 (4S) C 1939 Under way on the Yangtze. A duplicate
negative (small image on a large plate).
G7079 (4P) C 1939 Under way on the Yangtze with bow gun aimed
at the port quarter. A duplicate negative (small
image on a large plate).

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