HMS Moth (1915)

For other ships with the same name, see HMS Moth.

During service as the Japanese Suma in 1942
History
United Kingdom
Name	HMS Moth
Ordered	1915
Builder	Sunderland Shipbuilding Company
Laid down	1915
Launched	9 October 1915
Commissioned	5 January 1916
Out of service	12 December 1941
Identification	Pennant number: T69
Fate	Scuttled 12 December 1941 at Hong Kong
General characteristics (HMS Moth)
Class & type	Insect-class gunboat
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)
Installed power	2 × Yarrow water tube boilers 2,000 shp (1,500 kW)
Propulsion	2 × North Eastern Marine Engineering Works vertical triple expansion turbines 2 shafts
Speed	14.0 knots (25.9 km/h; 16.1 mph)
Complement	55
Armament	See § Armaments
Empire of Japan
Name	Suma (須磨)
Namesake	Suma-ku, Kobe
Builder	Navy 2nd Construction Department at Hong Kong
Acquired	February 1942
Commissioned	1 July 1942
Decommissioned	10 May 1945
Stricken	11 May 1945
Fate	Sunk 19 March 1945 by naval mine
General characteristics (Suma)
Displacement	645 tons
Length	72.40 m (237 ft 6 in) (overall)
Beam	10.97 m (36 ft 0 in)
Draft	1.22 m (4 ft 0 in)
Speed	14.0 knots (16.1 mph; 25.9 km/h)
Complement	84 (March 1945)
Armament	See § Armaments
Armour	Partially armoured bridge

HMS Moth (Pennant number: T69) was an Insect-class gunboat of the Royal Navy. Entering service in 1916, Moth had a varied career with service in the Middle East, the White Sea and the Far East in two world wars. Scuttled in World War II during the invasion of Hong Kong, the ship was raised and put into service by the Imperial Japanese Navy as Suma (須磨). The ship remained active throughout the war, before striking a naval mine in the Yangtze River in 1945 and sinking.

Armaments

Dates	Armament
HMS Moth
1916 (Original)	2 × BL 6-inch Mk VII guns 2 × QF 12-pdr 12 cwt AA guns 6 × 7.7 mm Maxim machine guns
October 1938 [1]	2 × BL 6-inch Mk VII guns 1 × QF 3-inch 20 cwt AA gun 1 × QF 12-pdr 12 cwt AA gun 8 × 7.7 mm Lewis machine guns
Suma
3 October 1942	2 × BL 6-inch Mk VII guns 2 × 40 mm Type 91 "BI" AA gun 2 × 13.2 mm Type 93 Heavy MGs 2 × 7.7 mm Type 92 Machine guns
9 October 1943	2 × BL 6-inch Mk VII guns 2 × 40 mm Type 91 "BI" AA gun [a] 3 × 13 mm Type 93 Heavy MGs 3 × 7.7 mm Type 92 Machine guns
27 May 1944 [1]	1 × BL 6-inch Mk VII gun 1 × 76.2 mm 3rd Year Type Naval gun 2 × 40 mm Type 91 "BI" AA gun 2 × Twin 25 mm Type 96 AA guns 5 × 13 mm Type 93 Heavy MGs 5 × 7.7 mm Type 92 Machine guns
12 March 1945	1 × BL 6-inch Mk VII gun 1 × 76.2 mm 3rd Year Type Naval gun 2 × 40 mm Type 91 "BI" AA gun 2 × Twin 25 mm Type 96 AA guns 6 × 13 mm Type 93 Heavy MGs 2 × 7.7 mm Type 92 Machine guns

Service history

Royal Navy service

Moth was laid down during the first half of 1915 at the yards of the Sunderland Shipbuilding Company, with her sister ship Mantis. Moth was launched on 9 October 1915 and completed on 5 January 1916.

Moth was dispatched to the Middle East (Mesopotamia area) in 1916. In 1919, she was dispatched to the White Sea, and by 1920 she had been reassigned to the China Station. ^[b] In December 1941, she became a member of the Far East fleet with Cicala at Hong Kong. On 8 December 1941, Moth and Cicala were in port during an air raid by the Imperial Japanese Army Air Force. Cicala was sunk on 21 December. Moth was in the dock for repairs, but with the fall of the city to the Japanese imminent, Moth was scuttled on 12 December.

Imperial Japanese Navy service

For other ships with the same name, see Japanese ship Suma.

The Imperial Japanese Navy dispatched the Navy 2nd Construction Department (海軍第二工作部, Kaigun Dai-2 Kōsaku-Bu) to Hong Kong to investigate Moth, and on 1 July 1942, she was refloated and had an extensive rebuild completed by 20 July. On 14 July 1942, she was renamed Suma (須磨); ^[c] registered in the Sasebo Naval District as a gunboat; and assigned to the China Area Fleet, 2nd China Expeditionary Fleet, 15th Squadron. Suma remained in Hong Kong for fitting out until 3 October 1942. ^[1]

On 15 October 1942, Suma was reassigned to the Pearl River Basin Guard Fleet, to provide aid to SNLF troops in anti-insurgency operations. On the next day, she landed a 19-strong SNLF unit in Tai O village on Lantau Island. On 22 October 1942, she landed a 47-strong SNLF unit at Lai Chi Wo in the New Territories, Hong Kong. B-25 Mitchell medium bombers (from the 14th Air Force) attacked Hong Kong after midnight of 25 October 1942, Suma received no damage and fired back at the attacking bombers. She was attacked by B-25s on the next day, claiming to shot down one. On 30 December 1942, she was attacked by aircraft on the Yangtze River, suffering light damage. ^[1]

On 29 July 1943, she fired on US bombers during an air raid on Hong Kong, expending 78 40mm rounds and 210 7.7mm rounds. Suma arrived in Kiangnan Dock & Engineering Works, Shanghai on 1 September 1943 to undergo hull repairs and refit, which was completed by 9 October 1943. The ship was attacked by three B-25s on 29 December 1943, and by two B-25s the next day receiving some damage, while claiming to kill one B-25. ^{[d] [1]}

On 11 June 1944, the ship was attacked by P-38s and on 18 June, by three B-25s. On 26 December, she was attacked by seven P-51s, with the aft 25 mm gun wrecked and 18 killed and four wounded. The aft gun was replaced and repairs made to the ship 28–30 December at Yanhu. ^[1]

Suma was attacked by P-51s on 11 February 1945, when it claims downing one. The ship was repaired at Mitsubishi Yangshupu Shipyard, Shanghai from 17 February to 12 March 1945. She was active on the Yangtze River in anti-insurgency operations. On 19 March 1945, she struck a naval mine which was previously laid by 14th Air Force planes on 4 March at Anqing, and sank with a loss of 8 crewmen. Narumi evacuated 40 wounded and 36 survivors. ^[1]

References

Notes

1. Foward gun fitted with a splinter shield. ^[1]
2. Her edited logbooks and maps of her journeys for 1919 and 1920 can be viewed at naval-history.net. ^[2]
3. Suma is a Japanese scenic spot appearing in The Tale of Genji .
4. B-25D-15-NC, 41-30457, 11th Bombardment Squadron, 341st Bombardment Group, 14th Air Force, lost 30 December 1943; ^[3] 4 KIA/BNR: ^[4] William C. Arnold (Pilot), ^[3] Harland B. Keating (Co-pilot)

Citations

1. IJN Gunboat SUMA (Combinedfleet).
2. HMS Moth (naval-history.net).
3. MACR 01631.
4. Search for crash site of Arnold, Keating, White, and Smith.

Bibliography

• Colledge, J. J.; Warlow, Ben (2006) [1969]. Ships of the Royal Navy: The Complete Record of All Fighting Ships of the Royal Navy from the 15th Century to the Present (Rev. ed.). London: Chatham Publishing. ISBN   978-1-86176-281-8. OCLC   67375475.
• Watanabe Yoshiyuki (2004). "Contributor". 帝国海軍真実の艦艇史 未発表写真と綿密な考証で明かされる秘められた新事実の数々 [The True History of the Imperial Navy's Ships: New and Hidden Facts Revealed Through Unpublished Photographs and Detailed Research]. By Rekishi Gunzō. History of Pacific War (in Japanese). Vol. 45. Japan: Gakken. ISBN   4-05-603412-5.
• Money, Paul (17 June 2015). "HMS MOTH – April to June 1919, January to December 1920, China Station". naval-history.net.
• Hackett, Bob; Kingsepp, Sander; Cundall, Peter (2015). "IJN Gunboat SUMA: Tabular Record of Movement". Combinedfleet.com. Retrieved 12 December 2016.

Additional sources

• "USAF MISSING AIRCREW REPORT SUMMARY SHEET (MACR 01631)". aviationarchaeology.com. AVIATION ARCHAEOLOGICAL INVESTIGATION & RESEARCH. Retrieved 26 February 2026.
• Pat (29 June 2021). "Search for crash site of Arnold, Keating, White, and Smith". rshonor.org. Remembering Shared Honor. Retrieved 26 February 2026.

External links

• ER (18 December 2016). "BAAG Naval Section Intelligence Summary, mid to late September 1942, ship repair, maintenance and movements". industrialhistoryhk.org. The Industrial History of Hong Kong Group. Retrieved 5 March 2026.