HMS St Aubin (W18)

History
United Kingdom
Name	HMS St Aubin
Ordered	18 April 1918 [1]
Builder	Harland and Wolff, Govan
Laid down	1918
Launched	27 June 1918
Commissioned	February 1940
Decommissioned	1943
Renamed	Tsze-Hong (1947)
Fate	Sunk on 9 November 1950
General characteristics
Class & type	Saint-class tug
Tonnage	468  gross register tons  (GRT)
Displacement	820 long tons (830 t)
Length	135 ft 5 in (41.28 m)]
Beam	29 ft 6 in (8.99 m)
Draught	13 ft 6 in (4.11 m)
Installed power	208 nhp 1,200  ihp (890  kW)
Propulsion	1 × 3-cylinder triple expansion steam engine 1 × screw
Speed	12 knots (22 km/h; 14 mph)
Complement	37 [2]
Armament	1 × 12-pounder gun 2 × Lewis gun [2]

HMS St Aubin was a Saint-class tug launched in 1918.

It was owned by the Admiralty until 12 April 1924, when it was sold to Shanghai Tug and Lighter Limited. ^[3] On 8 March 1935, she was involved in a collision with SS Kiang Shun and was sunk in the Huangpu River. The sunken ship was not considered a significant threat to navigation, and was only raised more than six months later, on 25 September. On 4 July 1936, she was once again sunk in a collision with the naval cadet ship Ping An and SS Eugenia Chandris, and had to be raised. ^[4]

In February 1940, the ship was requisitioned as a minesweeper ^[3] and served under the Hong Kong Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve, where she was commanded by Lieutenant-Commander Peter Dulley. ^{[5] [6]} From 1943, the ship was laid up, until 1946 when she was returned to her owner. In November 1946, she was transferred to Yee Kee Tug & Lighter Co., and in 1947 she was renamed Tsze-Hong. In 1948, she was once again transferred to Chinese Maritime Trust Ltd. She was sunk off Taiwan on 9 November 1950. ^{[3] [7]}

References

1. "32. Miscellaneous patrol vessels". naval-history.net. 2015. Archived from the original on 18 February 2020. Retrieved 25 January 2021.
2. Banham, Tony (2003). Not the Slightest Chance: The Defence of Hong Kong, 1941. UBC Press. p. 325. ISBN   978-0-7748-1045-6.
3. "ST AUBIN". Caledonian Maritime Research Trust. Archived from the original on 25 January 2021. Retrieved 25 January 2021.
4. "CLEARING THE WAY TO SALVAGE TUG; St. Aubin Bound To Have Been Badly Gashed; RAISING TO BE DONE SPEEDILY". Hong Kong Daily Press . Hong Kong. 11 July 1936. p. 12.
5. The Navy List Containing List of Ships, Establishments, and Officers of the Fleet. H.M. Government. 1941. p. 1009. Retrieved 25 January 2021.
6. "Royal Navy & Royal Air force". Hong Kong War Diary. Archived from the original on 17 February 2020. Retrieved 25 January 2021.
7. "HMS St Aubin". Harland and Wolff. Archived from the original on 9 July 2018. Retrieved 25 January 2021.