With the smooth liberation of Hainan Island, the Kuomintang navy disappeared from the southern coastal areas of China and fled to Taiwan Province Province. Here, the ships that people can see belong to two common naval forces: one is the ships of the China detachment of the Royal Navy's Far East Fleet based in Hong Kong; The other is the South China Sea Fleet of China People's Navy-this naval force was not called the South China Sea Fleet before 1955, but was called the naval force of the Central South Military Region.
At that time, the gross tonnage of all ships of China Navy was estimated to be less than that of a heavy cruiser in Britain. The British fleet in Hong Kong is not much better. After World War II, the strength of the British navy has been declining, the main warships have been retired for maintenance, and the number of naval personnel has also decreased. Without the glory of the empire, the Far East Fleet was also affected. After the Korean War broke out, the main force of the Far East Fleet moved to Northeast Asia to cooperate. At the same time, in order to support the Iranian coup by force, the Far East Fleet sent several ships to help out.
Since 195 1, the British navy has been keeping a low profile in the Pearl River Estuary. Apart from the shortage of troops, China and Britain have reached a rare agreement on the Hong Kong issue: Britain wants to gain a foothold in Hong Kong, and China wants to show its image through Hong Kong. Neither side wants to have a big fight. However, local conflicts and contests have been going on in secret.
On September 9th, 1953, the gunboat of the British Far East Fleet 1323 stationed in Hong Kong set off from the base and began a one-day mission to continue searching for information in the coastal areas of the Pearl River Estuary. This day is an unforgettable day for the crew after all. China Navy's South China Sea Fleet 3- 14 1 Ship also started the exercise mission from the base that day. Next, the encounter between the two ships will trigger a mystery of the century.
When the two ships sailed to the waters near Neilingding Island, China 3- 14 1 found British gunboats crossing the demarcation line and entering our waters. When the British saw the China ship approaching, the commander Captain merriman ordered "face up" and all the crew entered the battle position. At that time, just after the Korean War, the British military repeatedly ordered restraint not to clash with China, but Captain merriman's approach was a dead end.
Clifford, a sailor of the British gunboat, has been sticking to the shield of the 40 mm gun, and he can enter the combat state with a command of "standing in the gun position".
The distance between the two sides is rapidly shortening. Captain merriman took violent photos of China warships with a camera with a large telescope. His behavior quickly angered the boys of China ships, and at this time, the enemy ships had crossed our waters for more than 2 nautical miles. This time, the British army obviously miscalculated, chose the wrong time, and more importantly, chose the wrong object.
At that time, the China 3- 14 1 ship not only had a group of young officers, but also a senior military figure-Zhang Yu, then deputy commander of the naval fleet. When the British gunboat sailed into the waters of China for more than 2 nautical miles, Deputy Commander Zhang gave the first order after a little consideration: "Raise the global flag and tell the other side to stop. We want to board the ship for inspection!" Soon the signal flag rose to the mast.
A few minutes later, the British gunboat didn't stop at all and continued to sail at a high speed according to the established route. Deputy commander Zhang immediately issued the second order: "25 guns, volley, hit the enemy boat as a warning!" " "China 3- 14 1 ship immediately fired shells and fired them above the British gunboats.
British gunboats have a guilty conscience and secretly come here to collect information. Feeling China's toughness, it quickly turned the bow, fully accelerated, and zigzagged in the direction of Dayu Island. At this critical moment, Commander Zhang said, "Call me!" , China 3- 14 1 ship two 76.2 mm guns, already ready, fired immediately after hearing the command. The shells flew straight to the enemy ship like wings. Within a few minutes, eight shells hit the enemy ship.
The machine gun of the British gunboat was penetrated by a large caliber shell, and a big hole was opened on the port side. Fortunately, the shell didn't explode. British soldiers seem to be frightened by the gunfire and run around.
Clifford is calm. He rushed into the engine room like an arrow to check the part hit by the shell. Clifford ignores the boiling heat of the shell and throws the unexploded shell directly into the sea. Then, merriman ordered a counterattack, and shells were also fired at China ships. At this time, the cannon on the China 3- 14 1 ship opened fire, and the shells swept the British gunboats, penetrating the wooden hull, and even more deadly, the radio station was destroyed.
Captain merriman was directing the operation when a shell hit the bridge and the operating room. Merriman's legs and right arm were hit by shrapnel. He lay on the ground, moaning desperately, and asked his men to give himself some painkillers. However, when Clifford tries his best to find the medicine box, he is speechless to the extreme. There is a sextant and some documents in it, and God knows where the medicine went. In the end, Captain merriman, who was not treated, died of excessive blood loss.
At this time, the shells fired by China 3- 14 1 ship are still flying to the British sailors on the gunboats, and there is nowhere to hide. They can only see Jesus one after another. The ammunition box on the gunboat was unfortunately hit. Fortunately, the bomb didn't explode. They lost the ability to fight back in an instant, and they couldn't move any more, just like swimming rings lying on the river, letting the river run around.
At this time, the battle scene here attracted two British planes. When they were in normal training, they flew over to support when they heard something moving here. However, they didn't hang a bomb when they left the base today. The only thing they can do is fly to China 3- 14 1 in a dive position to attract fire and help their gunboats evacuate.
At this time, Clifford became the temporary commander, directing the gunboat to evacuate in the direction of Tai O anchorage. Their engine has been damaged and the blood of other sailors is dripping on their heads. But Clifford didn't care about this. He asked two uninjured colleagues to help him, trying to slow down the speed of the gunboat and prevent it from overturning because of too fast speed.
There is a strong wind blowing on the sea, and there is even a growing trend, and the waves are getting higher and higher. With the efforts of the three men, the British gunboat tried its best to travel along the coast and finally ushered in friendly troops who came to support. A patrol boat came to support from a distance, slowly evacuated from the battlefield with the injured gunboat, and another British destroyer also came to cover the retreat. At this time, the China 3- 14 1 ship did not pursue, and immediately turned on the air defense weapon in the face of the enemy plane. The enemy plane flew away without seeing any advantage, and our ship also withdrew from the battlefield and returned to the base safely.
The battle lasted only a few minutes, and it took the British gunboat more than three hours from sailing and exchanging fire to withdrawing to the anchorage. For the British officers and men who went out on this day, these three hours are probably the most tormenting time.
The British gunboats returning to the base were covered with bullet marks, and some were bullet holes left after being hit by large-caliber shells. Thanks to the wooden hull, although it was penetrated by many shells, it fortunately escaped the explosion and avoided the fate of sinking.
This day is a disgrace to the British people. Not only was it beaten all over the place, but the face of the British empire was completely ruined. Was defeated by the China Navy, which was established only a few years ago.
Didn't you say that the China Navy has just been established? And not as good as English ships. Why did China's ships show such strong fighting capacity in this battle?
The origin of China's 3- 14 1 ship is full of legends. This warship was the most powerful flagship of the South China Sea Fleet in the 1950s, and its predecessor was a simplified coastal defense ship produced by Japan at the end of World War II. 1945 At the beginning of the year, when Japan was at war with the US Navy, its bow was blown off and it stumbled back to Huangpu Port. Since then, it has become a big "decoration". When the Kuomintang troops withdrew from Guangzhou, the ship was also shelled crazily. Later, our army found this "big guy" by accident, and with the efforts of the boatmen, the ship was revived.
There are almost no official records about this battle in the history of the two armies. Although the scale of the battle is very small, it is not a big battle, but after all, it is a confrontation between the Chinese and British navies. Perhaps it was because China defeated American imperialism at that time and its international influence increased greatly, so Britain did not dare to repeat the same mistakes. Besides, China also wants to have a rest and concentrate on domestic construction, so the negotiations between the two sides only stay at the diplomatic level.
However, for history, this battle is worth recording. Although the scale is small, it is equally tragic, and the courage of the People's Navy to defend the country is worth remembering.