Belgian ship A4
A4, painted with highly visible symbols during Belgium's period of neutrality, photographed in 1940
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| History | |
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 United Kingdom
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| Name: | John Ebbs |
| Ordered: | 1916 |
| Builder: | Cochranes, Selby, England |
| Launched: | 2 October 1917 |
| Out of service: | 1920 |
| Fate: | Sold to Belgium |
 Belgium
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| Name: |
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| Acquired: | 1920 |
| Decommissioned: | 1946 |
| Fate: | Scrapped in Spain, 1948 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type: | Mersey-class naval trawler |
| Tonnage: | 334 LT (339 t) |
| Length: | 148 ft (45 m) |
| Draught: | 4.5 metres (15 ft) |
| Installed power: | 600 horsepower (450 kW) |
| Speed: | 9 to 10 knots (17 to 19 km/h; 10 to 12 mph) |
| General characteristics Royal Navy | |
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| General characteristics Belgian Navy | |
| Complement: | 27 |
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Patrol vessel A4 (French: Patrouilleur A4) was a small Mersey-class naval trawler operated by Belgium during the Second World War. Originally built for the British Royal Navy, as HMS John Ebbs, the ship is notable for its role in evacuating Belgian gold reserves to England during the Battle of Belgium in May 1940. The success of the operation not only allowed the Belgian government in exile to fund its operations but deprived the German occupiers of an important asset to support their war effort. After the Belgian surrender, the vessel and its crew interned themselves in neutral Spain. In 1946, the vessel and its crew were released and the ship was scrapped soon afterwards.
Pilote 4 (later renamed Patrouilleur A4) was purchased by the Belgian Corps de Marine in 1920, having previously served in the British Royal Navy during the First World War as HMS John Ebbs (FY3566). The vessel was a Mersey-class naval trawler, built by Cochranes in Selby, North Yorkshire, and was launched on 2 October 1917.Displacing 334 long tons (339 t), the vessel was 148 feet (45 m) long, and had a draught of 4.5 metres (15 ft). Fitted with engines that were capable of producing 600 horsepower (450 kW), it could travel at between 9 and 10 knots. With a complement of 27, the Belgians armed the ship with two Maxim machine guns on the bridge and a 47mm gun at the stern. In 1939, A4 was waiting to be scrapped, but the deteriorating international situation caused by German expansionism led to its reactivation by the Ministry of National Defence.
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