USS Tutuila (PR-4)
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USS Tutuila (PR-4)
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| History | |
|---|---|
 United States
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| Name: | Tutuila (PG-44) |
| Namesake: | Tutuila |
| Builder: | Kiangnan Dockyard and Engineering Works, Shanghai |
| Laid down: | 17 October 1926 |
| Launched: | 14 June 1927 |
| Commissioned: | 2 March 1928 |
| Reclassified: | PR-4, 16 June 1928 |
| Decommissioned: | 18 January 1942 |
| Struck: | 26 March 1942 |
| Fate: | Transferred to China under lend-lease, 16 February 1942; Permanent transfer, 17 February 1948 |
| History | |
 Taiwan
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| Name: | RCS Mei Yuan |
| Acquired: | 16 February 1942 |
| Fate: | Scuttled to prevent capture, May 1949 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type: | River gunboat |
| Displacement: | 395 long tons (401 t) |
| Length: | 159 ft 5 in (48.59 m) |
| Beam: | 27 ft 1 in (8.26 m) |
| Draft: | 5 ft 5 in (1.65 m) |
| Speed: | 14.37 kn (16.54 mph; 26.61 km/h) |
| Complement: | 61 officers and enlisted |
| Armament: |
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USS Tutuila (PG-44) was a gunboat in the service of the United States Navy from 1928, until her transfer to China under lend-lease in 1942.
Tutuila was laid down on 17 October 1926 at the Kiangnan Dockyard and Engineering Works in Shanghai, China; launched on 14 June 1927, sponsored by Miss Beverly Pollard; and commissioned on 2 March 1928, with Lieutenant Commander Frederick Baltzly in command.
Assigned to the Yangtze Patrol (YangPat) and redesignated river gunboat PR-4 on 16 June 1928, Tutuila cruised on shakedown up the Yangtze River from Shanghai to Yichang, where she joined her sister ship Guam in mid-July. Convoying river steamers through the upper reaches of the Yangtze on her first passage through the scenic gorges, she flew the flag of Rear Admiral Yates Stirling, Jr., Commander, Yangtze Patrol (ComYangPat). Tutuila's shallow draft enabled her to traverse the treacherous rapids of the gorges with ease, so that the fluctuating water levels did not hinder her year-round access to the upper stretch of the Yangtze. Her duty with YangPat offered excitement and variety: conducting roving armed patrols; convoying merchantmen; providing armed guards for American flag steamers; and "showing the flag" to protect American lives and property in a land where civil strife and warfare had been a way of life for centuries.
Dealing with sniping by bandits or warlord troops in the 1920s and 1930s required both tact and—on occasion—a few well-placed rounds of 3 in (76 mm) or .30 in (7.62 mm) gunfire. One incident which called for a mixture of diplomacy and force came in 1929, when Lt. Cdr. S. D. Truesdell was in command of the gunboat. He called on the Chinese warlord from whose territory some rifle shots had come. During a discussion of the incident, the general explained that his men were merely "country boys, who meant no harm". Truesdell replied that he, too, had some "country boys" among his own crew. He noted that he had found them tinkering with the after 3-inch gun, pointing it at the general's conspicuous white headquarters as they practiced their range-finding. Truesdell's rejoinder bore immediate fruit; the sniper fire ceased.
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Wikipedia