Insect Class Gunboat
The Insect class gunboats (or large China gunboats) were a class of small, but well-armed Royal Navy ships designed for use in shallow rivers or inshore. They were intended for use on the Danube (the name was to disguise their function). The first four ships—Gnat, Mantis, Moth and Tarantula—were actually first employed during the World War I Mesopotamian Campaign on the Euphrates and Tigris rivers.
The ships were designed to operate in shallow fast-flowing rivers, with a shallow draught and a good turn of speed to counter river flow. They were fitted with two reciprocating (VTE) engines operating two propeller shafts to offer some redundancy. The propellers were housed in tunnels to minimise the operating draught.
Read more about Insect Class Gunboat: Deployment, Ships
Famous quotes containing the words insect and/or class:
“Of what use, however, is a general certainty that an insect will not walk with his head hindmost, when what you need to know is the play of inward stimulus that sends him hither and thither in a network of possible paths?”
—George Eliot [Mary Ann (or Marian)
“Each class of society has its own requirements; but it may be said that every class teaches the one immediately below it; and if the highest class be ignorant, uneducated, loving display, luxuriousness, and idle, the same spirit will prevail in humbler life.”
—First published in Girls’ Home Companion (1895)