Insect-class gunboat

HMS Ladybird off Bardia in December 1940, showing her World War II configuration with the longer 50-calibre 6-inch guns installed in 1939
Class overview
Name	Insect class
Operators	Royal Navy
Completed	12
Lost	3
Retired	9
General characteristics
Type	Gunboat[1]
Displacement	625 long tons (635 t)
Length	237 ft 6 in (72.39 m)
Beam	36 ft (11 m)
Draught	4 ft (1.2 m)
Propulsion	2 shaft VTE engines, 2 Yarrow type mixed firing boilers 2000 IHP
Speed	14 kn (16 mph; 26 km/h)
Complement	55
Armament	As built: 2 × BL 6-inch Mk VII guns 2 × 12-pounder guns 6 × .303" Maxim machine guns Variations: 1 × QF 2-pounder "Pom-Pom" 1 × QF 3-inch anti-aircraft gun .303" Lewis machine gun Oerlikon 20 mm cannon
Armour	Improvised

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.^[a] They were intended for use on the Danube against Austria-Hungary (the China name was to disguise their function; however, they did see service on the Yangtze river in China). The first four ships—Gnat, Mantis, Moth and Tarantula—were first employed during the Mesopotamian Campaign of the First World War on the Euphrates and Tigris rivers.

Cite error: There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or {{efn}} templates on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=lower-alpha}} template or {{notelist}} template (see the help page).