"The "China Incident" (USS PANAY) – 1937 " Topic

"20 November 1937:
The Chinese Nationalist government announces the relocation of their government from their provisional capital at Nanking to Hankow.

21 November 1937:
As Japanese forces encirles Nanking, Chiang Kai-shek's foreign office notifies the American Embassy that it must prepare to evacuate.

22 November 1937:
American Ambassador Nelson T. Johnson and most American Embassy personnel depart Nanking for Chungking 1,500 miles upriver in gunboat USS LUZON (PR-7)(later IJN KARATSU). LtCdr (later Cdr) James J. Hughes (USNA '15) river gunboat USS PANAY (PR-5) is assigned as station ship to guard the remaining Americans. The rest of the embassy staff stays another week, then decides to depart in PANAY.

24 November 1937:
Hankow. River gunboat USS GUAM (PG-43)(later renamed USS WAKE (PR-3) then IJN TATARA) arrives at Hankow to protect the lives and property of American nationals…"
Full article here
link

Amicalement
Armand

Essentialy the first US engagement of WWII and captured on film too!
YouTube link
No sound on this (its a silent newsreel) but its the most complete version available.
The last original placard that came up made me wince, you`ll see why when you watch it!

The most likely cause for the incident was an inter-service communications snafu since it was the Japanese Army that told the foreign gunboats to anchor where they were located and the atacking planes were Japanese Navy!

Thanks for the info my friend.

Amicalement
Armand

Cordell Hull may have delivered a protest at the time, but I guess you could say Colonel Paul Tibbets delivered the final protest, or was to Major Charles Sweeney.