Italian gunboat Ermanno Carlotto

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Carlotto sailing on a river in China in the late 1930s.
History
Italy
NameErmanno Carlotto
NamesakeErmanno Carlotto
BuilderShanghai Docks and Engineering Company, Shanghai
Laid downMarch 1914
Launched19 June 1918
Commissioned28 February 1921[1]
MottoParva favilla gran fiamma seconda
FateScuttled on 9 September 1943
Empire of Japan
NameNarumi
NamesakeJapanese: 鳴海, lit. 'the roaring of the sea'
CommissionedOctober 1943
FateTransferred to the Republic of China Navy in 1945-46 as reparations
Republic of China
NameQian Kun
NamesakeChinese: 錢坤
Commissioned1 January 1947
FateCaptured or scuttled between 1947 and 1949
People's Republic of China
NameQian Kun
Commissioned1949
FateScrapped between 1958 and 1976
General characteristics
Class and typeriver gunboat
Displacement
  • 247 t (243 long tons)[2] standard
  • 318 t (313 long tons) full load
Length48.8 m (160 ft 1 in)
Beam7.5 m (24 ft 7 in)
Draught
  • 0.84–0.91 m (2.8–3.0 ft) (light)
  • 1–1.3 m (3.3–4.3 ft) (full load)
Installed power1,100 
hp
(810 kW)
Propulsion
  • 2 × Yarrow coal boilers (later oil fired)
  • 2 ×
    vertical triple expansion
    steam engines with 3 cylinders
  • 2 × shafts
Speed13.5–14 kn (15.5–16.1 mph; 25.0–25.9 km/h)
Range1,250 nmi (2,320 km; 1,440 mi) at 8–9 knots (15–17 km/h; 9.2–10.4 mph)
Complement4 officers, 56 non-commissioned officers and sailors [3]
Armament
Notesdata taken from Italiani a Shanghai, In guerra sul mare, Trentoincina, Navyworld, Materials of IJN, Ramius-Militaria, Oceania and Almanacco Storico Navale

Ermanno Carlotto was a

Navy of the People's Republic of China
as Qian Kun.

History

Service in the Regia Marina

Construction

In 1910, at the request of the

warships on station in the Far East: for years the protection of the Italian communities was entrusted to the French[6]).[4] Between March 1911 and November 1913 the gunboat Sebastiano Caboto was built in Italy, of a 1,000-ton displacement, which reached Shanghai in April 1914 after a four month trip.[5]

The second gunboat (designed in 1913

Gold Medal of Military Valour.[4][9]

The armaments of the gunboat would consist of two

Beretta M1917 pistols), Chinese civilians served on the boat as river pilots, cooks and interpreters.[6][8]

Laid down in March 1914 the ship should have been completed in December, but construction went slowly, as other constructions were prioritized given the imminent outbreak of a world war.

Han river, a tributary of the Yangtze River near Hankou, and then the Min river, also a tributary of the Yangtze.[4][5] During these patrols the gunboat officers for the first time produced detailed nautical charts of these rivers, noting down hydrographic information, flood cycles, currents, shallows and other information needed to navigate the rivers.[4][5]

Service in the 1920s and 1930s

In 1923 the gunboat Carlotto has successfully sailed upstream of the Yangtze for over 1,000 miles (never successfully attempted until then) under the command of

Alberto Da Zara (the only other two ship officers were the chief engineer, tenente (lieutenant) of the Corps of Naval Engineering Felice Fantin, and the doctor, sottotenente di vascello (sub-lieutenant) Neilson Gerardo Montgomerie[6]):[9] this voyage took the ship where no other unit had hitherto gone, reaching the altitude 200 m (656 ft) above than the starting one (which was at the sea level). The voyage was an idea of Da Zara, who had assumed command of the ship in September 1922 and held it until March 1924 after being promoted in 1923 to capitano di corvetta (corvette captain) (he had indeed requested the command of Carlotto for this express reason[15]).[6]

In mid-February 1923 the gunboat went up the Yangtze River to

Guizhoufu, which was located just over halfway between Yichang and Chongqing, the gorge of Yichang, Niu-Kan-Ma-Fei gorge, rapids, Mitan gorge, other rapids, Tiskwan-sai gorge, Wushan gorge, Jeng-ksiang gorge, a stream, Pa Ngnal gorge, the gorge of Hwang Tsao and gorge of Minc Huei [15]), irregular riverbed, rugged banks, numerous obstacles both in the center of the stream and on the sides, which generated opposing currents and eddies, making the stream to reach a speed of 9–13 mph (8–11 kn; 14–21 km/h).[9] After planning the navigation and embarking the elderly and experienced Chinese pilot Tai Li, Carlotto left Yichang on 11 June 1923.[6] After departing Yichang, more than a 1,000 miles from Shanghai, and meeting the first gorge, Carlotto had to face the first rapid (called Taipinkt[6]), in a stretch of river characterized by large and sharp rocks that stretched out towards the center of the bed, producing eddies and countercurrents.[9] In order to advance against the current, which flowed at 8 mph (7 kn; 13 km/h), Carlotto had to increase the speed to 13 kn (15 mph; 24 km/h).[9] After an hour of sailing the gunboat encountered the Kung-Ling rapid, which had previously wrecked other ships, including the German paddle steamer SS Sui Hsiang , which was headed for Chongqing to be the first German vessel to reach it and foundered on the rocks on 28 December 1900.[9][16]

After passing this rapid, on 12 June the ship encountered the Niu-Kan-Ma-Fei gorge, with rocky walls of more than a 1,000 m (3,281 ft) high that descended to the river bank and then the three-jump rapid of Hsing-T'an, made dangerous by the shallows and eddies that were created in both directions.

towed from the ground). Da Zara sent all the crew to their posts and told the engine room to keep ready to develop the maximum speed, then maneuvered to approach the right bank, trying to avoid ending up in the countercurrent (which would have run aground or capsized the ship):[6] the Italian gunboat, vibrating and rolling strongly due to the continuous eddies that formed at the bow and at the sides, and approaching continuously to keep to the edges of the counter-currents and in the center of the bed, overcame the rapid proceeding very slowly (at 2–3 kn (2–3 mph; 4–6 km/h), although the ship was pushing at the maximum speed of 13–14 kn (15–16 mph; 24–26 km/h)[15] and the wind called Shang Feng blew the stern against the waves that hit the bow), concluding the maneuver in 22 minutes.[6][9]

Later the ship faced the Dragon Rapid (which in winter caused an average of three deaths per day among the crews of the junks, but which in summer was more easily traversable)) and the rapid of Hu-T'an, particularly turbulent and flanked, to the right and left, by sharp rocks stretching towards the center of the watercourse, reducing its width to less than a 100 m (328 ft).[15] Carlotto continued in a stretch where other river ships had previously been lost, and, without encountering further difficulties (but sailing only during the day), reached Chongqing on 16 June 1923, 1,344 mi (2,163 km) from the mouth of the Yangtze and 200 m (656 ft) above the sea level, carrying the Italian flag in Chongqing for the first time.[6][9][11][15] The ship, however, continued and on 25 June arrived in Yibin, where the Upper Yangtze began, and she stopped there briefly for some repair work, after which she entered the river Min.[6] After another week of navigation, which had to be accomplished while sounding continuously the riverbed with bamboo canes, on 3 July 1923 Carlotto arrived in Jiading (according to other sources the journey, which began in Yichang on 11 June, ended in Jiading on 20 June [15]),[9] 3,400 km (2,113 mi) from the mouth of the Yangtze and 350 m (1,148 ft) above the sea level,[6] where she remained for two weeks.[15]

The descent of the river, which is also not without difficulties, made Carlotto pass through Nanjing, Hankou and finally Shanghai.

Minister of the Navy, praised the commander Da Zara, the officers and all crew, especially the engineers.[6] After staying in Shanghai for three months, Da Zara decided to take his leave by organizing a dance ("The Italian Ball") which was well attended by hundreds of Italians residing there.[15]

References

  1. ^ or 12 December 1921
  2. ^ a b According to other sources, 180 tonnes (180 long tons)
  3. ^ from other sources 43-44 men
  4. ^ a b c d e f g ANMI Taranto Archived 10 December 2010 at the Wayback Machine
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Achille Rastelli, Italiani a Shanghai. La Regia Marina in Estremo Oriente, pp. 32-33, 35 to 37, 42, 45 89, 92 to 96, 104 to 106, 108 to 110, 124, 126, 128, 131 to 133, 136 to 140, 142 to 147, 151-152, 155 to 167.
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t Sulla rapida del Bufalo Selvaggio
  7. ^ Other sources indicate up to 1.30 m (4.3 ft)
  8. ^ a b c d e f Trentoincina
  9. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Loanesi in China on the river gunboat Ermanno Carlotto 1921-1923 Archived 2021-11-03 at the Wayback Machine
  10. ^ a b Christmas 1936: in Nanjing on the Carlotto.
  11. ^ a b Combined Fleet - Gunboat Narumi.
  12. ^ Materials of IJN (Vessel - Gunboats Prize of the Pacific War) Archived 5 December 2017 at the Wayback Machine
  13. ^ [1] Archived 9 February 2021 at the Wayback Machine gives different dates: laid down in 1919, launched on 28 February 1921.
  14. ^ Almanacco Storico Navale Archived 5 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine
  15. ^ a b c d e f g h i j China in the Twenties: between worldliness and river cruises.
  16. ^ Across China on Foot
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