HMS Folkestone backs Birmingham at Tsingtao

In January 1939, HMS Birmingham entered Tsingtao to recover the detained merchant ship SS Vincent de Paul while three Japanese heavy cruisers were present. HMS Folkestone, armed with a single four-inch gun, screened the merchant ship from ahead while Birmingham covered the rear. Birmingham trained her guns on the cruisers and their shore headquarters, and Folkestone also brought her gun around. No one fired, and Folkestone's exact target remains uncertain. The sloop could not match a heavy cruiser, but her position added tactical coverage and made British commitment visible.