Built by Ailsa Shipbuilding, HMS Aphis served on the Danube in 1917 before spending much of her career on the China Station. Her Second World War battle honours covered the Mediterranean from Libya and Sicily to the Adriatic and southern France. That record shows how a specialist river craft could be reassigned to coastal bombardment and inshore support far from its original theatre. The hull's usefulness lasted across two wars because sheltered-water duties still matched its shallow draft and heavy guns.
Notable Point · 19:24-20:03
HMS Aphis from the Danube to Mediterranean fire support
HMS Aphis carried a First World War river-gunboat design from the Danube and China Station into Second World War fire support across the Mediterranean.