HMS Locust was the only member of the Dragonfly group to survive the Second World War. She entered service in May 1940 and took part in operations off Dunkirk, placing another newly completed river gunboat into an emergency seagoing role. A later refit replaced the 3.7-inch howitzer with a quadruple 2-pounder pom-pom and added three 20 mm guns plus twenty depth charges. Those changes show a shallow-draft presence vessel being adapted for air defence and anti-submarine work that the original Far East design had not emphasized. Locust's survival provides a sharp contrast with Mosquito at Dunkirk and the three sisters later lost during the collapse in Southeast Asia.
Notable Point · 39:38-40:17
HMS Locust's Dunkirk service, refit, and survival
The only Dragonfly-class survivor entered service during Dunkirk and later traded the class howitzer for stronger anti-aircraft and anti-submarine equipment.