Mosquito entered service in April 1940 with a quadruple 2-pounder pom-pom in place of the class's howitzer because she was expected to work close inshore in European waters. During the Dunkirk evacuation she embarked French and Belgian troops, then moved to assist the reported sinking of Scotia. A massed Ju 87 attack scored a direct hit and near miss, flooding machinery spaces, jamming the rudder, and forcing the ship's abandonment. Acting Leading Seaman Ronald Farwell kept the surviving pom-pom barrel firing despite severe wounds, while Able Seaman Cal Hirschfeld brought an aft machine gun into action alone after its crew was wounded. The loss demonstrates how little speed, stability, and high-angle fire a 17-knot river gunboat could bring against determined dive bombing at sea.
Notable Point · 36:54-39:38
HMS Mosquito under air attack at Dunkirk
HMS Mosquito's brief service shows both an improvised anti-aircraft upgrade and the extreme vulnerability of a slow river gunboat during the Dunkirk evacuation.