A history limited to vessels formally called gunboats understates the Royal Navy's river presence. Sloops could perform the same role and enter river systems from overseas stations. The label spans the Age of Sail as well as the 1920s and 1930s, so this was not confined to one technical generation of ship. British stations in South America, Africa, and Asia therefore reveal a much wider operational map than a class-name search alone.
Notable Point · 46:44-47:37
Why Royal Navy sloops belong in river-gunboat history
Counting ships by function rather than formal class reveals how often Royal Navy sloops provided gunboat presence on rivers around the world.