HMS St Aubin was a Saint-class tug launched in 1918.

History
United Kingdom
NameHMS St Aubin
Ordered18 April 1918[1]
BuilderHarland and Wolff, Govan
Laid down1918
Launched27 June 1918
CommissionedFebruary 1940
Decommissioned1943
RenamedTsze-Hong (1947)
FateSunk on 9 November 1950
General characteristics
Class and typeSaint-class tug
Tonnage468 gross register tons (GRT)
Displacement820 long tons (830 t)
Length135 ft 5 in (41.28 m)]
Beam29 ft 6 in (8.99 m)
Draught13 ft 6 in (4.11 m)
Installed power
Propulsion
Speed12 knots (22 km/h; 14 mph)
Complement37[2]
Armament

It was owned by the Admiralty until 12 April 1924, when it was sold to Shanghai Tug and Lighter Limited.[3] On 8 March 1935, she was involved in a collision with SS Kiang Shun and was sunk in the Huangpu River. The sunken ship was not considered a significant threat to navigation, and was only raised more than six months later, on 25 September. On 4 July 1936, she was once again sunk in a collision with the naval cadet ship Ping An and SS Eugenia Chandris, and had to be raised.[4]

In February 1940, the ship was requisitioned as a minesweeper[3] and served under the Hong Kong Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve, where she was commanded by Lieutenant-Commander Peter Dulley.[5][6] From 1943, the ship was laid up, until 1946 when she was returned to her owner. In November 1946, she was transferred to Yee Kee Tug & Lighter Co., and in 1947 she was renamed Tsze-Hong. In 1948, she was once again transferred to Chinese Maritime Trust Ltd. She was sunk off Taiwan on 9 November 1950.[3][7]

References

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  1. ^ "32. Miscellaneous patrol vessels". naval-history.net. 2015. Archived from the original on 18 February 2020. Retrieved 25 January 2021.
  2. ^ a b Banham, Tony (2003). Not the Slightest Chance: The Defence of Hong Kong, 1941. UBC Press. p. 325. ISBN 978-0-7748-1045-6.
  3. ^ a b c "ST AUBIN". Caledonian Maritime Research Trust. Archived from the original on 25 January 2021. Retrieved 25 January 2021.
  4. ^ "CLEARING THE WAY TO SALVAGE TUG; St. Aubin Bound To Have Been Badly Gashed; RAISING TO BE DONE SPEEDILY". Hong Kong Daily Press. Hong Kong. 11 July 1936. p. 12.
  5. ^ The Navy List Containing List of Ships, Establishments, and Officers of the Fleet. H.M. Government. 1941. p. 1009. Retrieved 25 January 2021.
  6. ^ "Royal Navy & Royal Air force". Hong Kong War Diary. Archived from the original on 17 February 2020. Retrieved 25 January 2021.
  7. ^ "HMS St Aubin". Harland and Wolff. Archived from the original on 9 July 2018. Retrieved 25 January 2021.