The Sebastiano Caboto 1917-122

[jerryasher]

I have a copy of the Storia Delle Campagne Oceaniche Della R. Marina Volume 4 1922-1937 but am looking to track the movements of the gunboat from 1917 to 1922 in China. Specifically when did the ship return to China from its stay in Japan. When did it resume patrols on the Yangzi. The British, Americans, Japanese and French all had gunboats operating on the Yangzi by mid October 1917. Many thanks in advance.

[LColombo]

According to "Italiani a Shanghai. La Regia Marina in Estremo Oriente" by Achille Rastelli, when Italy entered World War I the Chinese authorities (as China was neutral) wanted to intern Caboto, but the crew ignored their injunctions, cut her moorings and the ship slipped out of port and made for Nagasaki. She remained there for 18 months, until December 1917, when - having China joined the war on the side of the Entente - she went back to patrolling rivers in China.

From January to March 1923 Caboto was in Hong Kong.

[jerryasher]

Thank you. So she returns to China in December 1917. Page 4 of the book I mentioned takes up in January 1923 with a more detailed chronology. Again, many thanks.

[dorbel]

Hi Jerry,
From RN logbooks as published at naval-history.net I can provide you with a lot of mentions of sightings of Sebastiano Caboto if you are still interested. Let me know!
Paul