Gunboat - Houkan (English spelling) Gunboat

Japanese: 砲艦 - ほうかん（英語表記）gunboat

A relatively small, slow warship used for patrolling coasts, harbors, and rivers. Recently, there have been high-speed gunboats equipped with missiles. Coastal gunboats with some seaworthiness were 1,000 to 2,000 tons, while river gunboats were around 200 to 500 tons. Some were called torpedo gunboats and were equipped with torpedoes. Gunboats were most active in China before World War II, and gunboats from the UK, USA, Japan, France, Italy, and other countries were present all over the coast and navigable waters. The Japanese "Hashidate" had a displacement of 1,000 tons, a speed of 19.5 kn, and was equipped with 12 cm anti-aircraft guns3. It was used both in coastal and riverine waters, and had a flagship facility for headquarters. "Fushimi" was a riverine gunboat with a displacement of 300 tons and a speed of 17 kn, and could navigate the steep Three Gorges in the upper reaches of the Yangtze River during low water periods. River gunboats were characterized by their shallow draft (generally less than 1.5m) and armed with 8 cm anti-aircraft guns or howitzers and machine guns (for both air and horizontal use). The river gunboats used by the United States and South Vietnam in the Vietnam War were less than 100 tons, with some smaller boats weighing less than 10 tons. They were equipped with 85-105 mm howitzers, mortars, and machine guns, and had speeds of less than 20 kn for the fastest boats and less than 10 kn for the slowest. They were primarily used on the Mekong River.

Source: Encyclopaedia Britannica Concise Encyclopedia About Encyclopaedia Britannica Concise Encyclopedia Information

Japanese:

沿岸，港湾，河川などの警備用の比較的小型，低速の軍艦。最近はミサイル装備の高速砲艇もある。若干の航洋性をもつ沿岸用は，1000～2000t，河用砲艦は 200～500t程度であった。なかには水雷砲艦と称して魚雷を装備するものもあった。砲艦が最も活躍したのは第2次世界大戦以前の中国で，沿岸および可航水域のあらゆる場所にイギリス，アメリカ，日本，フランス，イタリアなどの砲艦が存在していた。日本の『橋立』は排水量 1000t，速力 19.5kn，12cm高角砲3を装備し，沿岸，河川両用で，司令部用の旗艦施設をもっていた。『伏見』は排水量 300t，速力 17knの河用砲艦で，揚子江上流の三峡の嶮の減水期に航行可能であった。河用砲艦の特徴は浅喫水 (おおむね 1.5m以下) で，8cm程度の高角砲，あるいは陸上射撃用の曲射榴弾砲および機銃 (対空水平両用) で武装していた。ベトナム戦争でアメリカ，南ベトナム側の使用した河用砲艇は，100t以下で，なかには 10t以下の小艇もあり，85～105mm程度の榴弾砲や迫撃砲および機銃を装備し，速力は高速のもので 20kn以下，低速のものは 10kn以下で主としてメコン川で就役した。

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