HMS Grasshopper
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HMS Grasshopper, was the name given to several boats, stations and ships of the Royal Navy.
- Launched in 1806, the first Grasshopper was a 16-gun brig of 383 tons captured in heavy weather off the Dutch island of Texel. On Christmas Day 1811 she was in convoy with the Hero and a transport Archimedes. Due to a navigation error, the two ships were wrecked, but the Grasshopper floated over a sandbar and was trapped. She surrendered the next day. Taken into Dutch service, she was renamed the Irene and saw active service in the Dutch East Indies. She was taken out of service in 1822.
- The next Grasshopper was a gunboat of the Insect Class. She was of the second set of Insects built in 1938. Designed for river patrols in China, the Grasshopper had a flat bottom, displacement of 585 tons and a crew of seventy-five. She was assigned to the British flotilla at Shanghai. The gunboats were withdrawn from the Chinese rivers as tensions in the region increased. She was sunk by Japanese forces south of Singapore on 14 February, 1942 with heavy loss of life.
- Later in World War II the name HMS Grasshopper was used for the Royal Navy base at Weymouth.
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