1920s USS William B. Preston (DD-344)

in 1926, civil strife broke out in china can loosely characterized struggle between north , south control of country. south, nationalist kuomintang party moved north base @ canton extend controls on warlord-dominated areas. led chiang kai-shek, nationalists had reached nanking march 1927.

william b. preston arrived in port on yangtze river on 21 march , dropped anchor off city, joining sister ship noa. under orders evacuate americans, destroyers took on 175 refugees - 102 on noa , 73 on william b. preston.

gunfire, coming closer city, alerted american destroyermen danger posed approaching cantonese. northern chinese troops meanwhile melted away city supposed defend, leaving many foreigners endangered in defenseless city. armed guard noa stood on shore while signal parties william b. preston , noa transmitted information tense conditions in nanking ships anchored in muddy river.

when situation had worsened point of no return, noa commenced firing 4-inch guns; william b. preston joined in main battery and, in 10-minute barrage, fired 22 rounds of 4-inch projectiles scare off invading soldiers. sailors on both american ships provided fire bolt-action springfield rifles , drum-fed lewis guns. british cruiser hms emerald , destroyer hms wolsey added din guns; , chinese, faced anglo-american barrage, withdrew.

four days later, situation quieter in nanking, william b. preston prepared leave area in company refugee-laden ss kungwo on 25 march. snipers, firing concealed positions ashore, sent destroyer s anchor detail scurrying cover; , ricocheting bullets whined pre-dawn darkness. firing lewis gun on destroyer caused sniper cease fire. ship, civilians on board, underway heading downriver.

three hours later, while proceeding between silver island , hsing shan fort, small arms fire again crackled shore, first directed @ fungwo , next @ william b. preston. bluejackets on destroyer promptly broke out lewis guns , springfields reply, situation worsened when 3-inch gun @ fort opened fire on ships.

one shell splashed muddy river ahead of destroyer; fell in ship s wake; , third passed through fire control platform. destroyer s number 1 4-inch gun trained around , fired 3 salvos in reply which, in addition small arms , machine gun fire warship, caused firing shore silenced.

william b. preston , charges joined british gunboat cricket , ss wen-chow 52 miles below chinkiang. snipers once again harassed anglo-american flotilla, machine-gun fire cricket forced chinese withdraw.

after turning kungwo on british gunboat, william b. preston returned nanking unhampered further sniping. on 27 march, 70 more refugees embarked, ship cleared nanking , headed downriver. lt. cmdr. g. b. ashe, ship s commanding officer, recalled chinese had emplaced field-piece @ key river bend and, accordingly, ordered general quarters in advance.

cleared action guns trained out , stars , stripes flying, william b. preston rounded bend, ready showdown. chinese, however, allowed ship pass without firing.

receiving yangtze service medal these actions against snipers while convoying american nationals out of troubled areas, william b. preston returned routine cruising thereafter. in united states 1929, homeported @ san diego, , assigned battle force.