HMS CRICKET

HMS Cricket was a Royal Navy Insect class gunboat. She was built by Barclay Curle and launched on 17 December 1915. During the First World War, Cricket took part in the Mesopotamian Campaign as part of the gunboat squadron operating on the Euphrates and Tigris rivers. During the Russian Civil War, Cricket served as part of the British intervention forces fighting in support of White Russian forces on the Dvina River during 1919-1920.

During the Second World War, Cricket was at China until 1940 then transferred to the Mediterranean Fleet’s Inshore Squadron. She was mined in 1942 off Mersa Matruh, Egypt. She was declared a constructive total loss on 30 June 1942 and broken up for spares at Alexandria, Egypt in 1942. Her hull was towed to Cyprus and used as a target for Royal Air Force training. The hull is currently an attraction for scuba divers at a depth of 27m.