USS Panay incident
The Yangtze River flowed past Nanjing in the early weeks of December 1937, carrying a heavy burden of war. Japanese forces had invaded China during the summer and fought their way to this city by November. The Panay served as part of the US Navy's Yangtze Patrol, an operation established after the Second Opium War. This flat-bottomed craft was built in Shanghai specifically for river duty. It patrolled the waterway to protect American lives and property in China. Since November, the vessel evacuated U.S. citizens from the battle zone around Nanjing. On the 11th of December, it brought aboard five officers, 54 enlisted men, four embassy staff, and ten civilians. Among these passengers were Universal Newsreel cameraman Norman Alley and Fox Movietone News cameraman Eric Mayell. They carried film that would later capture the attack. The ship also escorted three Standard Oil tankers named Mei Ping, Mei An, and Mei Hsia. These vessels held some 800 Chinese employees of Standard Vacuum Oil and their families.
On the morning of the 12th, Japanese air forces stationed near Nanjing received intelligence about fleeing Chinese forces. Lieutenant Okumiya Masatake and Lieutenant Shigeharu Murata led naval aircraft from Changzhou. At 2 pm, the Panay came under fire while anchored 28 miles upstream from Nanjing. Three Yokosuka B4Y Type-96 bombers dropped eighteen bombs from high altitude. Two struck the vessel, splitting its foremast and disabling a forward gun. Nine Nakajima A4N Type-95 fighters then strafed the ship at low altitude. Shrapnel damaged the hull and injured crew on deck. Storekeeper First Class Charles Lee Ensminger died during the initial assault. Coxswain Edgar C. Hulsebus succumbed to his wounds later that night. At 3:54 pm, the Panay sank into the river. Survivors waded through knee-deep mud in a swamp to escape further machine-gun fire. They carried those too badly wounded to walk toward a nearby village. The three Standard Oil tankers were also bombed and destroyed. Captain Carl H. Carlson of Mei An was killed along with many Chinese civilian passengers.
American ambassador Joseph C. Grew watched events unfold with deep anxiety. His foreign service experience spanned over 30 years. He remembered the U.S. Navy ship Maine that blew up in Havana Harbor in 1898. That explosion had propelled the United States into the Spanish-American War. Vice Admiral Rokuzo Sugiyama, Chief of Staff of Japanese naval forces in northern China, was assigned to make an apology. The formal message reached Washington D.C. on Christmas Eve. Tokyo officially apologized but maintained the attack was unintentional. A US Navy court of inquiry determined several American flags were clearly visible on the vessel during the attacks. On the 22nd of April 1938, the Japanese government paid an indemnity of $2,214,007.36 to the United States. This settlement officially closed the Panay incident. Secretary of State Cordell Hull stated neither the American Government nor any agency should receive sums of money thus offered. Newspapers called the matter closed despite mixed public reaction in the U.S.
Newsreel footage captured by cameramen aboard the Panay showed Japanese aircraft passing so close to the ship that pilots' faces were visible. American historian Richard B. Frank described this as potent evidence against mistaken identity claims. Per Roosevelt's request, Universal Pictures edited the sequence out of its newsreels to quell a political crisis. Navy cryptographers intercepted and decrypted traffic relating to the attacking planes. John Prados noted this information indicated they were under orders during the attack. It had not been a mistake of any kind. This intelligence remained unreleased because it would have revealed that the United States had broken Japanese naval codes. Colonel Kingoro Hashimoto founded a right-wing secret society in Japan. He deliberately ordered artillery attacks on the sinking Panay and British ships near Nanjing. When informed that certain ships clearly flew the British flag, Hashimoto responded I do not recognize any flag but my own. He issued orders to his troops to fire on all ships on the Yangtze regardless of nationality.
Following the incident, Japanese individuals and organizations sent letters of apology and gifts of money to U.S. diplomatic offices. Schoolchildren penned personal notes while organized pools of donors contributed funds. The America-Japan Society headed by Prince Tokugawa Iesato amassed ¥16,242.56 from 7,749 people and 218 organizations. Several American consulates received money including those at Nagasaki, Kobe, Nagasaki, Osaka, Taipei, Keijo, Dairen, and São Paulo. Arthur F. Tower, the American consul in Nagasaki, informed Ambassador Grew about newspaper stories published on the 7th of January. These articles included excerpts from letters attached to schoolboy donations. A final solution involved creating the Japan-America Trust in the name of survivors and relatives of those who lost their lives. The trust would care for graves of American sailors buried in Japan dating back to Perry Expedition sailors in 1853. This formation allowed the State Department to avoid returning donations or distributing them directly to government entities.
Service members aboard the Panay received the Navy Expeditionary Medal and China Service Medal. Fireman First Class John L. Hodge and Lieutenant Clark G. Grazier were presented with the Navy Cross for bravery displayed during the sinking. Two British naval officers also received honors for their assistance in recovering survivors. Vice Admiral Lewis Eyre Crabbe and Lieut. Commander Harry Barlow earned recognition for their actions. They helped transport wounded men from the riverbank to safety. Fourteen days after the attack, sixteen wounded individuals moved to the safety of several British and American ships. Survivors coped with near freezing nights wearing inadequate clothing along with no food. It took three days to move these patients to secure locations. The last survivor of the incident, Fon Huffman, died in 2008. The last surviving Japanese pilot Kaname Harada passed away in 2016.
Philip K. Dick cited the episode in his novel The Man in the High Castle. A collectible picture-card from the 1940s depicted the event under the title Horrors of War. Douglas Galbraith described the incident in his 2005 novel A Winter in China. Newt Gingrich and William R. Forstchen included it in their historical fiction work Pearl Harbor. The 2009 film John Rabe portrayed a fictionalized version of the attack. Modern historians believe the attack may have been intentional rather than accidental chaos. Nick Sparks suggests renegade factions within the Japanese army wanted to force U.S. into active conflict. These groups aimed to drive the United States out of China once and for all. The Panay was not the only Western vessel attacked on the Yangtze during the Battle of Nanking. Japanese pilots responsible for the Panay attack also bombed the British ship SS Wantung later that same afternoon. Colonel Kingoro Hashimoto had targeted multiple vessels including SS Scarab and HMS Cricket before the sinking.
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Common questions
What happened to the USS Panay on the 12th of December 1937?
Japanese air forces attacked and sank the USS Panay at 3:54 pm while it was anchored 28 miles upstream from Nanjing. Three bombers dropped eighteen bombs that struck the vessel, followed by fighter strafing that killed two crew members.
Who ordered the attack on the USS Panay during the Battle of Nanking?
Colonel Kingoro Hashimoto deliberately ordered artillery attacks on the sinking ship and other vessels regardless of their nationality. Intelligence indicated attacking planes were under specific orders rather than acting on a mistake of any kind.
When did the Japanese government pay an indemnity for the USS Panay incident?
The Japanese government paid an indemnity of $2,214,007.36 to the United States on the 22nd of April 1938. This settlement officially closed the Panay incident following a formal apology delivered on Christmas Eve.
How many people died during the attack on the USS Panay in 1937?
Storekeeper First Class Charles Lee Ensminger died during the initial assault and Coxswain Edgar C. Hulsebus succumbed to his wounds later that night. The three Standard Oil tankers also suffered casualties including Captain Carl H. Carlson of Mei An.
What evidence exists regarding whether the USS Panay attack was intentional or accidental?
Navy cryptographers decrypted traffic indicating attacking planes were under orders and American flags were clearly visible on the vessel. Modern historians believe renegade factions within the Japanese army wanted to force U.S. involvement in active conflict.