The Panay Incident 1937

The American gunboat USS Panay, which patrolled the Yangtze River near Nanking (Nanjing), China, was used as a bomb shelter for foreign embassy staff during the Japanese bombing of the area. On December 12, 1937, Japanese warplanes suddenly and without provocation dive-bombed repeatedly the Panay and a British gunboat, both of which were moored in the river; the American vessel was sunk, and the British one severely damaged. The US public was outraged by this attack, which caused two deaths and 48 casualties. Claiming its pilots had not seen the US flags painted on the Panay's decks and sides, Japan apologized and paid the indemnity demanded by the United States.

References

Dictionary of Wars, 352.

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