history · 21 October 1938 · 86 years ago
Before dawn, HMS Birmingham sailed along the coast of Gulangyu island, an international zone, near Xiamen, China. At 0800 hours, she sailed into Xiamen harbor between four columns of Japanese war ships by surprise; Birmingham's crew was able to take photographs of classified Japanese naval equipment such as fire controls and radar antennae before the Japanese crew was able to cover them up. At 1100 hours, Birmingham set sail for Hong Kong.
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