By: HISTORY.com Editors

1937

USS Panay sunk by Japanese

Published: February 09, 2010

Last Updated: May 27, 2025

During the battle for Nanking in the Sino-Japanese War, the U.S. gunboat by Japanese warplanes in Chinese waters. The American vessel, neutral in the Chinese-Japanese conflict, was escorting U.S. evacuees and three Standard Oil barges away from Nanking, the war-torn Chinese capital on the Yangtze River. After the Panay was sunk, the Japanese fighters machine-gunned lifeboats and survivors huddling on the shore of the Yangtze. Two U.S. sailors and a civilian passenger were killed and 11 personnel seriously wounded, setting off a major crisis in U.S.-Japanese relations.

Although the Panay‘s position had been reported to the Japanese as required, the neutral vessel was clearly marked, and the day was sunny and clear, the Japanese maintained that the attack was unintentional, and they agreed to pay $2 million in reparations. Two neutral British vessels were also attacked by the Japanese in the final days of the battle for Nanking.

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Citation Information

Article title
USS Panay sunk by Japanese
Website Name
History
Date Accessed
August 07, 2025
Publisher
A&E Television Networks
Last Updated
May 27, 2025
Original Published Date
February 09, 2010

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