- Navy:
- Naval Patrol Corps, 1939-40
- Name:
- 水巡隊=Shui Xundui
- Career:
In the Yangtze valley the Japanese Army of Central China established the Reformed Government of China on March 28, 1938, with its capital in Nanjing. In the autumn of 1938 the new government began to recruit personnel to create a naval unit for policing the waters of the Yangtze and coastal areas under their control.
In June 1939 this force was formally established as the Naval Patrol Corps, under the command of Admiral Xu Jianting. It had bases in Nanjing, Jiangyin and Minhang, manned by three small battalions. In December 1939 the Japanese handed over two patrol boats (Haisui, Haijing) and two launches captured from the Chinese Navy and repaired. The Naval Patrol Corps raised a force of 2000 men, who were trained and equipped by the Japanese Navy. In April 1940 it joined the collaborationist Navy of the Wang Jingwei government.
