HMQS Mosquito

HMQS "Mosquito" was a torpedo boat operated by the Queensland Maritime Defence Force and the Commonwealth Naval Forces. She first entered service in the second half of the 1880s and was paid off in 1910.

History

Following the Jervois-Scratchley reports the colonial governments of Australia restructured their defence forces. One of the many outcomes of this report was the formation of the Queensland Maritime Defence Force. To equip the new force the colonial government initially purchased two gunboats and a torpedo boat.

HMQS "Mosquito" launched on 16 July 1884 and completed in 1885. With a hull of gavanised steel construction, she was designed for a speed of 21 knots, however was only able to achieve 17.21 knots during trials. "Mosquito" was then shipped out to Australia as deck cargo. "Mosquito" operated from the facilities at the bottom of the cliffs on the western side of Kangaroo Point on the Brisbane River. She was never commissioned but simply placed into service when required and therefore spent much of her time out of the water.

Transferred to the Commonwealth Naval Forces at Federation, "Mosquito" was employed as a training vessel until she was paid off in 1910. Subsequently her fittings and engines were removed before being abandoned somewhere on the Brisbane River.

Class note

This vessel appears to have been a standard design from the builder who in this case was Thornycroft of Cheswick. TB 1 of Tasmania as well as HMVShips Lonsdale and Nepean of Victoria, were built in 1883-1884 to very similar designs.

See also

*List of Queensland Maritime Defence Force ships
*Colonial navies of Australia - Queensland
*Queensland Maritime Defence Force
*List of Royal Australian Navy ships

Bibliography

*"Warships of Australia", Ross Gillett, Illustrations Colin Graham, Rigby Limited, 1977, ISBN 0-7270-0472-7