HMQS Mosquito facts for kids

Mosquito in 1901
Quick facts for kids History
Queensland and Australia
Builder	Thornycroft of Chiswick
Launched	16 July 1884
In service	1885
Out of service	1910
Homeport	Brisbane, Queensland
Fate	Scrapped
General characteristics
Displacement	12 tons
Length	63 ft (19 m)
Beam	7 ft 6 in (2.29 m)
Speed	17 knots (31 km/h; 20 mph)
Complement	7
Armament	2 sets of dropping gear for 14-inch torpedoes.

HMQS Mosquito was a small, fast ship called a torpedo boat. She was part of Australia's early navy, first with the Queensland Maritime Defence Force. Later, she joined the Commonwealth Naval Forces after Australia became a united country. Mosquito served from 1885 and was used for training sailors. She stopped being used in 1910.

Building the Mosquito

Several ships on the Brisbane River in 1889. Mosquito is near the bottom edge of the image

In the late 1800s, the different parts of Australia (called colonies) decided to make their defence forces stronger. This led to the creation of the Queensland Maritime Defence Force. To start this new force, they bought two gunboats and one torpedo boat, which was the Mosquito.

The Mosquito was built by a company called Thornycroft in Chiswick, England. She was launched on July 16, 1884, and finished in 1885. The ship had a strong hull made of galvanised steel. She was designed to go very fast, up to 21 knots (about 39 kilometres per hour). However, during tests, she could only reach about 17 knots (31.5 km/h).

Ship's Design and Features

The Mosquito was built using a common design for torpedo boats at the time. Other ships like TB 191 in Tasmania and the Defender-class boats in New Zealand were exactly the same. Two ships in Victoria, Lonsdale and Nepean, were also similar but had fixed torpedo tubes.

Mosquito was 12 tons in weight and about 63 feet (19 metres) long. Her width was about 7.5 feet (2.3 metres). She needed a crew of seven people to operate. For weapons, she had two special devices to launch 14-inch torpedoes. Building the Mosquito cost 3,500 pounds sterling, which was a lot of money back then.

Mosquito's Service Life

After she was built, the Mosquito was transported to Australia on a large ship. She was kept at a special base built at Kangaroo Point, along the Brisbane River. The Mosquito was not officially "commissioned" like bigger warships. Instead, she was put into service only when needed. This was because she didn't have any sleeping areas for her crew. So, she often spent her time out of the water.

Later Years and Discovery

In 1901, the different Australian colonies joined together to form the Commonwealth of Australia. The Mosquito was then transferred to the new Commonwealth Naval Forces. She was used as a training ship, helping new sailors learn about naval operations.

In 1910, the Mosquito was taken out of service. Her engines and other important parts were removed. The empty hull was left in Boggy Creek, near Pinkenba. Parts of her hull were found again in January 1966. In 2009, experts studied the remains of the ship. The back part of her hull, called the stern casemate, was saved and is now kept at the Queensland Museum.

See also

• List of Queensland Maritime Defence Force ships
• Colonial navies of Australia – Queensland