HMQS Midge
{{Use Australian English|date=March 2018}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2018}}
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{{Infobox ship image |Ship image=StateLibQld 1 164819 Midge (ship).jpg |Ship caption=HMQS Midge }} {{Infobox ship career |Hide header= |Ship country=Queensland and Australia |Ship flag=File:Naval_Ensign_of_the_United_Kingdom.svg Image:Flag of Queensland.svg |Ship name=Midge |Ship namesake= |Ship owner= |Ship operator= |Ship registry= |Ship route= |Ship ordered= |Ship awarded= |Ship builder=J. Samuel White, Cowes{{sfn|Winfield|Lyon|2004|p=317}} |Ship original cost= |Ship yard number=744{{sfn|Winfield|Lyon|2004|p=317}} |Ship way number= |Ship laid down=October 1887{{sfn|Winfield|Lyon|2004|p=317}} |Ship launched= |Ship sponsor= |Ship christened= |Ship completed= |Ship acquired= |Ship commissioned= |Ship recommissioned= |Ship decommissioned= |Ship maiden voyage= |Ship in service=1887 |Ship out of service=1912 |Ship renamed= |Ship reclassified= |Ship refit= |Ship struck= |Ship reinstated= |Ship homeport=Brisbane, Queensland |Ship identification= |Ship motto= |Ship nickname= |Ship honours= |Ship honors= |Ship captured= |Ship fate=Sold as private pleasure craft in 1912 |Ship notes= |Ship badge= }} {{Infobox ship characteristics |Hide header= |Header caption= |Ship class= |Ship type= |Ship tonnage= |Ship displacement=12 tons{{sfn|Winfield|Lyon|2004|p=317}} |Ship tons burthen= |Ship length={{convert|56|ft|4|in|m|abbr=on}}{{sfn|Winfield|Lyon|2004|p=317}} |Ship beam={{convert|9|ft|3|in|m|abbr=on}}{{sfn|Winfield|Lyon|2004|p=317}} |Ship height= |Ship draught={{convert|4|ft|7|in|m|abbr=on}}{{sfn|Winfield|Lyon|2004|p=317}} |Ship draft= |Ship depth= |Ship hold depth= |Ship decks= |Ship deck clearance= |Ship ramps= |Ship ice class= |Ship power= |Ship propulsion= |Ship sail plan= |Ship speed= |Ship range= |Ship endurance= |Ship test depth= |Ship boats= |Ship capacity= |Ship troops= |Ship complement=7 |Ship crew= |Ship time to activate= |Ship sensors= |Ship EW= |Ship armament=1 × QF 3-pounder Hotchkiss, 2 × 1-inch Nordenfelt gun, originally one spar torpedo and later 2 sets of dropping gear for 14 inch torpedoes |Ship armour= |Ship armor= |Ship aircraft= |Ship aircraft facilities= |Ship notes= }} |
HMQS Midge was a torpedo launch that served with the Queensland Maritime Defence Force, the Commonwealth Naval Forces and the Royal Australian Navy. After entering service in 1887, Midge served as "picquet boat" along the Brisbane River until Federation in 1901, when she was transferred to the Commonwealth. After this, she served as a training boat until 1912 when she was decommissioned.
Construction and design
Following the formation of the Queensland Maritime Defence Force the colonial government decided to supplement the recently acquired vessels with a small torpedo launch. HMQS Midge was specifically built in England by J. Samuel White, Cowes, for this purpose and shipped out to Australia in 1887. She was of wooden construction using a combination of teak and mahogany, and cost 5,000 pounds sterling.{{sfn|Gillett|1977|pp=105 & 111}} Displacing 12 tons, she was {{convert|56|ft|4|in|m|abbr=on}} long, had a {{convert|9|ft|3|in|m|abbr=on}} beam and a draught of {{convert|4|ft|7|in|m|abbr=on}}.{{sfn|Winfield|Lyon|2004|p=317}} The ship was armed with one 3-pounder gun and two machine guns. Originally she carried one spar torpedo and later had two sets of dropping gear for 14 inch torpedoes.{{sfn|Gillett|1977|p=111}}
Service history
Like HMQS Mosquito, she was never commissioned but simply placed into service when required and therefore was usually moored at the Naval Stores Depot at Kangaroo Point on the Brisbane River.{{sfn|Gillett|1977|p=111}} She served as a "picquet boat" until Federation in 1901 when she was transferred to the Commonwealth and served as a training ship. Midge was still on strength in 1911 when the Royal Australian Navy was formed but she was stripped and paid off the next year. Midge{{'}}s engines were found to be in such good condition that they went on to be used for many years at the Royal Australian Navy's engineering school. The hull was sold as a private yacht in 1912, and was renamed Nola II.{{sfn|Winfield|Lyon|2004|p=317}}
See also
References
{{reflist}}
Bibliography
- {{cite book |title=Warships of Australia |last=Gillett |first=Ross |year=1977 |publisher=Rigby |location=Adelaide |isbn=0-7270-0472-7 }}
- {{cite book |last1=Winfield |first1=Rif |last2=Lyon |first2=David |year=2004 |title=The Sail and Steam Navy List: All the Ships of the Royal Navy 1815–1889 |location=London |publisher=Chatham Publishing |isbn=978-1-86176-032-6 }}
{{Colonial service torpedo boats}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Midge}}
Category:Torpedo boats of the Queensland Maritime Defence Force