HMVS Nepean
HMVS Nepean was a second-class torpedo boat constructed for the Victorian Naval Forces and later operated by the Commonwealth Naval Forces and the Royal Australian Navy. She was sunk on mud flats on Swan Island in Port Phillip Bay in 1912 after being stripped of equipment and machinery.[1]
Sister ship HMVS Lonsdale | |
History | |
---|---|
Name: | HMVS Nepean |
Operator: | Victorian Naval Forces |
Builder: | John I. Thornycroft & Company, Chiswick |
Name: | HMAS Nepean |
Acquired: | 1901 |
Out of service: | 1912 |
Fate: | Sunk on mud flats at Swan Island in 1912 after being stripped of machinery and equipment.[1] |
General characteristics | |
Type: | Second-class torpedo boat |
Tonnage: | 12.5 tons |
Length: | 67 ft (20 m) |
Draught: | 3.25 ft (0.99 m) |
Speed: | 17 knots (31 km/h; 20 mph) (max) |
Armament: |
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Design and construction
Nepean was one of several torpedo boats ordered by the government of Victoria in 1882 to protect the colony from a possible Russian or French attack, and was built by John I. Thornycroft & Company, Chiswick.[2][3]
Nepean was 67 feet (20 m) long, with a draught of 3.25 feet (0.99 m), and a displacement of 12.5 tons.[4] She was designed with a low freeboard, to minimise her profile.[3] The boat had a maximum speed of 17 knots (31 km/h; 20 mph), which she would use to close rapidly with enemy vessels before attacking.[4][3]
Operational history
Fate
She was sunk on mud flats on Swan Island in Port Phillip Bay in 1912 after being stripped of equipment and machinery.[1]
References
- "Sinking Torpedo Boats". The Argus (Melbourne, Victoria), Thursday 20 June 1912 p.10. Retrieved 30 March 2011.
- Cahill, Denis. "H.M.V.S. Lonsdale 1882 - 1914".
- Queenscliff Maritime Museum - Special Historic Items
- HMVS Lonsdale & HMVS Nepean