Defender-class torpedo boat

The colonial service Defender-class torpedo boats were designed by Thornycroft & Company for the defence of New Zealand, built at Chiswick in 1883 and shipped to New Zealand. They were quickly obsolete and were left to deteriorate in situ. The remains of Defender are preserved at the Lyttelton Torpedo Boat Museum.

Defender
Class overview
Builders: John I. Thornycroft & Company at Chiswick
Operators:  Royal Navy
Preceded by: Acheron-class torpedo boat
Succeeded by: HMVS Childers
Built: 1883
Building: 4
Scrapped: 4
General characteristics
Displacement: 12 tons
Length: 62 ft 10 in (19.15 m)
Beam: 7 ft 6 in (2.29 m)
Installed power: 173 hp (129 kW)
Propulsion:
Speed: 17.5 kn (32.4 km/h)
Complement: 7[1]
Armament:

Construction

Acquired for the external defence of New Zealand, at a cost of about £3,200 each, all four boats were built and engined by John I. Thornycroft & Company at Church Wharf, Chiswick on the River Thames.[1]

Armament

As built the class was armed with a single McEvoy spar torpedo, which was designed to be rammed into a vessel and explode beneath the waterline. A single 2-barrelled Nordenfelt gun comprised the total gun armament. The last pair had 18-inch Whitehead torpedoes fitted at build, and these were later retrofitted to Defender and Taiaroa.[1]

Transport to New Zealand

On 1 February 1884[1] the first pair were shipped aboard the sailing ship Lyttelton from London to Port Chalmers, New Zealand. The second pair followed on 3 May 1884.[1]

Operational lives

Torpedo Corps units of the Permanent Militia were formed to operate the boats at the four main ports of Lyttelton (Defender), Port Chalmers (Taiaroa), Devonport (Waitemata) and Wellington (Poneke),[2] each with its boatshed and slipway. The boats quickly became obsolete and by 1900 had largely been left to rot.

Ships
NameShip BuilderLaunchedFate
DefenderThornycroft & Company, Chiswick30 July 1883Abandoned at Purau Bay, Lyttelton Harbour and later preserved at the Lyttelton Torpedo Boat Museum
TaiaroaThornycroft & Company, Chiswick10 August 1883
WaitemataThornycroft & Company, Chiswick30 August 1883
PonekeThornycroft & Company, Chiswick31 August 1883

See also

References
  1. Winfield (2004) p.316
  2. "Torpedo Bay Time-Line at the RNZN Museum website". Retrieved 20 October 2010.

Sources
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