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
Colony of Victoria
Name: HMVS Nepean
Operator: Victorian Naval Forces
Builder: John I. Thornycroft & Company, Chiswick
Australia
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:

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]

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
  1. "Sinking Torpedo Boats". The Argus (Melbourne, Victoria), Thursday 20 June 1912 p.10. Retrieved 30 March 2011.
  2. Cahill, Denis. "H.M.V.S. Lonsdale 1882 - 1914".
  3. Queenscliff Maritime Museum - Special Historic Items
  4. HMVS Lonsdale & HMVS Nepean
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