- Yes - In the Tech Tree.
- Yes - Event/BP.
- Yes - Premium.
- No - I would not like to see the Bonito-class in game.
HMQS Bonito at South Brisbane, 1896
Description:
With the recent creation of the Queensland Maritime Defence force (QMDF), the naval arm of the independent Australian State of Queensland pre Australian federation, and its acquisition of a fleet, complete with two ‘Flat-Iron’ gunboats and a torpedo boat, the Queenslandic government realised that with the sheer number of ports further vessels were required. For this role a five strong class of boats under construction for the Queensland Department of Harbours and Rivers were taken over by the QMDF and refitted.
As with other vessels in service with the QMDF, these boats would hold the prefix HMQS, His/Her Majesty’s Queenslandic Ship. They would also occasionally be referred to as HMCS, His/Her Majesty’s Colonial Ship, however this is not correct.
Note: This suggestion is an unusual one for me, I try to suggest these older vessels in their fits with the post Australian Federation Royal Australian Navy, (est.1911), however these vessels were retired just before that date, so naturally I could only suggest them in their fits with the independent Australian States.
Side view drawing of the class, 5-inch gun is forward.
History:
Ordered by the Queensland Department of Harbours and Rivers in a class of five identical ships, as to patrol and monitor shipping in their areas of control in an un-armed manner, but also more mundane tasks, such as acting as pilot vessels.
All vessels would be laid down by Walkers Ltd, at Maryborough, Queensland from 1884-1885, and were to be un-armed. As they were designed, they would be the largest vessels built in all the Australian Colonies pre federation.
The works for these vessels would be taken over by the Queensland Maritime Defence force sometime during their construction, with changes made to make them better for service. Changes included moving the boiler below the waterline, reinforced decking, and a BL 5-inch Mk.II Gun. Due to a shortage of these guns, the lead ship, HMQS Bonito would complete and serve with the 5-inch gun’s predecessor, the RML 64pdr 64cwt Mk.III. They would commission through 1885.
Final resting point for the HMQS Dolphin (5), Bream (9), and Stingaree(12), off Moreton Bay
These vessels would serve mostly as patrol craft in Queensland’s many harbours, filling gaps in the patrols of the HMQS Gayundah and Paluma. Due to manning shortages they would spend a lot of their time laid up in reserve, often with only one ship active at a time. In their time in the reserve they would act as training vessels.
The first ship to decommission was the HMQS Stingaree in 1895, with most of the class following from 1896-1899. The last vessel to decommission was the HMQS Pumba, which survived through to Australian Federation.
Upon decommissioning they would serve in civilian service, lasting through to the 1960’s with a number of rebuilds. HMQS Pumba would be renamed to the SS Enterprise upon a rebuild in 1958, surviving until the late 1970s when she too was scrapped.
The other survivors at this point were Dolphin, Bream, and Stingaree, who were sunk as part of a breakwater off Moreton Bay, an area now called the Tangalooma Wrecks. Bream and Dolphin were sunk there in 1963, while Stingaree was sunk in position in 1966. They are still there to this day.
General Characteristics for HMQS Bream, Dolphin, Pumba and Stingaree
| General Characteristics: | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Name:HMQS Bream, Dolphin, Pumba, Stingaree | |||||
| Country: Queensland (Au) | |||||
| Type: Auxiliary Gunboats | |||||
| Class name: Bonito | |||||
| Year of commission:1885 | |||||
| Refit:1884 | |||||
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | |||||
| Dimensions: | |||||
| Length: 145ft (44.2m) | |||||
| Beam: 28ft (8.5m) | |||||
| Draught: 9ft (2.7m) | |||||
| Displacement: 450t | |||||
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | |||||
| Propulsion: | |||||
| Powerplant: 1x coal fired boiler, compound steam engines @ 400hp (298kW) | |||||
| Speed: 10kt | |||||
| Endurance: unknown | |||||
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | |||||
| Armament & sensors: | |||||
| Compliment: 20 | |||||
| Primary armament: 1x1 BL 5-inch Mk.II | |||||
| Secondary armament: Small Arms | |||||
| Tertiary armament: -nil | |||||
| Radar: -nil | |||||
| Sonar: -nil |
General Characteristics for HMQS Bonito
| General Characteristics: | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Name:HMQS Bonito | |||||
| Country: Queensland (Au) | |||||
| Type: Auxiliary Gunboats | |||||
| Class name: Bonito | |||||
| Year of commission:1885 | |||||
| Refit:1884 | |||||
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | |||||
| Dimensions: | |||||
| Length: 145ft (44.2m) | |||||
| Beam: 28ft (8.5m) | |||||
| Draught: 9ft (2.7m) | |||||
| Displacement: 450t | |||||
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | |||||
| Propulsion: | |||||
| Powerplant: 1x coal fired boiler, compound steam engines @ 400hp (298kW) | |||||
| Speed: 10kt | |||||
| Endurance: unknown | |||||
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | |||||
| Armament & sensors: | |||||
| Compliment: 20 | |||||
| Primary armament: 1x1RML 64pdr 64cwt Mk.III | |||||
| Secondary armament: Small Arms | |||||
| Tertiary armament: -nil | |||||
| Radar: -nil | |||||
| Sonar: -nil |
- HMQS Bonito
- HMQS Bream, Dolphin, Pumba, Stingaree
- I do not want this class in game
Sources:
P.Norman (1972) Queensland—Harbours, Rivers and Marine. (p.18)
R.Gillett (1977) Warships of Australia (p.93)
Queensland Maritime Defence Force Auxiliary Gunboats - Wikipedia
Auxiliary Gunboats (5) – HMQS Gayundah
Occasional Paper 174: The Queensland Fraser Coast and Royal Australian Navy Historical Ties - Naval Historical Society of Australia
https://web.archive.org/web/20120404214606/http://www.divingthegoldcoast.com.au/index.asp?PageID=divesite&DiveSite=tangalooma
https://defence-of-melbourne.blogspot.com/