New Zealand’s torpedo boats

Press, Volume CXIV, Issue 33455, 9 February 1974, Page 9

New Zealand’s torpedo boats

1 By

NORMAN MEIKLE)

In 1882 the New Zealand Government ordered four torpedo boats for harbour defence. The contract was awarded to Thornycroft and Company. Ltd, of Chiswick, England. The boats were delivered in New Zealand about 1884, one each going to Auckland, Wellington, Lyttelton and Dunedin. They were officially described as second class spar torpedo boats, Thornycroft No. 171. There is a notice in a Wellington newspaper, the “New Zealand Times,” in August, 1884 saying that: Two torpedo boats arrived as cargo in the vessel Peter Stewart. The Alexander Turnbull Library cannot find any reference to the other two boats. It is assumed they came as cargo also. All the boats came to New Zealand fully equipped, except for the torpedo spar, its launching tackle, and torpedoes. About December 22, 1884, the Government steamer Stella arrived at Lyttelton with torpedo boat Thorncroft N 0.171 in tow. It was moored at the man-of-war buoys off the north-eastern end of the Gladstone Pier, in the inner harbour. Such an unusual vessel aroused great interest and people came from far and near to see her. With her long hull and beautiful lines she looked very much like a

yacht. Her ram bow and her conning tower gave her a wicked look. Successful trials Captain McLellan, a harbour board official and captain of the local Naval Brigade, took charge of the torpedo boat. A few days later it was decided to survey the boat, her engines and boilers, as they had not been seen since her trials. Robert Brown, chief engineer of the Lyttelton Harbour Board’s paddlewheel tug Lyttelton, was appointed to carry out the survey. Everything being found in first class order, it was decided to run trials on the outer harbour. These trials were highly successful when the boat was going at full speed, 17 knots, tne engines were stopped, then put full astern she pulled up dead in her own length. This was a remarkable performance. Her steering and general behaviour were faultless. The engines were immensely powerful for the vessel they drove. The highest possible workmanship was visible in their construction. Auxiliaries and valves on boilers and the ship’s side were of solid bronze, and of the highest standards. Steam was generated in two boilers of the locomotive type and, their draught was accelerated by a fan driven off the main engine shaft, and doing 2000 revolutions a minute. Her wake was uncommon, for as she slid through the water at high speed, the displaced water built up quite a formidable wave a few feet from the stern. Her hull was of very light

construction, frames and plating being only one eighth of an inch in thickness, all mild steeL For more than half her length, she was covered by a half-round roof construction, a form of whale back which gave more head room in the engine-room and boiler-room and a store room, used as crew’s quarters at times. Mild steel used At the after end of the whale back a shield plate was set up to protect seamen from bad weather. The engine room and boiler room entrance was also in this recess. Then slightly aft of this was the conning tower, oval in shape and built of quarter inch mild steel. Provision was made on its flat top to mount a Nordenfelt gun. I never saw one mounted. There was a round covered manhole near the bow, and another near the stern. I think they were more for inspection of hull than anything else. Thorncroft N 0.171 had two funnels abreast, slightly forward of midship. The torpedo spar, 30ft or 40ft long, and 12in in diameter, was made of mild steel. It lay fore and aft on the top of the whale back, in seating secured to the back. When the tube was loaded, with the torpedo at its outer extremity, the tube was hauled by tackle out over the bow. Two-thirds of it were immersed at an angle, to within either nine or 10 feet of its extremity, this distance was considered safe to explode the torpedo. With the tube and charge in positions, the boat was put at full speed towards the target. When about 300

yards off the target she slowed to four or five knots, so as not to damage the tube on contact with the target, if it was to be fired by contact. The torpedo could be fred electrically or by contact. The vessels high speed astern allowed her to get clear and prevent heavy water coming aboard from the explosion. The type of torpedo used was McEvoy’s. It was like a flask in shape, about 12in in diameter and about 24in long. It was charged with dynamite. Shelter shed Thorncroft N 0.171 was of light construction in hull, and her machinery was highly efficient. Her intended use meant she must be maintained at very high level. To make sure the weather did not cause corrosion and allow deteriation to occur in her long periods of idleness, it was decided to build a shed around some part of the harbour to shelter N 0.171. The Permanent Militia had built a magazine and jetty to serve it at Brownings Beach (Magazine Bay) at the west end of the harbour, so what better place than this beach to build a shed. A wooden frame and galvanised iron shed some 70ft long, 12ft wide, and 12ft high, with wide double doors at the seaward end, was accordingly built between John Grubbs’ schooner slipway on the west side of the beach, and his workshop on the east side under the bank. An iron slipway on heavy piles was laid from low water mark to the inner end of the shed. An iron cradle with flanged wheels

was built to run on the rail slipway, and also to suit the mould of N 0.171. This outfit enabled the boat to be hauled easily into the shed and to launch her when necessary.

She was maintained by artificers and ratings of the Torpedo Corps founded in 1885. This Corps was under the commander of the Permanent Militia. I believe N 0.171 was sold to Mr Mark Thomas early this century, was stripped of all valuable materials, and was eventually scuttled on the east side of Rhodes Bay. Purau. The Lyttelton N 0.171 was never ready for active service. She had no torpedo spar or torpedoes. Lyttelton's Thornycroft N 0.171 was 64ft overall with a beam of 7ft bin. Her threeblade propeller turning at 631 revolutions a minute, gave her a speed of 17 knots. Her compound sur-face-condensing engine, fed with steam from two lo-comotive-type boilers, delivered 170 indicated horsepower. She carried three tons of coal. Her official displacemment was 12 tons, and with her narrow heam her crew of five must have found her a cramped, uncomfortable and wet. ship. (The author wishes to acknowledge the assistance he received in writing this article from the chief librarian. Alexander Turnbull Library. the Ministry of Defence, and the chief archivist, National Archives, Wellington. He also wishes to thank the chief librarian of the Hocken Library, Otago University, for supplying the photograph of N 0.171.)