HMS Waitemata (1883)

A Defender-class torpedo boat, clearly showing the spar torpedo
History
United Kingdom
Name	HMS Waitemata
Ordered	26 August 1882 [1]
Builder	John I. Thornycroft & Company
Cost	£12,600 for four boats
Yard number	170 [1]
Launched	30 August 1883 [1]
Commissioned	19 September 1883 [1]
General characteristics
Class & type	Defender-class torpedo boat
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	Two-cylinder compound-expansion steam reciprocating engine 130lb/sq in Locomotive boiler,
Speed	17.3 kn (32.0 km/h)
Complement	7 [1]
Armament	One McEvoy Spar torpedo Two 18" Whitehead torpedoes One 2-barrelled Nordenfelt gun [1]

HMS Waitemata was a colonial service Defender-class torpedo boat designed by Thornycroft & Company for the defence of New Zealand, built at Chiswick in 1883 and shipped to New Zealand.

The torpedo boat was delivered from Wellington to Auckland by being towed behind the Government steamship NZGSS Hinemoa. It arrived in Auckland in April 1885. ^[2]

References

1. Winfield (2004) p.316
2. "The defence of the colony: Arrival of the Hinemoa with the torpedo boat". The New Zealand Herald . Vol. XXII, no. 7307. 20 April 1885. p. 5 – via Papers Past.

Sources

• The New Zealand Maritime Index Archived 3 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine
• Winfield, R.; Lyon, D. (2004). The Sail and Steam Navy List: All the Ships of the Royal Navy 1815–1889. London: Chatham Publishing. ISBN   978-1-86176-032-6. OCLC   52620555.