HMQS Midge
HMQS Midge was a torpedo launch that served with the Queensland Maritime Defence Force, the Commonwealth Naval Forces and the Royal Australian Navy. After entering service in 1887, Midge served as "picquet boat" along the Brisbane River until Federation in 1901, when she was transferred to the Commonwealth. After this, she served as a training boat until 1912 when she was decommissioned. Construction and design Following the formation of the Queensland Maritime Defence Force the colonial government decided to supplement the recently acquired vessels with a small torpedo launch. HMQS Midge was specifically built in England by J. Samuel White, Cowes, for this purpose and shipped out to Australia in 1887. She was of wooden construction using a combination of teak and mahogany, and cost 5,000 pounds sterling. Displacing 12 tons, she was long, had a beam and a draught of . The ship was armed with one 3-pounder gun and two machine guns. Originally she carried one spar torpedo and later had two sets of dropping gear for 14 inch torpedoes. Service history Like HMQS Mosquito, she was never commissioned but simply placed into service when required and therefore was usually moored at the Naval Stores Depot at Kangaroo