HMS Boomerang

[Jonathan Saunders]

A friend looking into tehir family history has asked me if I know anything about HMS Boomerang.

The only place I could find anything was on the net and not suprising that this ship was built for service in Australian waters. I have found a couple of photos and a comment saying it was a torpedo gunboat launched in July 1889 and subsequently sold in 1905.

Can anyone add to this?

Many thanks,

Jon

[Arthur]

Jon,

Not much more than you already know! However, she was built as Whiting by Armstrong Mitchell 24/07/1889. Renamed Boomerang on 02/04/1890 and sold on 11/07/1905 at Portsmouth.

Regards

Arthur

[Jonathan Saunders]

Many thanks!

[ionia]

A friend looking into tehir family history has asked me if I know anything about HMS Boomerang.

The only place I could find anything was on the net and not suprising that this ship was built for service in Australian waters.  I have found a couple of photos and a comment saying it was a torpedo gunboat launched in July 1889 and subsequently sold in 1905.

Can anyone add to this?

Many thanks,

Jon

HMS BOOMERANG (ex WHITING) of the SHARPSHOOTER class was a torpedo gunboat of 735 tons, 2 x 4,7" QF, 4 x 3pdr, 3 x 14" TT. 21 kts. completed in 1891.

With her sister KARRAKATTA, she served on the Australia Station from 1891 to the end of 1903. The Australian colonies paid 120,000 pounds per year towards the cost of maintaining these ships together with five third-class cruisers and they formed the Australian Auxilliary Squadron of the RN.

The BOOMERANG was sold out of the service in 1905. Thee torpedo gunboat was not a particularly successful concept and was soon supplanted by the Torpedo Boat Destroyer.

[Jonathan Saunders]

Once again many thanks. I am most grateful for the additional info.

Jon

[Edward_N_Kelly]

You might also see if you look at:

Ships on the Australia Station by John Bastock ISBN:0-86777-348-0 / 0867773480 Publisher: Child & Associates

Bach, J. (1986). The Australia station: a history of the Royal Navy in the south west Pacific, 1821-1913. Kensington, NSW: New South Wales University Press.

And some of the papers from this site:

Sea Power Centre - Australia

particularly papers 1 and 6 which talk of the background to the decisions bothe strategic and political to raise the RAN and of its forbear the RN Australia Station.

Cheers

Edward