TB 191 was a second-class torpedo boat

Torpedo boat

A torpedo boat is a relatively small and fast naval vessel designed to carry torpedoes into battle. The first designs rammed enemy ships with explosive spar torpedoes, and later designs launched self-propelled Whitehead torpedoes. They were created to counter battleships and other large, slow and...

 constructed for the Colony of Tasmania

Colony of Tasmania

The Colony of Tasmania was a British colony that existed on the island of Tasmania from 1856 until 1901, when it federated together with the five other Australian colonies to form the Commonwealth of Australia...

 and later operated by the Commonwealth Naval Forces and the Royal Australian Navy

Royal Australian Navy

The Royal Australian Navy is the naval branch of the Australian Defence Force. Following the Federation of Australia in 1901, the ships and resources of the separate colonial navies were integrated into a national force: the Commonwealth Naval Forces...

. She was sold in 1911.

Design and construction

TB 191 was ordered by the Australian colonial government of Tasmania

Tasmania

Tasmania is an Australian island and state. It is south of the continent, separated by Bass Strait. The state includes the island of Tasmania—the 26th largest island in the world—and the surrounding islands. The state has a population of 507,626 , of whom almost half reside in the greater Hobart...

 in 1882 to protect the colony from possible Russian or French attack, and was built by John I. Thornycroft & Company

John I. Thornycroft & Company

John I. Thornycroft & Company Limited, usually known simply as Thornycroft was a British shipbuilding firm started by John Isaac Thornycroft in the 19th century.-History:...

. The torpedo boat was 67 feet (20.4 m) long, with a draught of 3.25 foot (0.9906 m), and a displacement of 12.5 tons, similar to the othe torpedo boats ordered by the other Australian colonies.

Operational history

She arrived on the SS Abington on 1 May 1884. She appears to not have been used much in service if the Tasmanian colony. She was sold in 1905 to the Colony of South Australia, before becoming part of the Commonwealth Naval Forces.