HMVS Albert was a gunboat

Gunboat

A gunboat is a naval watercraft designed for the express purpose of carrying one or more guns to bombard coastal targets, as opposed to those military craft designed for naval warfare, or for ferrying troops or supplies.-History:...

 of the Victorian Naval Forces which was requisitioned for service with 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...

 during World War I

World War I

World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

.

Operational history

HMVS Albert was built by Armstrong, Mitchell and Co. of Elswick, United Kingdom. Completed in early 1884, she made the voyage to Victoria in company with HMVS Victoria

HMVS Victoria (II)

HMVS Victoria was a gunboat that served with the Victorian Naval Forces and Western Australia before being sold into private use.-Design:This class was built to a type D flat-iron gunboat design from builders Armstrong Mitchell and Co....

 and HMVS Childers

HMVS Childers

HMVS Childers was a torpedo boat of the Victorian Naval Forces, Commonwealth Naval Forces and the Royal Australian Navy.-Construction and acquisition:...

, arriving on 25 June.

Her time in service with the colonial navy was brief and uneventful, receiving an update for her main gun in 1890 before being paid off to reserve in 1893. In 1897 she was sold to the Victorian Public Works Department. During World War I, Albert was requisitioned with the intention of converting her to a tug, however this was cancelled before work began and she was disposed of in 1917.

Similar ships

Albert was an earlier and slightly smaller near-sister ship of Gayundah

HMQS Gayundah

HMQS Gayundah was a flat-iron gunboat operated by the Queensland Maritime Defence Force and later the Royal Australian Navy . She entered service in 1884 and was decommissioned and sold in 1921. She then served as sand and gravel barge for Brisbane Gravel Pty Ltd until 1950, when she was scrapped...

 and Paluma

HMQS Paluma

HMQS Paluma was a flat-iron gunboat operated by the Queensland Maritime Defence Force and later the Royal Australian Navy...

 which were also built in 1884 and served with the colony of Queensland

Queensland

Queensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...

. This class was built to a type B1 flat-iron gunboat

Flat-iron gunboat

Flat-iron gunboats were a number of classes of coastal gunboats generally characterised by small size, low freeboard and the absence of masts.Some Rendel-type gunboats were fitted with masts ; they are included in the article for...

 design from builders Armstrong Mitchell and Co.

See also

• List of Victorian Naval Forces ships
• Colonial navies of Australia - Victoria
• List of Royal Australian Navy ships