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Castle Class – RNZN built, not completed as HMNZS Waikato, later SS Taiaroa (1943)

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HMNZS Waikato under construction, 1943 – Not commissioned

HMNZS Waikato under construction, 1943

Waikato being launched, 1943

The minesweeper HMNZS Waikato in the Waitematā Harbour immediately after launching, crowds attending the launch ceremony at the Marine Departments Construction Yard in the foreground

Castle Class – RNZN built, not completed as HMNZS Waikato, later SS Taiaroa (1943)
Vessel Taiaroa, crossing the roadway from the slipway at Evans Bay, Wellington. Evening post (Newspaper. 1865-2002) :Photographic negatives and prints of the Evening Post newspaper. Ref: EP/1956/2260-F. Alexander Turnbull Library, Wellington, New Zealand. /records/22311999

HMNZS Waikato (Now Taiaroa in this photo – fishing trawler)

As she was being used for the movie Savage Islands,

with Ex Fairmile Kahu alongside, both sad stories

SS Taiaroa was a New Zealand-built Castle-class ship built for the Royal New Zealand Navy during World War II with the intention for use as a minesweeper, later being converted into a fishing trawler.

Background[edit]

The vessel was ordered after the New Zealand government, facing a requirement for more minesweepers to operate in home waters, chose the Castle-class design because it was simple enough to be built with the country’s limited ship construction facilities at the time.[1]

History[edit]

Waikato on launch day

Originally launched as HMNZS Waikato in 1943, she was planned to have been commissioned in 1944, and was to serve in the 97th Auxiliary minesweeping group.[2] But construction would be stopped when she was 95% complete and was declared war surplus.[2]

In 1946, she was sold to the National Mortgage and Agency Company, being renamed to Taiaroa, and was converted into a fishing trawler, and would operate at Dunedin.[2][3] She would be sold to New Zealand Fisheries LTD in 1952.[4] Later that year on 28 July 1952, a man was found dead on the deck of Taiaroa, having fallen head first.[5] a member of the crew, Charles Munday told the police that he was walking with the man on the wharf, and while he was climbing down to the trawler, the man fell head first onto Taiaroa.[5] Charles would report this to the fireman of Taiaroa, but because he did not see the man because of the darkness, the fireman presumed he was under the influence of liquor, told him to get off the ship.[5] Charles would then report the accident to the police, and when the police arrived, they found the man dead.[5] In September 1974, she was laid up in Wellington, where for almost a decade, she would be badly vandalised. In April 1982, she was sold by the Wellington Harbour Board to recover costs, and was to be used for the movie Savage Islands, and would sail to Tauranga under her own power to be converted.[2][6] In one of the final scenes of the movie, she was to be blown up, which was only meant to damage deck structures, unfortunately she caught fire, also setting fire to a wildlife reserve on Motoura island.[2] After a lengthy court case, Taiaroa was stripped, and given to the Royal New Zealand Air Force to be sunk

HMNZSWaipu (T32/T357)

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HMNZS Waipu (T32/T357 ) outboard of HMNZS Kiwi (T102)

Ex-HMNZS Waipu as a fishing trawler

HMNZS Waipu
HMNZS Waipu – New Zealand minesweeper from the period of World War II , one of the thirteen built units of type Castle . The ship was launched on July 31, 1943 at the Stevenson & Cook shipyard in Dunedin , and the Royal New Zealand Navy entered in November 1943. The unit was withdrawn from service in 1946.
Design and construction
The ship’s construction was based on a project of British Castle trawlers , built massively from the First World War [1] [2] . Of the planned seventeen units of this type, thirteen were completed, with a hull with a wooden shell made of agatisa , using metal frames [3] .

HMNZS [a] “Waipu” was launched on July 31, 1943 at the Stevenson & Cook shipyard in Dunedin, and entered service in the Navy on November 17, 1943 [2] [3] .

Tactical and technical data
The length between the ship’s risers was 38.1 meters , the width was 7.16 meters and the maximum draft was 4.27 meters [1] [2] . The standard displacement was 447 tons , and the full standard was 635 tons [1] [4] . The ship was powered by a 480- hp triple-expansion steam machine , to which steam supplied a single cylindrical boiler , fired with coal [1] [3] . The maximum speed of the unit driven by one screw was 10 knots [1] [5] .

Artillery equipment consisted of a single 12-pound running universal caliber of 76 mm (3 inches ) QF HA L / 40 [1] [2] . The small-caliber anti-aircraft weapon was a single Oerlikon automatic gun cal. 20 mm L / 70 [1] [2] [b] . For anti-submarine serving pitcher depth charge with a supply of four bomb [1] [2] . Anti-mine equipment was sea ​​trawl [2] .

The ship’s crew consisted of 42 officers, non-commissioned officers and seamen [1] [2] [c] .

Service
“Waipu” served in the RNZN for less than three years, initially marked with the T32 side sign , then changed to T357 [2] . The list of the fleet was written down in 1946 and then sold to the fisheries sector

HMNZS Waima (T 349)

MS Trawler of the Manuka class

NavyThe Royal New Zealand Navy
TypeMS Trawler
ClassManuka 
PennantT 349 
Built byStevenson & Cook (Port Chalmers, New Zealand) : A.G. Price (Thames, New Zealand) 
Ordered19 Sep 1941 
Laid down 
Launched11 Dec 1943 
Commissioned28 Mar 1944 
End service 
HistorySold in 1946 

Commands listed for HMNZS Waima (T 349)

Please note that we’re still working on this section
and that we only list Commanding Officers for the duration of the Second World War.

CommanderFromTo
1Lt. Charles Clinton Stevens, RNZNVR29 Mar 1944late 1944
2T/Lt. Mervyn Arnold Knight Marks, RNZNVRlate 194421 Mar 1945
3T/Lt. William George Johnston, RNZNVR21 Mar 1945

HMNZS Waima(T33/T349)

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HMNZS Waima was one of eight steel New Zealand-built Castle-class trawlers built and commissioned by the Royal New Zealand Navy during World War II.

Background

The vessel was ordered after the New Zealand government, facing a requirement for more minesweepers to operate in home waters, chose the Castle-class design because it was simple enough to be built with the country’s limited ship construction facilities at the time

Operational history
Waima was the eighth of the nine steel minesweepers constructed for the Royal New Zealand Navy (RNZN) and was commissioned on 28 March 1944. the others being Aroha, Awatere, Hautapu, Maimai, Pahau, Waiho, Waipu, and Waikato (never commissioned). She served with the 96th Auxiliary Minesweeping Group, located at Lyttleton.[2] In September 1945, Waima along with the Waiho and Waipu were converted into danlayers, with operations ceasing October 1945 due to coal shortages, resuming in March 1946 with a guaranteed supply of coal for all 3 trawlers with them making up part of the 25th Auxiliary Minesweeping Division, which was formed to sweep the Waitemata Harbour for a final time.[3][2][1]

Waima would be sold to Red Funnel Trawlers, located in Sydney in May 1946, being towed to Australia by the Matai, arriving on 12 September 1946.[3] She would be renamed to Moona, and began trawling that same year, being laid up in 1958 but would temporarily re-enter service in mid-1959 but would be laid up once again in 1960.[3] In 1963, she would be sold to Robin & Co. Ltd, located in Singapore to be scrapped
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMNZS_Waima

A Waima model at the Port Chalmers Maritime Museum

EX HMNZS Waima as Moona, a fishing trawler in Sydney, Australia

Courtesy of Sydney heritage fleet photos

Courtesy of Sydney heritage fleet photos

HMNZS Waiho (T34/T403)

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HMNZS Waiho, T34
HMNZS Waiho – Gunnery practice 1940’s
HMNZS Waiho, T34

Does anyone have photos of the trawler HMNZS Waima during her wartime years? ive contacted the NZ naval museum, and NZ Maritime museum and they have nothing, i only have these 2 photos and shes only in the background behind the Waiho. Her pennant numbers were T33 and T349 and she served in Lyttleton.

HMNZS Waiho 612 tons 1944-46

HMNZS Waiho was one of eight steel New Zealand-built Castle-class ships built and commissioned by the Royal New Zealand Navy during World War II. She was the last Castle-class trawler built for any navy.

Background
The vessel was ordered after the New Zealand government, facing a requirement for more minesweepers to operate in home waters, chose the Castle-class design because it was simple enough to be built with the country’s limited ship construction facilities at the time.[1]

Operational history
Waiho was the last of the nine steel minesweepers constructed for the Royal New Zealand Navy and was commissioned on 3 June 1944. the others being Aroha, Awatere, Hautapu, Maimai, Pahau, Waima, Waipu, and Waikato (never commissioned). She served with the 97th Auxiliary Minesweeping Group, located at Auckland.[2]

The day she was commissioned, she ran aground and was towed off after two hours, suffering a twisted rudder and popped rivets.[1][3] In 1944, the Waiho was struck by the Tui.[3] In 1945, she struck the Auckland ferry Makora, with damage to the ferry. [3] In 1946, she was sold to Red Funnel Trawlers, and was towed to Australia by the Matai.[4][3]

She began fishing in 1946, and was laid up in 1958.[3] She was sold for scrap in 1963.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMNZS_Waiho

HMNZS Pahau T28/T351

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HMNZS Pahau underway, 1943

HMNZS Pahau (T28)(T 351)
MS Trawler of the Manuka class
Navy The Royal New Zealand Navy
Type MS Trawler
Class Manuka
Pennant T 351
Built by Stevenson & Cook (Port Chalmers, New Zealand) : New Zealand Railways (Lower Hull, New Zealand)
Ordered Aug 1941
Laid down Nov 1942
Launched 3 Apr 1943
Commissioned 12 Feb 1944
End service
History
Sold in 1946
Commands listed for HMNZS Pahau (T 351)
Commander From To
1 Lt. George David Gray, RNZNVR 10 Jan 1944 early 1945
2 T/Lt. William Harold Keith Mollard, RNZNVR early 1945

HMNZS Pahau alongside HMNZS Matai

Former RNZN ships – Ex HMNZS Matai with HMNZS Pahau under tow from Auckland entering Sydney Harbour

Ex HMNZS Pahau in 1946 while she was operating in Sydney under Arthur Murrell – courtesy Sydney Heritage Fleet

HMNZS Pahau was one of eight steel New Zealand-built Castle-class trawlers built and commissioned by the Royal New Zealand Navy during World War II.

Background[edit]

The vessel was ordered after the New Zealand government, facing a requirement for more minesweepers to operate in home waters, chose the Castle-class design because it was simple enough to be built with the country’s limited ship construction facilities at the time.[1]

Operational history[edit]

Pahau was the fifth of the nine steel minesweepers constructed for the Royal New Zealand Navy and was commissioned on 12 February 1944. the others being Aroha, Awatere Hautapu, Maimai, Waiho, Waima, Waipu, and Waikato (never commissioned). She served with the 95th Auxiliary Minesweeping Group, located at Wellington.[2] In March 1946, Pahau would be sold to Arthur. A. Murrel of Sydney along with Awatere. [3][4] On 22 May, 1946, while being towed to Australia by the Matai, Pahau would break free from the Matai, becoming adrift.[5] She would be located a few days later and would arrive at Sydney on 28 May 1946.[6][7] In October 1946, Pahau was brought by the Australian Commonwealth Government and was allocated to the UNNRA to rebuild the decimated Chinese fishing industry.[3] She was last seen with the Awatere and Tawhai fishing at Formosa (now Taiwan)