Cruisers of the Royal New Zealand Navy

Historic ships of the
Royal New Zealand Navy

Cruisers‎ Frigates‎ Corvettes‎ Minesweepers Patrol boats‎ Motor Launches Logistic support Survey and research‎         Diving tenders Training boats Port vessels Naval bases‎ Alphabetical list 1921–41 1913–21 Earlier

Commissioned cruisers of the Royal New Zealand Navy from its formation on 1 October 1941 to the present:

Name	Type	Class	Dates	Notes
HMNZS Achilles (70)	Cruiser	Leander class	1941-1946
HMNZS Bellona (63)	Cruiser	Dido class	1946-1956
HMNZS Black Prince (81)	Cruiser	Dido class	1946-1961
HMNZS Gambia (C48)	Cruiser	Crown colony class	1943-1946
HMNZS Leander	Cruiser	Leander class	1941-1948	Served in the New Zealand Division 1937-1941
HMNZS Monowai (F59)	Armed merchant cruiser		1940-1943
HMNZS Royalist (C89)	Cruiser	Dido class	1956-1966

Loss of HMS Neptune

HMS Neptune was a Leander class light cruiser which served with the Royal Navy during World War II. Early in 1941 the New Zealand Government responded to an Admiralty request for sailors to man an additional cruiser. Neptune was selected and was expected to leave the United Kingdom for New Zealand in May. However because of the loss of cruisers during the Crete campaign Neptune was instead attached to Admiral Cunningham's Force K, based on Malta. On 19 December 1941 she was sunk by mines. Only one crewman survived. ^[1]

150 of those lost were New Zealanders, 80 of them had served in the Naval Reserve before the outbreak of war. The loss of Neptune was the greatest single tragedy New Zealand Naval Forces have experienced.

See also

• Current Royal New Zealand Navy ships
• List of ships of the Royal New Zealand Navy

Notes

1. ^ Royal New Zealand Navy HMS Neptune

References

• Walters, Sydney David (1956) The Royal New Zealand Navy: Official History of World War II, Department of Internal Affairs, Wellington Online
• McDougall, R J (1989) New Zealand Naval Vessels. Page 23-36. Government Printing Office. ISBN 9780477013994
• Royal New Zealand Navy HMS Neptune