- Cruisers of the Royal New Zealand Navy
-
Historic ships of the
Royal New Zealand NavyAlphabetical list 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 Contents
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
- ^ 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
Categories:- Ships of the Royal New Zealand Navy
- Military history of New Zealand
- Royal New Zealand Navy
- Navy stubs
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