ML400/Q400 – was a Fairmile B class motor launch that came into service in November 1942 and was paid off in August 1945. The flotillas were based at Renard Sound in the Russell Islands. The base was named Kahu and for administrative purposes ML400 was commissioned on 1 April 1944 as HMNZS Kahu.
Q 400 was damaged when the USS Serpens blew up off Guadalcanal on 29 January 1945.
The two-page Summary of Findings [on the loss of USS Serpens] usually attached to the end of Court of Inquiry Reports was located by employees of the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) in College Park, MD. The two pages were discovered in Record Group 38: Records of the Chief of Naval Operations. The Summary of Findings were as follows: [And I’ll just jump to #14…]14 The HMNZS Q-400 at an unspecified location had its deck pierced by missiles in several places and suffered minor damage.
The “unspecified location” just meant sitting somewhere in Lunga Bay. The missiles were pieces of the Serpens which fell all around in about a mile radius from center blast.
Fate - Q400 “Dolphin / Seandra”– Burned and sunk, Gt Barrier Is. 1980.(See photos below)
The Royal New Zealand Navy Class “B” Fairmiles On the 4th of April 1941 the British War Cabinet approved a proposal for a striking force of antisubmarine patrol motorboats (submarine chasers), six at Auckland, four at Wellington, and two at Lyttelton. Drawings and specifications of the Fairmile anti-submarine motorboat developed by Fairmile Marine were sent from England, and it was agreed that these craft could be built in New Zealand providing the engines, ordnance and some prefabricated components came from England. The Class “B” Fairmiles were 112 feet (34m) long, displaced 85 tons and had a crew of 16 men. The original design came from the drawing board of an Admiralty Naval Architect during WWII. Several hundred boats were built throughout the dominions and colonies. Twin 12-cylinder petrol engines generated 630 hp (470 kW) on each of two shafts for a speed of 20 knots (37km/h). Armament consisted of a Rolls-Royce Mark XIV 2 pounder gun on a mounting forward of the bridge, and two twin Lewis 0.303 inch machine guns, later replaced by Vickers guns. A 20mm Oerlikon and 12 depth charges were carried on the after deck. A Holman Projector and a "Y" gun completed the fit. They were fitted with ASDIC (sonar), and were found to be very seaworthy and highly manoeuvrable. 5 The orders were distributed among four firms in St Mary’s Bay, Auckland. The estimated cost of each vessel was £35,000, making a total of £420,000 for the twelve. Construction delays occurred due to delays in the delivery of prefabricated components, the difficulty in getting supplies of first-class kauri timber and a serious shortage of skilled labour. They were built with double diagonal kauri planking over kauri stringers on plywood frames and bulkheads. Frames and bulkheads were supplied in kitset form from the Fairmile Marine Company in England. Keels were of kauri and stem and stern posts were of pohutukawa. Below the waterline, the hulls were sheathed with copper or muntz metal as a protection against worm attack. They were built during 1942 – 1943, and were assigned build numbers ML400 – ML411, but were launched as Q400 – Q411. The first boat, Q403 was launched on the 29th of September 1942 and commissioned on the 21st of October 1942. Thereafter the completed boats were delivered at short intervals.
Royal New Zealand Navy’s Fairmile Patrol Craft (Part 1)
- Author
- Cassells, Ken
- Subjects
- History - general, Biographies and personal histories, Ship histories and stories
- Tags
- RAN Ships
- None noted.
- Publication
- June 1991 edition of the Naval Historical Review (all rights reserved)
At the beginning of World War II the principal threat to shipping in New Zealand waters was perceived as the German raider, Lessons learned during the Great War pointed to this danger and our best defence, the authorities felt, was the modern, fast, well armed cruiser. In 1939 there were two such vessels in the N.Z. Division of the Royal Navy (became R.N.Z.N. in 1942) – the ACHILLES and LEANDER, earlier versions of the R.A.N.’s trio – SYDNEY, PERTH and HOBART.
When Japan entered the war the sea lanes to New Zealand came within the range of Japanese submarines. Particularly vulnerable were the approaches to our three principal ports – Auckland, Wellington and Lyttelton. Immediate steps were taken to improve their seaward defences by building locally “Castle” class trawler type M/S, A/S vessels, “B” type Fairmile A/S patrol launches and importing from the U.S. H.D.M.L.s also fitted out for A/S work.
The trawler building programme had commenced before Japan’s entry because of the minelaying threat from German raiders – two vessels having already been sunk by German mines in N.Z. waters – and the need to replace requisitioned craft. Planning for the Fairmiles also preceded Pearl Harbour but orders were not placed until the end of December, 1941 – spurred obviously by events.
The Fairmiles were similar to those fabricated in Australia as distinct from those built completely in the Commonwealth. The 112 foot diagonally planked hull was made from New Zealand kauri on U.K. sourced precut frames. Most of the hardware came from Britain as did the 40mm 2 pdr Rolls Royce gun fitted for’d. The 20mm Oerlikon aft, the Y-gun depth charge thrower and the two Hall Scott “Defender” 650 h.p. petrol engines came from the U.S.A. Four Auckland boat builders contracted to build the twelve boats and the first, ML 403, was launched on 29th September, 1942 and the last, ML 411, on 2nd September, 1943.
The Fairmile’s deployment was to have been on outer patrols at the entrances to Auckland, Wellington and Lyttelton harbours.
The inner patrols were the responsibility of the HDMLs which were arriving from North America. Six were to comprise the 80th ML Flotilla at Auckland and the other six of the 81st were to have been divided – four to Wellington and two to Lyttelton.
The first boats commissioned, MLs 403 and 400, were sent immediately to Wellington so that a training programme could commence. The planned ML bases at Auckland and Wellington were not yet ready but at Wellington an A/S School had been established on the foreshore at Petone and the nearby Ford Motor Company assembly plant had set up a Fairmile engine repair and servicing unit where the sea going mechanics could be trained.
When the number of boats at Wellington reached four, the optimum, the remaining eight were concentrated at Auckland. The Lyttelton deployment never eventuated.
As 1943 progressed it became obvious that any submarine threat to N.Z. ports was minimal. There had been at least two intrusions into our waters by Japanese submarines during 1942 but no sinkings and another early in 1943 also without losses. An approach was made to the Americans to see if they could use the boats complete with crews in a forward area. On two occasions Wellington Fairmiles had exercised with U.S. Forces simulating beach landings and the American commanders had been impressed with their efficiency and handling.
Towards the end of 1943 the decision was made to use the boats on screening and escort duty in the Solomons. Since the landings on Guadalcanal, N.Z. cruisers along with those of the R.A.N. had been used in the area and permanently stationed at Tulagi were the five– units of the R.N.Z.Ns 25th M/S, A/S Flotilla. (During 1944 H.M.N.Z.S. MATAI, KIWI, TUI, BREEZE and GALE).
Copied from R.N.Z.N. Official photo.
So on 7th February, 1944 the 80th Flotilla left Auckland for the Solomons and on 1st March the 81st sailed. The boats had been regrouped around MLs 403 and 400 which led the 80th and 81st respectively. In the former were MLs 401 to 406 and in the latter MLs 407 to 411 as well as the leader ML 400. The Senior Officers were Lt. H.J. Bull, D.S.C., R.N.Z.N.V.R, in ML 403 and Lt. M.C. Waylen, D.S.C., R.N.Z.N.V.R. in ML 400. Appointed to command the forward base was Lt. Cdr. H.E. Cave, R.N. (Ret). A minor collision in Auckland Harbour a few days before the departure of the 80th saw ML 405’s departure delayed until that of the 81st.
The voyage to the Solomons, although not the longest undertaken by Fairmiles, was quite an exercise and required careful planning. Optimum range was 600 miles and refuelling points had to be arranged. A large escorting vessel with towing gear in case of breakdowns was also considered necessary, particularly in the rougher latitudes.
Rear L. to R:-Seamen Cassells, Randle, Garfield, Lambert and Glidden
Front: Glidden and Willis
I had joined ML 401 the previous June as a newly trained ordinary seaman and like the other fifteen on board was looking forward very much to the voyage. In retrospect it turned out to be one of life’s more noteworthy adventures – not for anything spectacular but for its uniqueness. We were young – seamen’s ages were restricted to 18 to 22 years – and the experience was both demanding and satisfying, for most of us at any rate. Some proved so “unseaworthy” that they had either to be drafted ashore at the forward base or returned to New Zealand.
Our officers were mostly pre-war yachtsmen very suited for the job and generally good leaders. The all important coxwains were often reservists a few jumps ahead of us in experience but the P.O. motor mechanics were on a par with us as far as seatime went but had that real expertise when it came to keeping us mobile. Some were quite remarkable when it came to extending the lives and performance of old and recalcitrant motors.
Sailing from Auckland late afternoon on 7th February we reached Whangaroa in the far north next morning and had our fuel tanks topped up from R.N.Z.A.F. tankers stationed at nearby Waipapakauri aerodrome. Leaving Whangaroa soon after midday the five MLs in line ahead rendezvoused at 1400 with the Scottish Isles class minesweeper H.M.N.Z.S. SCARBA which was to escort us as far as Noumea. On board SCARBA were towing strops in case any of us broke down. With our escort in the van we altered formation so that MLs 403 and 406 flanked her and the remaining three followed abreast.
By 1700 the northernmost tip of N.Z. began to slip over the horizon on our port beam and at 1820 each of the Fairmiles shut down one motor to cruise more economically at 10 knots. The helmsmen had to continually correct their boats’ tendency to yaw. The four seaman Asdic ratings on each boat did all the steering except when the more experienced services of the cox’n were needed. At the helm we also carried out a listening watch which made it necessary to have two of us on each watch. To ease the strain of both steering and listening we alternated every hour by standing lookout on the bridge.
A long swell activated by a steady wind from the northwest made conditions `tween decks pretty uncomfortable. We carried four extra hands, members of the spare crew the five boats shared. These chaps had to bunk down on the mess deck. Into the next day we began shipping water and their location became untenable. Seasickness also took its toll and by nightfall only those of us immune to it were able to carry on effectively, Cooking was out and the only way we could boil water was by one holding a primus and another making sure the kettle stayed on top. Tinned coffee and milk with sardines on bread became our staple diet. Watching the antics of the other MLs was fascinating, particularly as you knew you were doing the same thing, The SCARBA shipped heavy seas continually showing her blunt stern and racing propeller as she plunged forward. The MLs faced the rollers by climbing up and over them. One moment bows would be pointing skyward then as the roller reached the keel’s mid-point there would be an almighty shudder and a burying plunge. This would lift out the stem and the working propeller would race like nobody’s business. The skipper all the time had to work out a compromise between maintaining way and station and preventing undue motor and bearing strain.
At 1330 on 10th February Norfolk Island hove in sight and as we closed in, conditions abated. We reported to Kingston for berthing orders and an R.N.Z.A.F. launch directed us to Sydney Bay. There we dropped anchors and prepared for next day’s refuelling from lighters carrying 44 gallon drums of aviation spirit. A wind shift during the night forced us to move to Ball Bay where replenishment began next morning. Later we were given a run ashore but as soon as we returned another move because of the changing wind became necessary. This time it was to Cascade Bay where fuelling and watering were completed. While all this was going on one ML maintained an off-shore A/S screen. By 1400 we were ready for sea again and SCARBA rejoined us for the 48 hour run to Noumea, New Caledonia.
Q400 of the Royal New Zealand Navy - Later Seandra, wooden motor launch
After catching fire when off Green Island, on the west coast of Great Barrier Island on 9 March 1980, the Seandra was badly damaged before the fire was put out by the crew of a passing yacht. Two launches then towed the Seandra to Rarohara Bay, Port Fitzroy, and beached her near Quoin Island, where she sank next day. She became at total loss, subjected to vandalism and pilfering. In 1982, the Marine Division, Ministry of Transport, Auckland, took steps to have the partly submerged vessel removed.
Built at Auckland in 1942, the Seandra was 34m long, 5.5m beam and powered by twin-screw diesel engines. Owned by Mr B.Pirret of Auckland.
The Seandra was originally the Fairmile anti-submarine patrol launch Q400 of the Royal New Zealand Navy and had been severely damaged twice before, by fire and stranding in the Solomon Islands in 1944, and in February 1947 when struck by the bow of the Picton ferry Tamahine at Queen's Wharf, Wellington.
Source: "New Zealand Shipwrecks 200 Years of Disasters at Sea" by Lynton Diggle, Edith Diggle and Keith Gordon. 2007.
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