1961 photo of the Chilean Navy training ship Esmeralda (BE-43) as she taken on the pilot before entering a harbor of New Zealand. The small boat just off her bow is the HMNZS Tamure ( P3555 ). As the Tamure is still flying the British naval ensign would date this photo to before June of 1968 when the Royal New Zealand Navy adopted the current naval ensign with the four stars. No credit for photographer in this oddly faded photo
HMNZS 'Tamure', a 72-foot HDML guard boat shown tied up to the aircraft carrier's (USS America) landing platform. Mt Victoria in background
Date range
1968
Tamure is a 72 foot long motor launch built in 1942
Laid up 1945. Originally served with Fiji Naval Reserves to 1957 as HMS VITI. Renamed Ngapona (II) in 1958. Survey 1959-68, Auckland. Sold 3/73.
Served in Fiji (RFNVR) 1955-59 Ngapona 1959-
Left RNZN 1973 Sold for charter work. Sank at Tutukaka 1982. Salvaged. Rebuilt as launch Tamure 1987. Possibly at Te Atutu. Moored at Greenhithe and owned by Don, West Harbour ferry captain.
Became Sea Scout vessel ‘Alert’ in Dunedin . Known to be in Milford Sound 1980 on deer recovery. New info from my brother - Alert is now being restored at Kopu, near Thames. Nearing completion
From the archive: Image taken at Devonport Naval Base during WW2 shows a group of Harbour Defence Motor Launches (HDML) with HMNZS Philomel she was used as a patrol launch base from late 1942 to 1945.
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)
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).
January 1944 – Fairmiles of 80th and 81st ML Flotillas R.N.Z.N. fitting out at Devonport (N.Z.) Naval Base prior to departure for Solomons. 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.
July 1943, Auckland N.Z. – Dury watch on ML 401. 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.
Men who came to the RNZN were known as Compulsory Naval Ratings [CNR] and were kept separate from the Continuous Service Division – those who had enlisted with the RNZN.[4] The 14-week training period was conducted at HMNZS Tamaki, followed by three years of part-time service ‘consisting of seven days ‘sea-training’ and 39 parades annually with the RNZNVR.’[5] The RNZNVR at this time consisted of four units located at:
Auckland HMNZS Ngapona
Wellington HMNZS Olphert
Christchurch
1348 (P3563) HMNZS Kuparu – Pegasus
HMNZSKuparu (P3563) Q1348 Laid up 1945. Fishery protection & Survey 1972-84, Christchurch(Lyttleton). Sold 1984.Fairly heavily rebuilt after collision with Admiralty Steps in mid 80's. Ended service 1989. Mothballed for museum but not used and sold by RNZN in 2002. Has been rescued from her previous sorry state, extensively renovated and rebuilt and is now back at sea as ML KUPARU.More info here -https://waitematawoodys.com/2018/10/04/hmnzs-kuparu-hdml/https://www.woodenboat.com/register-wooden-boats/hdml-kuparu
Flotilla of small ships against the backdrop of Rangitoto welcoming the arrival of the Chilean Navy training ship Esmeralda to Auckland. HMNZS Ngapona P3555 (later renamed Tamure) bottom left, the Stanley Bay ferry launch Aotearoa II top left, and the stern of the Navy tug Arataki extreme right.
In 1955 one of the RNZN’s SDMLs P3555 (HMNZS Tamure) was made available to the Fiji Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve (FRNVR) and was renamed HMFS Viti until 1959 when the Reserve went into recess. During her passage to and from Fiji she was accompanied by one of the Loch-class frigates.
HMNZS Tarapunga and Takapu SML's parked up alongside Mothership Monowai
HMNZS Takapu - taken during Queens Visit, Waitangi Day 1963
HMNZS Kahawai, ex HMNZS Takapu looking forlorn - Philomel in the background - Oct 30, 1982
HMNZS Tarapunga and Takapu among quite a few MLs including the White Boats Takapau and Tarapunga in the rear berthed at Russell during the Queens visit to Waitangi in the 1960s
Commissioned 22 May 1943 as Q1188
Survey Equipment: Fitted to Q1188 when rebuilt 1946-50
The USN supervised the construction and then took charge of the finished HDML for allocation to the Allied navy. Both Q1187(Tarapunga) & Q1188(Takapu) were shipped as deck cargo from Vancouver aboard SS Kootenay Park and arrived at Wellington on 30 April 1943. There they were unloaded by floating crane and underwent full commissioning trials.
Q1188 joined the 125th Motor Launch Flotilla based in Wellington. They then carried out routine patrols in their respective areas through to 1945. As the war came to an end in 1945 the launches were concentrated at Auckland to pay off.
Q1188 had been cannibalised for parts to keep the other HDMLs that were in service so she had to be rebuilt. This was completed in February 1950 and she was commissioned as SML 1188 and was sent to Wellington in March. After arriving in Wellington, she began a survey of Cook Strait. In April she was given the pennant number P3556.
From then until 1979 both vessels carried out surveys right across the New Zealand coastline mostly by themselves or as a pair. They would also work with HMNZS Lachlan & Monowai.
In November 1979 Takapu arrived at Auckland for paying off and was decommissioned in December.
Flying her paying off pennant after many years service in the Hydrographic branch
HMNZS Tarapunga and Takapu SML's parked up alongside HMNZS Monowai
HMNZS Tarapunga as Q1187
Being unloaded from SS Kootenay Park after arriving at Wellington on 30 April 1943
Both Q1187 (Tarapunga) & Q1188 (Takapu) shipped as deck cargo from Vancouver aboard SS Kootenay Park and arrived at Wellington on 30 April 1943. There they were unloaded by floating crane and underwent full commissioning trials.
It was intended that they would be used for anti-submarine patrols in the port approaches. They would replace the NAPS launches. Q1187 after commissioning joined the 124th Motor Launch Flotilla in Auckland.
As the war came to an end in 1945 the launches were concentrated at Auckland to pay off. Q1187 arrived on 30 June 1945 .
A second launch was required for survey duty so that Auckland Coastguard’s Cutter No. 1, formerly Q1187 reverted to the RNZN on 29 May 1950 and was given the pennant number P3566 in October 1950. She was converted to SML in March 1951 and commissioned as a survey vessel on 21 March 1951. In April she proceeded to Wellington to carry out surveys of the Cook Strait. From then until 1979 both vessels carried out surveys right across the New Zealand coastline mostly by themselves or as a pair. They would also work with HMNZS Lachlan & Monowai.
At the end of the 1978-1979 survey season Tarapunga was withdrawn from service and paid off in June 1979.
In the interests of saving you from getting a sore neck from shaking your head – this boat ended up with a beehive restoration i.e. was put on the bonfire.
The HDML Manga was built by Madden & Lewis in Sausalito, California, USA during WWII and was sold by the NZ Navy in 1980. Her first owner post the Navy was Steve Hansen of Herne Bay, Auckland. When Hansen purchased her she had no engines. During his period of ownership she was kept on the outer side of the Auckland’s Viaduct Basin.
Hansen sold her to his friend Hans Van Duyn of Helensville in the early 1980’s, still with no engines. (Hansen also owned the HDML Black Watch).
Van Duyn stripped the coamings off her whilst she was at the Viaduct Basin and took her bare hull to Helensville on the West Coast, where they spent the next 2+ years rebuilding the vessel – including 16 single berths and 2 staterooms. In the mid 1980’s she was renamed Haimona after the owners late son.
The vessel was fitted with two Ruston Hornsby, 200hp diesel engines, with hydraulic gearboxes. Top speed was claimed to be 18 knots. The engines were ex the A.H.B. tug Manukau. Also fitted with a funnel & dry exhausts with silencers.
Van Duyn used her extensively, from the mid 1980s to c.1999. She was the largest pleasure boat in the Helensville Cruising Club fleet and was frequently mark boat and involved in many regattas and other club activities,
She fell in to disuse around 1999 when Van Duyn sold his waters edge property, on the Kaipara Harbour. As there was nowhere else on the Kaipara that had a suitable facility to slip her, she deteriorated through lack of ability to maintain her and lack of use. Ultimately, she got to the point, where her pumps were running 24/7 and despite attempts to provide her with better moorings, the end was near and they brought her ashore, stripped her engines out of her and saved what they could e.g. portholes and other useable fittings. In c.2006 they put a match to her.
Story assembled by Ken Ricketts with input from Steve Hansen, Rene Van Duyn and Bob Siegel. Edited extensively by Alan H.
Manga Navy Service ex Greg Philpott
HMNZS Manga (Q1185) was one of 16 Harbour Defence Motor Launches (HDML) to be delivered to the RNZN in 1943. She was commissioned on 6 April 1943 and joined the 124th. ML Flotilla at Auckland. She was used in anti-submarine patrols in the port approaches and the Hauraki Gulf northwards to Cape Brett. On 11 October 1945 she paid off in Auckland and was placed in reserve. In early 1946 she was converted for army use, fitted with a towing bitt and transferred ‘on loan’ to the Army. She was renamed Bombardier and used by the RNZ Artillery for target towing and general transport duties for over 10 years. In 1948 she was reclassified as a Seaward Defence Motor Launch (SDML) and renumbered P3567. In November 1959 she was transferred back to the RNZN. In 1960 she was commissioned as HMNZS Manga (call sign ZMBJ) and joined the fishery squadron where she served until 1967. After a refit she was assigned to Wellington RNZNVR until 1973, and then re-joined the fishery squadron briefly, returning to Wellington in 1974. In 1977 Manga was restricted to sheltered waters and returned to Auckland in 1977. During the period from 1977 to 1981 she was attached to HMNZS Ngapona. She was withdrawn from service and sold in 1982 to Takapuna Contractors Ltd., and was later sold again and transported to Helensville for rebuilding.
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