HMNZS Maimai

HMNZS Maimai
History
New Zealand
Name	Maimai
Builder	Stevenson & Cook, Port Chalmers
Launched	18 February 1943 [1]
Commissioned	15 September 1943
Decommissioned	1945
Identification	Pennant number: T338
Fate	Scrapped in 1966
General characteristics
Class & type	Castle-class minesweeper
Displacement	625 tons
Length	135 ft (41 m)
Beam	23 ft (7.0 m)
Propulsion	Single screw, triple reciprocating engine
Speed	10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph)

HMNZS Maimai was one of eight steel New Zealand-built Castle-class ships 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. ^[2]

Operational history

Maimai being tended to by the Fire Brigade.

Maimai was the fourth of the nine steel minesweepers constructed for the Royal New Zealand Navy and was commissioned on 15 September 1943. the others being Aroha, Awatere , Hautapu, Pahau , Waiho, Waima , Waipu, and Waikato (never commissioned). She served with the 95th Auxiliary Minesweeping Group, located at Wellington. ^[3] In March 1944, Maimai accidentally fired her port depth charge thrower while berthed at Picton. ^[4] The unexploded depth charge was recovered four weeks later. ^[4] On 27 July 1945, she was rammed by Awatere stern-to-stern at Shelly Bay, with minor damage. ^[4] In December 1945 she accompanied the aircraft carrier HMS Indefatigable on exercises in New Zealand waters. ^[5] After the war, Maimai was disarmed but remained in service for ammunition dumping. ^[4] In 1946, Maimai was purchased by the Maimai Trawling Company Ltd. to be used as a side trawler. ^{[3] [4] [6]}

In 1947 she caught nearly 100,000 lb (45,000 kg) of fish, being considered a record for four days of fishing at the time. ^[7] On 28 July 1950, waste oil in Maimai's bilges caught fire, but was quickly extinguished by the Wellington Fire Brigade. ^{[8] [9]} As the years went by, catches got smaller and smaller, with conditions onboard of Maimai deteriorating. ^[10] And with smaller and efficient fishing vessels being built, it became harder for Maimai to get a crew, with Maimai still sailing without a full crew. ^[10] At the end of 1966, Maimai was sold for scrap and was broken up in Wellington by Pacific Scrap Ltd, which would take 6 weeks. ^{[11] [10]}

References

1. "THIRD MINE SWEEPER". Evening Star. 18 February 1943. p. 4. Retrieved 26 January 2025– via Papers Past.
2. "HMNZS Waiho Castle-Class Minesweeper". National Museum of the Royal New Zealand Navy. 2015-10-06. Archived from the original on 2009-12-21. Retrieved 2023-11-07.
3. "CHAPTER 18 — The Minesweeping Flotillas | NZETC". nzetc.victoria.ac.nz. Retrieved 2023-11-29.
4. McDougall, R.J. (1989). New Zealand Naval vessels. GP Books, Informing New Zealanders. ISBN   0-477-01399-6.
5. "EXERCISE WEEK". Evening Post. 3 December 1945. p. 8. Retrieved 26 January 2025– via Papers Past.
6. "Trawler Sold". Northern Advocate. 24 May 1946. p. 4. Retrieved 26 January 2025– via Papers Past.
7. "N.Z. Record Catch Of Fish". paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. Retrieved 2023-11-29.
8. "OIL FIRE ON TRAWLER AT WELLINGTON". paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. Retrieved 2023-11-29.
9. "Seaman Overcome By Fumes". paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. Retrieved 2023-11-29.
10. Makarios, Emmanuel (1996). Nets, Lines and Pots: A history of New Zealand fishing vessels (1st ed.). New Zealand: IPL Books. ISBN   9780908876983.
11. "Marine News 1980 Vol 30 Issue 03". New Zealand Ship and Marine Society. Retrieved 2024-05-25.