| New Zealand Naval Forces | |
|---|---|
| Active | 1913–1921 |
| Country |  United Kingdom |
| Branch |  Royal Navy |
| Type | Fleet |
| Commanders | |
| Notable commanders | Captain, Percival Henry Hall-Thompson |
New Zealand Naval Forces [1] was the name given to a division of the Royal Navy. The division was formed in 1913 and it operated under this name until 1921, when it became the New Zealand Division of the Royal Navy.
| Historic ships of the Royal New Zealand Navy |
|---|
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| Alphabetical list |
Originally the British Royal Navy provided total security for the colony of New Zealand, but in 1846 the settlers bought a gunboat. The Waikato Flotilla operated from 1860, and at the same time a Naval Artillery Volunteer corps was established to provide harbour defence. In 1884 the government purchased four spar torpedo boats, and starting in 1887 it funded ships of the Australasian Auxiliary Squadron.
Before establishment of the navy, the people of New Zealand paid for the building of the battlecruiser HMS New Zealand, which was at the Battle of Jutland.
In 1912 the then New Zealand Minister of Defence, James Allen, argued in London for the creation of a New Zealand division of the Royal Navy. Though this was opposed by the First Lord of the Admiralty, Winston Churchill, the Naval Defence Act of 1913 brought the division into existence. [2] The Naval Defence Act authorised the Government to establish a naval force organisation which would pass to the control of the Admiralty in the event of war. [3] The division was to be funded by the New Zealand government.
The light cruiser HMS Philomel was purchased from the Royal Navy to function as a training ship. In 1913 it became the first boat to be commissioned, under the command of Percival Hall-Thompson, [4] into the New Zealand navy. Philomel escorted New Zealand land forces to occupy the German colony of Samoa in 1914 and saw further action under the command of the Royal Navy in the Mediterranean Sea, the Red Sea, and the Persian Gulf.
In 1919 Commodore, Alan Hotham was appointed commander-in-chief until 1921 when the New Zealand Naval Forces was renamed as the New Zealand Division of the Royal Navy.
Included:
The Naval Intelligence Division (NID) was created as a component part of the Admiralty War Staff in 1912. It was the intelligence arm of the British Admiralty before the establishment of a unified Defence Intelligence Staff in 1964. It dealt with matters concerning British naval plans, with the collection of naval intelligence. It was also known as "Room 39", after its room number at the Admiralty.
The Royal New Zealand Navy is the maritime arm of the New Zealand Defence Force. The fleet currently consists of nine ships. The Navy had its origins in the Naval Defence Act 1913, and the subsequent acquisition of the cruiser HMS Philomel, which by 1921 had been moored in Auckland as a training ship. A slow buildup occurred during the interwar period, and then in December 1939 HMS Achilles fought alongside two other Royal Navy cruisers at the Battle of the River Plate against the German ship, Graf Spee.
Devonport Naval Base is the home of the Royal New Zealand Navy, located at Devonport, New Zealand on Auckland's North Shore. It is currently the only base of the navy that operates ships, and has been in use as a navy base since 1841. The base consists of HMNZS Philomel, the Fleet Support Organisation, and the Fleet Personnel and Training Organisation.
His Majesty's Naval Base, Singapore, also Her Majesty's Naval Base, Singapore, alternatively known as the Singapore Naval Base, Sembawang Naval Base and HMS Sembawang, was situated in Sembawang at the northern tip of Singapore and was both a Royal Navy shore establishment and a cornerstone of British defence policy in the Far East between the World Wars. From 1921 to 1941 it was a China Station base, from 1941 to 1945 a repair facility for the Imperial Japanese Navy and from 1945 to 1958 a Far East Fleet base. Today, it is a commercial dockyard but British military activity still exists at the British Defence Singapore Support Unit (BDSSU).
The history of the Royal New Zealand Navy leads back to early New Zealand-based gunboats used in controlling the British interests in the new colony, as well as to the strong linkages to the British Navy itself.
The Australia Station was the British, and later Australian, naval command responsible for the waters around the Australian continent. Australia Station was under the command of the Commander-in-Chief, Australia Station, whose rank varied over time.
The military history of New Zealand during World War I began in August 1914. When Britain declared war on Germany at the start of the First World War, the New Zealand Government followed without hesitation, despite its geographic isolation and small population. It was believed at the time that any declaration of war by the United Kingdom automatically included New Zealand; and the Governor announced that New Zealand was at war with Germany from the steps of Parliament on 5 August.
Coastal Forces was a division of the Royal Navy established during World War II. It consisted of small coastal defence craft such as motor launches, submarine chasers, air-sea rescue launches, motor gun boats and motor torpedo boats. It did not include minesweepers, naval trawlers or landing craft. This article is about the equivalent boats used in the Royal New Zealand Navy (RNZN).
HMS Philomel, later HMNZS Philomel, was a Pearl-class cruiser. She was the fifth ship of that name and served with the Royal Navy. After her commissioning in 1890, she served on the Cape of Good Hope Station and later with the Mediterranean Fleet.
The New Zealand Division of the Royal Navy also known as the New Zealand Station was formed in 1921 and remained in existence until 1941. It was the precursor to the Royal New Zealand Navy. Originally, the Royal Navy was solely responsible for the naval security of New Zealand. The passing of the Naval Defence Act 1913 created the New Zealand Naval Forces as a separate division within the Royal Navy.
HMNZS Philomel is the main administrative base of the Royal New Zealand Navy. Originally a training base on board the cruiser from which it takes its name, it is part of the Devonport Naval Base on the North Shore of Auckland, New Zealand.
A range of naval vessels were used in New Zealand from its early settlement years to the formation of the New Zealand Naval Forces in 1913. In the mid-19th century, these vessels included frigates, sloops, schooners, and steam-driven paddlewheel boats. In 1846, five years after New Zealand was first proclaimed a colony, it bought its first gunboat. In the 1840s and 1850s, steam boats were used to survey the ports and the coastline. In the 1860s, New Zealand established the Waikato flotilla, its first de facto navy.
Admiral Sir Alan Geoffrey Hotham was a Scottish first-class cricketer and an officer in the Royal Navy. Graduating from the Britannia Royal Naval College in 1892, Hotham served in the Royal Navy until 1929, seeing action in the First World War, serving as the Director of Naval Intelligence, and rising to the rank of admiral. He also played first-class cricket for Hampshire in 1901, and minor counties cricket for Devon in 1905.
Admiral of the Fleet Sir Charles Frederick Hotham was a Royal Navy officer. As a junior officer, he was a member of the naval brigade that fought the Māori people at the Battle of Rangiriri during the invasion of the Waikato and was also present at the Battle of Gate Pā during the Tauranga Campaign. He later took part in the bombardment of Alexandria during the Anglo-Egyptian War and then went ashore as Chief of Staff of the naval brigade, formed under Admiral Sir Beauchamp Seymour, which was dispatched to restore the authority of Khedive Tewfik Pasha in the face of Ahmed ‘Urabi's nationalist uprising against the administration.
Admiral Percival Henry Hall-Thompson was a Royal Navy officer who played a key role in the development of the New Zealand Naval Forces and also served in the First World War as commander of HMS Philomel. He went on to be First Naval Member and Chief of the Australian Naval Staff.
During the First World War, the Commander-in-Chief at the Cape, Rear Admiral Herbert King-Hall, expended much effort to destroy the elusive German light cruiser Königsberg.
The New Zealand White Ensign is a naval ensign used by ships of the Royal New Zealand Navy (RNZN) from 1968. Based on the Royal Navy's White Ensign, it features the Southern Cross from the New Zealand national flag in place of the Saint George's Cross. One of the earliest flags associated with the country, that used by the United Tribes of New Zealand, was a white ensign. This was replaced by the Union Flag when New Zealand became a British colony. A blue ensign with the Southern Cross was introduced for ships of the colonial government in 1867 and this soon became a de facto national flag. Ships in New Zealand naval service wore the Royal Navy's White Ensign until 1968 when the distinct New Zealand White Ensign was introduced. The ensign was implemented out of a desire to distinguish New Zealand vessels from those of the Royal Navy and this decision is regarded as an important step in the development of the RNZN.
The United States Navy maintained a number of naval installations in New Zealand during the Pacific War of World War II.
