The Royal New Zealand Navy (RNZN; Māori: Te Taua Moana o Aotearoa, lit.'Sea Warriors of New Zealand') 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 HMSPhilomel, 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 HMSAchilles fought alongside two other Royal Navy cruisers at the Battle of the River Plate against the German ship, Graf Spee.
The first recorded maritime combat activity in New Zealand occurred off the northern tip of the South Island in December 1642. Māori in war canoes attacked and killed four seamen from Abel Tasman's party, who were at the time in low boats between the main ships.
The New Zealand Navy did not exist as a separate military force until 1941.[1] The association of the Royal Navy with New Zealand began with the arrival of James Cook in 1769, who completed two subsequent journeys to New Zealand in 1773 and 1777. Occasional visits by Royal Navy ships were made from the late 18th century. The Royal Navy played a part in the New Zealand Wars: for example, a gunboat shelled fortified Māori pā from the Waikato River in order to defeat the Māori King Movement.
World War I and the inter-war period
In 1909 the New Zealand government decided to fund the purchase of the battlecruiserHMSNew Zealand for the Royal Navy, which saw action throughout World War I in Europe. The passing of the Naval Defence Act 1913 created the New Zealand Naval Forces, still a part of the Royal Navy. The first ship given by the British government for the New Zealand Naval Forces was the cruiserHMSPhilomel, which escorted New Zealand land forces to occupy the German colony of Samoa in 1914. Philomel saw further action under the command of the Royal Navy in the Mediterranean, the Red Sea, and the Persian Gulf. By 1917 she was worn out and was sent back to New Zealand where she served as a depot ship in Wellington Harbour for minesweepers. In 1921 she was transferred to Auckland for use as a training ship.[2]
The New Zealand Naval Forces passed to the control of Commander-in-Chief, China, after the Royal Navy forces in Australia came under Canberra's control in 1911. From 1921 to 1941 the force was known as the New Zealand Division of the Royal Navy.[3] The cruiser Chatham along with the sloop Veronica arrived in 1920, Philomel was transferred to the Division in 1921, as was the sloop Torch, HMSLaburnum arrived in 1922 and then HMSDunedin in 1924. HMSDiomede and the minesweeper HMS Wakakura arrived in 1926. Between World War I and World War II, the New Zealand Division operated a total of 14 ships, including the cruisers HMS Achilles (joined 31 March 1937) and HMS Leander, which replaced Diomede and Dunedin (replaced by Leander in 1937).
World War II
HMNZS Leander and USS St. Louis fire on Jintsu
When Britain went to war against Germany in 1939, New Zealand officially declared war at the same time, backdated to 9.30pm on 3 September local time. But the gathering in Parliament in Carl Berendsen's room (including Peter Fraser) could not follow Chamberlain's words because of static on the shortwave and waited until the Admiralty notified the fleet that war had broken out before Cabinet approved the declaration of war (the official telegram from Britain was delayed and arrived just before midnight).[4]
Achilles moved to the Pacific, and was working with the United States Navy (USN) when damaged by a Japanese bomb off New Georgia. Following repair, she served alongside the British Pacific Fleet until the war's end.
The New Zealand Division of the Royal Navy became the Royal New Zealand Navy (RNZN) on 1 October 1941, in recognition of the fact that the naval force was now largely self-sufficient and independent of the Royal Navy. The Prime Minister Peter Fraser reluctantly agreed, though saying "now was not the time to break away from the old country".[6] Ships thereafter were prefixed HMNZS (His/Her Majesty's New Zealand Ship).
HMNZSLeander escorted the New Zealand Expeditionary Force to the Middle East in 1940 and was then deployed in the Mediterranean, the Red Sea, and the Indian Ocean. Leander was subjected to air and naval attack from Axis forces, conducted bombardments, and escorted convoys. In February 1941, Leander sank the Italian auxiliary cruiser Ramb I in the Indian Ocean. In 1943, after serving further time in the Mediterranean, Leander returned to the Pacific Ocean. She assisted in the destruction of the Japanese cruiserJintsu and was seriously damaged by torpedoes during the Battle of Kolombangara. The extent of the damage to Leander saw her docked for repairs until the end of the war.
As the war progressed, the size of the RNZN greatly increased, and by the end of the war, there were over 60 ships in commission. These ships participated as part of the British and Commonwealth effort against the Axis in Europe, and against the Japanese in the Pacific. They also played an important role in the defence of New Zealand, from German raiders, especially when the threat of invasion from Japan appeared imminent in 1942. Many merchant ships were requisitioned and armed for help in defence. One of these was HMNZSMonowai, which saw action against the Japanese submarineI-20 off Fiji in 1942. In 1941–1942, it was decided in an agreement between the New Zealand and United States governments that the best role for the RNZN in the Pacific was as part of the United States Navy, so operational control of the RNZN was transferred to the South West Pacific Area command, and its ships joined United States 7th Fleet taskforces.
During April 1947 a series of non-violent mutinies occurred amongst the sailors and non-commissioned officers of four RNZN ships and two shore bases. Overall, up to 20% of the sailors in the RNZN were involved in the mutinies. The resulting manpower shortage forced the RNZN to remove the light cruiser Black Prince, one of their most powerful warships, from service and set the navy's development and expansion back by a decade. Despite this impact, the size and scope of the events have been downplayed over time.[8]
RNZN ships participated in the Korean War. On 29 June, just four days after 135,000 North Korean troops crossed the 38th parallel in Korea, the New Zealand government ordered two Loch-class frigates – Tutira and Pukaki to prepare to make for Korean waters, and for the whole of the war, at least two NZ vessels would be on station in the theater.[9]
On 3 July these two first ships left Devonport Naval Base, Auckland and joined other Commonwealth forces at Sasebo, Japan, on 2 August. These vessels served under the command of a British flag officer (seemingly Flag Officer Second in Command Far East Fleet)[10] and formed part of the US Navy screening force during the Battle of Inchon, performing shore raids and inland bombardment. Further RNZN Loch-class frigates joined these later – Rotoiti, Hawea, Taupo and Kaniere, as well as a number of smaller craft. Only one RNZN sailor was killed during the conflict – during the Inchon bombardments.
The Navy later participated in the Malayan Emergency. In 1954 a New Zealand frigate, HMNZS Pukaki, carried out a bombardment of a suspected guerilla camp, while operating with the Royal Navy's Far East Fleet – the first of a number of bombardments by RNZN ships over the next five years. Jack Welch, later to become Chief of Naval Staff decades later, wrote that in 1959, the RNZN "was still very much part of the Royal Navy supported by New Zealand tax-payers. The officer corps and senior specialist ratings were very dependent on loan and exchange RN personnel, while our own [New Zealand] officers and senior ratings were almost exclusively trained in the UK. We simply borrowed the RN's administrative regulations and amended them to local conditions. The Empire was alive and well. Operationally we were still very strongly tied to the UK."[11]
Later the Navy return to Malayan waters during the Indonesia-Malaysia confrontation. These operations were the RNZN's last large-scale operation with the Royal Navy. In a security crisis and threat to Malaysia and Sarawak and Brunei, two-thirds of the Royal Navy's operational warships were deployed from 1963 to the end of 1966 with Royalist, Taranaki, and Otago, heavily involved in boarding ships, shore patrols, presence, maintaining the use of seaways and support of the RN's amphibious carriers. The commitment, wrote Welch, "involved the whole fleet, as ships rotated though Pearl Harbor for workup with the USN before deploying on to the Far East to relieve ships on station."[12]
Until the 1960s the RNZN had, in common with other Dominion navies, flown the White Ensign as a common ensign. After 1945, the foreign policies of the now-independent states had become more distinctive. There was a growing wish and a need for separate identities, particularly if one Dominion was engaged in hostilities where another was not. Thus, in 1968, the RNZN adopted its own ensign, which retained the Union Flag in a top quarter but replaces the St George's Cross with the Southern Cross constellation that is displayed on the national flag.
One of the best-known roles that the RNZN played on the world stage was when the frigates Canterbury and Otago were sent by the Labour Government of Norman Kirk to Moruroa Atoll in 1973 to protest against French nuclear testing there. The frigates were sent into the potential blast zone of the weapons, where both ships witnessed one airburst test each which forced France to then change to underground testing.
In May 1982 Prime Minister Rob Muldoon seconded the frigate Canterbury to the Royal Navy for the duration of the Falklands War. Canterbury was deployed to the Armilla Patrol in the Persian Gulf, to relieve a British frigate for duty in the South Atlantic. Canterbury was herself relieved by Waikato in August.[13]
In the past three decades, the RNZN has operated in the Middle East a number of times. RNZN ships played a role in the Iran–Iraq War, aiding the Royal Navy in protecting neutral shipping in the Indian Ocean. Frigates were also sent to participate in the first Gulf War, and more recently Operation Enduring Freedom.[15] The RNZN has played an important part in conflicts in the Pacific as well. Naval forces were utilised in the Bougainville, Solomon Islands and East Timor conflicts of the 1990s. The RNZN often participates in United Nationspeacekeeping operations.
The hydrographic survey ship of the RNZN until 2012 was HMNZSResolution, succeeding the long-serving HMNZSMonowai. Resolution was used to survey and chart the sea around New Zealand and the Pacific Islands. A small motor boat, SMB Adventure, was operated from Resolution. Resolution carried some of the most advanced survey technology available.[16] HMNZS Resolution was decommissioned at Devonport Naval Base on 27 April 2012.[17]
In October 2021 the Defence Force contributed HMNZSTe Kaha to the UK Carrier Strike Group's transit through the South China Sea. This deployment sought to reiterate New Zealand's support for free international passage through the South China Sea, which has been claimed by China as part of its territorial waters.[18] In June 2023, HMNZSTe Mana was confronted by two People's Liberation Army Navy frigates, helicopters, and four other vessels near the disputed Spratly Islands.[19]
In late September 2024, Defence MinisterJudith Collins confirmed that the HMNZS Aotearoa had sailed through the disputed Taiwan Strait with the HMASSydney. In response, a spokesperson for the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that China "handles foreign warships' transit through the Taiwan Strait in accordance with laws and regulations".[20] On 29 September, the HMNZS Aotearoa took part in a joint maritime patrol with Australian, Filipino, Japanese and United States warships and aircraft in the disputed South China Sea, which has also been claimed by China.[21]
The Combat Force consists of two Anzac-class frigates: HMNZS Te Kaha[22] and HMNZS Te Mana.[23] Initially, two more frigates were planned, but this was cancelled due to the political pressure surrounding defence expenditure following the New Zealand breakup of military relations with ANZUS in 1986.
Both ships are based at the Devonport Naval Base in Auckland. HMNZS Te Kaha was commissioned on 26 July 1997 and HMNZS Te Mana on 10 December 1999. The specifications and armaments of the two ships are identical.[24][25] Both ships completed refits in 2020 and 2022 respectively.
The Patrol Force consists of two offshore and two inshore patrol vessels. The Patrol Force is responsible for policing New Zealand's Exclusive Economic Zone, one of the largest in the world. In addition, the Patrol Force provides assistance to a range of civilian government agencies, including the Department of Conservation, New Zealand Customs and Police, Ministry of Fisheries and others. The Patrol Force consists of:
The Littoral Warfare Support Force consisted of HMNZSManawanui, a dive and hydrographic vessel commissioned in 2019,[32] which sank off the coast of Samoa on 6 October 2024, and HMNZS Matataua.
Hydrographic survey and clearance diving
HMNZS Matataua was a land-based unit (a stone frigate) commissioned in 2017 (previously the Littoral Warfare Support Force, the Littoral Warfare Support Group, and most recently the Littoral Warfare Unit) with two operational groups, one for military hydrographic survey and the other clearance diving, and a logistics support group.[33] Detachments from Matataua embarked on Manawanui when the ship was conducting survey and/or diving operations. Matataua was responsible for ensuring access to and the use of harbours, inshore waters and associated littoral zones through shallow water and coastal survey, mine-countermeasures and explosive ordnance disposal, beach survey and reconnaissance in support of amphibious operations, and underwater engineering.[34]Matataua also provided underwater search and recovery support to the NZ Police,[35][36] and other government and civil agencies as requested and approved through Headquarters Joint Forces New Zealand.
Members of the Royal New Zealand Navy's Military Hydrographic Group deploy an autonomous underwater vehicle, a REMUS 100, during an international military exercise.
The RNZN does not operate any ship-based unmanned aerial systems. However, according to a recent tender document, there exists some considerable scope for the acquisition of new systems.
In its Statement of Intent, the NZDF states its primary mission as:
"to secure New Zealand from external threat, to protect our sovereign interests, including in the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) and to be able to take action to meet likely contingencies in our strategic area of interest."[43]
The intermediate outcomes of the NZDF are listed as:
Secure New Zealand, including its people, land, territorial waters, exclusive economic zone, natural resources and critical infrastructure.
Reduced risks to New Zealand from regional and global insecurity.
New Zealand values and interests advanced through participation in regional and international security systems.
New Zealand is able to meet future national security challenges.[44]
The role of the navy is to fulfil the maritime elements of the missions of the NZDF.
International participation
The RNZN has a role to help prevent any unrest occurring in New Zealand. This can be done by having a presence in overseas waters and assisting redevelopment in troubled countries. For example, any unrest in the Pacific Islands has the potential to affect New Zealand because of the large Pacific Island population. The stability of the South Pacific is considered in the interest of New Zealand. The navy has participated in peace-keeping and peace-making in East Timor, Bougainville and the Solomon Islands, supporting land-based operations.
The 2002 Maritime Forces Review identified a number of roles that other government agencies required the RNZN to undertake. Approximately 1,400 days at sea are required to fulfil these roles annually.
The RNZN formerly produced hydrographic information for Land Information New Zealand (LINZ) under a commercial contract arrangement, however with the decommissioning of the dedicated hydrographic survey ship HMNZS Resolution this has lapsed and the Navy now focuses on military hydrography. Hydrospatial[45] information is still provided to LINZ but on an ad-hoc basis.
Deployments
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The RNZN routinely deploys within its primary area of operations of the Southwest Pacific and Southern Ocean down to Antarctica[46] as directed by government, and to meet New Zealand's responsibilities in its search and rescue area.[47] Deployments further afield are conducted as required to meet the strategic intent of the Government of New Zealand.[48]
Personnel
A boarding team from HMNZS Te Mana during the ship's deployment to the Gulf of Oman in 2004
As of 30 June 2022, the RNZN consisted of 2,219 Regular Force personnel and 611 Naval Reserve personnel.[49]
Reserves
Naval Reserve
All regular force personnel on discharge from the RNZN are liable for service in the Royal New Zealand Naval Reserve. The Reserve has an active and inactive list. RNZN personnel can choose to serve four years in the Reserve on discharge.
Volunteer Reserve
The primary reserve component of the RNZN is the Royal New Zealand Naval Volunteer Reserve (RNZNVR), which is organised into four units based in Auckland (with a satellite unit at Tauranga), Wellington, Christchurch, and Dunedin:
At present civilians can join the RNZNVR in one of three branches: Administration, Sea Service (for service on inshore patrol vessels), and Maritime Trade Organisation (formerly Naval Control of Shipping). In addition ex-regular force personnel can now join the RNZNVR in their former branch and, depending on time out of the service, rank.
Training
Naval Ratings begin an 18-week basic training course (Basic Common Training (BCT)) prior to commencing their branch training (Basic Branch Training) which focuses on their chosen trade.
Naval Officers complete 22 weeks of training in three phases (Junior Officer Common Training (JOCT)) before commencing specialist training.
Finance
Routine funding
The RNZN is funded through a "vote" of the Parliament of New Zealand. The New Zealand Defence Force funds personnel, operating and finance costs. Funding is then allocated to specific "Output Classes", which are aligned to policy objectives.
Funding allocation in each Output Class includes consumables, personnel, depreciation and a 'Capital Charge'. The Capital Charge is a budgetary mechanism to reflect the cost of Crown capital and was set at 7.5% for the 2009/2010 year.[54]
Large projects
The Ministry of Defence is responsible for the acquisition of significant items of military equipment needed to meet New Zealand Defence Force capability requirements. Funding for the Ministry of Defence is appropriated separately.
The Navy Museum of the Royal New Zealand Navy is located at 64 King Edward Parade, Devonport, Auckland, New Zealand [55][56] and contains important collections of naval artefacts and extensive records.
Uniforms of the RNZN are very similar to those of the British Royal Navy and other Commonwealth of Nations navies. However, RNZN personnel wear the nationality marker "NEW ZEALAND" on a curved shoulder flash on the service uniform and embroidered on shoulder slip-ons. Also, the RNZN uses the rank of Ensign as its lowest commissioned rank and five-pointed stars for Flag Officers.
The New Zealand Defence Force is the three-branched military of New Zealand. The NZDF is responsible for the protection of the national security of New Zealand and its realm, promoting its interests, safeguarding peace and security, as well as supporting peacekeeping and humanitarian missions. It consists of three services: the Royal New Zealand Navy (RNZN), the New Zealand Army and the Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF), as well as tri-service components. As of June 2023, the NZDF has a strength of 14,996 employees, consisting of 8,669 regular force personnel, 3,260 reserve force personnel and 3,067 civilian members. It is supported by the New Zealand Ministry of Defence (MOD) and is commanded by the Chief of Defence Force (CDF).
HMS Dido was a Royal Navy (RN) Leander-class frigate. Entering service in 1961, Dido was involved in the Indonesia–Malaysia confrontation, served with NATO's Standing Naval Force Atlantic on several occasions, and was one of the frigates used for the filming of the drama series Warship.
HMNZS Te Kaha (F77) is one of ten Anzac-class frigates, and one of two serving in the Royal New Zealand Navy (RNZN). The name Te Kaha is Māori, meaning 'fighting prowess' or 'strength'.
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.
HMNZS Te Mana (F111) is one of ten Anzac-class frigates and one of two serving in the Royal New Zealand Navy (RNZN). The name Te Mana is Māori, approximately translating as 'status' or 'authority'. The ship was laid down under the joint Anzac project by Tenix Defence at Williamstown, Victoria in 1996, launched in 1997, and commissioned into the RNZN in 1999.
HMNZS Wellington was a Leander-class frigate of the Royal Navy and the Royal New Zealand Navy (RNZN). Originally commissioned in 1969 for the Royal Navy as HMS Bacchante, she joined the RNZN in 1982. She was decommissioned in 1999 and sunk in 2005.
HMS Royalist was a Bellona-class light cruiser of the Royal Navy (RN) and Royal New Zealand Navy (RNZN) during the Second World War and early Cold War.
The Protector-class offshore patrol vessel is a ship class of two offshore patrol vessel (OPVs) operated by the Royal New Zealand Navy (RNZN) since 2010. The ships are named HMNZS Otago and HMNZS Wellington.
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.
HMNZS Wellington (P55) is a Protector-class offshore patrol vessel in the Royal New Zealand Navy.
HMNZS Otago (F111) was a Rothesay-class frigate acquired from the United Kingdom by the Royal New Zealand Navy (RNZN) before completion.
HMNZS Waikato (F55) was a Leander Batch 2TA frigate of the Royal New Zealand Navy (RNZN). She was one of two Leanders built for the RNZN, the other being the Batch 3 HMNZS Canterbury. These two New Zealand ships relieved British ships of the Armilla patrol during the Falklands conflict, freeing British ships for deployment.
HMNZS Taupo was a Lake-class patrol vessel of the Royal New Zealand Navy. Taupo was commissioned in 1975 and decommissioned in 1991, serving for 16 years.
HMNZS Canterbury (F421) was one of two broad beam Leander-class frigates operated by the Royal New Zealand Navy (RNZN) from 1971 to 2005. She was built in Scotland and launched in 1970. Commissioned in 1971, Canterbury saw operational service in much of Australasia and other regions like the Persian Gulf. She undertook operations such as supporting UN sanctions against Iraq and peace-keeping in East Timor. With her sister ship HMNZS Waikato she relieved the Royal Navy frigate HMS Amazon in the Indian Ocean during the Falklands War. Early in HMNZS Canterbury's career, in 1973, she relieved the frigate HMNZS Otago, as part of a unique, Anzac, naval operation or exercise at Moruroa during anti-nuclear protests, supported by a large RAN tanker, providing fuel and a large platform for Australian media. This was due to F 421 being a more modern RNZN frigate, with then current Rn surveillance radar and ESM and a more effectively insulated frigate from nuclear fallout, with the Improved Broad Beam Leander steam plant, for example, being remote controlled and capable of unmanned operation and therefore the ship provided a more effective sealed citadel for operations in areas of nuclear explosions.
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.
The Royal New Zealand Naval Volunteer Reserve (RNZNVR) is the volunteer reserve force of the Royal New Zealand Navy (RNZN).
Commodore George Raymond Davis-Goff was a senior officer in the Royal New Zealand Navy (RNZN).
HMNZS Manawanui was a dive and hydrographic vessel of the Royal New Zealand Navy (RNZN). It had previously served as the civilian survey vessel MV Edda Fonn in the Norwegian oil and gas industry. The ship was purchased for the RNZN in 2018, and commissioned on 7 June 2019, replacing the hydrographic survey ship HMNZS Resolution and diving support vessel HMNZS Manawanui (A09).
The Royal New Zealand Navy Band is the musical arm of the Royal New Zealand Navy, serving its musical needs from its headquarters at HMNZS Philomel on Devonport Naval Base, North Shore City, Auckland.
↑ McGibbon, Ian (2000). The Oxford Companion to New Zealand Military History. Auckland: Oxford University Press. ISBN0-19-558376-0, pp.45–46
↑ Hensley, Gerald (2009). Beyond the Battlefield: New Zealand and its Allies 1939–45. North Shore Auckland: Viking/Penguin. p.20. ISBN978-06-700-7404-4.
↑ Frame, Tom; Baker, Kevin (2000). Mutiny! Naval Insurrections in Australia and New Zealand. St. Leonards, NSW: Allen & Unwin. p.185. ISBN1-86508-351-8. OCLC46882022.
↑ Korean Scholarships – Navy Today, Defence Public Relations Unit, Issue 133, 8 June, Page 14-15
↑ "Coalition Air Warfare in the Korean War, 1950–1953": Proceedings, Air Force Historical Foundation Symposium, Andrews AFB, Maryland, 7–8 May 2002, 142 onwards
↑ Rear Admiral J.E.N. Welch, former Chief of Naval Staff, "The Critical Size of Our Combat Fleet," Centre for Strategic Studies New Zealand, “Papers on the Interim Report of the Defence Beyond 2000 Inquiry of the Parliamentary Select Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade: From the Seminar of New Zealand’s Defence” (Wellington: Centre for Strategic Studies, April 15, 1999).
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