Royal New Zealand Navy

Royal New Zealand Navy ; Royal New Zealand Navy ; Te Taua Moana
Lineup	October 1, 1941
Country	Royal New Zealand Navy
Armed forces	New Zealand Defense Force
Branch of service	Armed forces ( navy )
Strength	approx. 1,900
guide
Chief of Navy	Jack Steer Rear ; Admiral
Deputy Chief of Navy	Dean McDougall ; Commodore
Maritime Component Commander	John Campbell ; Commodore
insignia
Naval war flag
Gösch

The Royal New Zealand Navy ( English : Royal New Zealand Navy , abbreviated RNZN , Maori : Te Taua Moana , The Sea Army ) is the naval force of the armed forces of New Zealand .

history

Beginnings

The New Zealand Navy did not exist as a separate Navy before 1941. Even so, there were maritime activities that were initially carried out under the leadership of the Royal Navy . In 1909, the New Zealand government decided to purchase the HMS New Zealand battle cruiser from the Royal Navy, which was used in Europe during World War I. The New Zealand Naval Forces were established by the Naval Defense Act of 1913 as part of the Royal Navy.

First World War and the interwar period

The government of New Zealand's first purchase for the New Zealand Naval Forces was the obsolete Pearl- class cruiser HMS Philomel in 1913 , which had last served on the East Indies station . Shortly before the start of the war, it came into service as a training ship and in 1914 escorted New Zealand troops to conquer the German colony of Samoa . The Philomel was then used under the command of the Royal Navy against Turkey in the Mediterranean , Red Sea and Persian Gulf until 1917.

From 1921 to 1941 the armed forces were called the New Zealand Division of the Royal Navy .

Between the world wars, the New Zealand Division comprised 14 ships, including the cruisers HMS Achilles and HMS Leander and the minesweeper HMS Wakakura .

Second World War

When Great Britain declared war on Germany in 1939, New Zealand immediately entered the war on the side of the British.

Among other things, the participation of the HMNZS Achilles in the first major naval battle of the Second World War , the naval battle in front of the Río de la Plata, became known .

The New Zealand Division of the Royal Navy was renamed the Royal New Zealand Navy (RNZN) on October 1, 1941 . This made the naval forces independent and independent of the Royal Navy. The ships were then led with the prefix HMNZS (His / Her Majesty's New Zealand Ship).

As the war continued, the Royal New Zealand Navy grew rapidly. Towards the end, over 60 ships were in service. Among them were many requisitioned and armed cargo ships.

The ships took part in the fighting of the British and the whole Commonwealth against the Axis Powers in Europe and against the Japanese in the Pacific. They also played an important role in the defense of New Zealand, especially when the threat of an invasion by Japan appeared acute in 1942. During the years 1941–1942, the Royal New Zealand Navy was placed under American command in the Pacific. The armed forces were subordinate to the South West Pacific Area command , the ships were integrated into the task forces of the United States 7th Fleet.

In November 1944, the British Pacific Fleet , a task force made up of units from the British and the Commonwealth, was formed in Sydney. Most of the ships in the Royal New Zealand Navy were transferred to the British Pacific Fleet . The Royal New Zealand Navy participated in the Battle of Okinawa and operations in the Sakishima Islands near Japan.

In August 1945, HMNZS Gambia represented New Zealand at the surrender of Japan .

After the Second World War

Royal New Zealand Navy ships participated in the Korean War and fighting in Malaysia during the 1950s and 1960s. The Royal New Zealand Navy has operated in the Middle East several times over the past three decades. The Royal New Zealand Navy assisted the Royal Navy in protecting neutral ships in the Indian Ocean during the First Gulf War . The Royal New Zealand Navy dispatched frigates to the Second Gulf War and Operation Enduring Freedom .

The Royal New Zealand Navy has also played an important part in conflicts in the Pacific. Naval units were deployed in the conflicts in Bougainville , the Solomon Islands, and East Timor in the 1990s . The Royal New Zealand Navy often takes peacekeeping missions of the United Nations in part. The commander of the navy has been the Commodore since 1961, Auckland has been the Maritime Commander since March 1993.

assignment

The role of the New Zealand Defense Force is described as follows:

"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."

" To secure New Zealand, including the Exclusive Economic Zone, from external threats, to protect sovereignty and to be able to counter probable threats to our sphere of interest"

- New Zealand Defense Force, Statement of Intent

The Navy fulfills the maritime elements of the New Zealand Defense Force's mission.

fleet

Ship class	photo	Ships	Remarks
Naval Combat Force
ANZAC (Blohm + Voss MEKO 200)		HMNZS Te Kaha (F77) HMNZS Te Mana (F111)
Naval Logistic Support Force
Canterbury		HMNZS Canterbury (L421)
Endeavor		HMNZS Endeavor (A11)
Naval Combat Patrol Force
Protector (OPV) ocean patrol boats		HMNZS Otago (P148) HMNZS Wellington (P55)
Protector (IPV) patrol boats		HMNZS Rotoiti (P3569) HMNZS Hawea (P3567) HMNZS Pukaki (P3568) HMNZS Taupo (P3570)
Naval Diving Support
Manawanui		HMNZS Manawanui (A09)

literature

Rear-Admiral Jack Welch, "New Zealand's navy seeks' credible minimum," International Defense Review 9/1995, Vol. 9, pages 75-77

Web links

Commons : Royal New Zealand Navy - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Official site of the Royal New Zealand Navy (English)
The Royal New Zealand Navy at GlobalSecurity.org (English)

Individual evidence

^ History . Royal New Zealand Navy , 2013, archived from the original on May 2, 2013 ; accessed on January 20, 2016 (English, original website no longer available).
↑ Sep 08 - Te Mana returns from deployment . Royal New Zealand Navy , archived from the original on October 16, 2008 ; accessed on September 9, 2014 (English, original website no longer available).
↑ J O'C Ross, 'The White Ensign in New Zealand,' AH & AW Reed, 1967, page 115
^ New Zealand Executive Government News Release Archive . Minister of Defense , September 2, 1996, archived from the original October 14, 2008 ; accessed on May 11, 2019 (English, original website no longer available).
↑ Statement of Intent (July 1, 2005 to June 30, 2008) . (PDF 3.3 MB) New Zealand Defense Force , 2005, archived from the original on October 9, 2006 ; accessed on September 9, 2014 (English, original website no longer available).

[Royal_New_Zealand_Navy_History-1] History . Royal New Zealand Navy , 2013, archived from the original on May 2, 2013 ; accessed on January 20, 2016 (English, original website no longer available).

[nzrnav_1-2] Sep 08 - Te Mana returns from deployment . Royal New Zealand Navy , archived from the original on October 16, 2008 ; accessed on September 9, 2014 (English, original website no longer available).

[3] J O'C Ross, 'The White Ensign in New Zealand,' AH & AW Reed, 1967, page 115

[Minister_of_Defence_1996_09_02-4] New Zealand Executive Government News Release Archive . Minister of Defense , September 2, 1996, archived from the original October 14, 2008 ; accessed on May 11, 2019 (English, original website no longer available).

[nzdfor_1-5] Statement of Intent (July 1, 2005 to June 30, 2008) . (PDF 3.3 MB) New Zealand Defense Force , 2005, archived from the original on October 9, 2006 ; accessed on September 9, 2014 (English, original website no longer available).