Background[edit]

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.[1]

Operational history[edit]

Waipu was the fith of the nine minesweepers constructed for the Royal New Zealand Navy and was commissioned on 17 November 1943. the others being Aroha, Awatere, Hautapu, Maimai, Pahau, Waiho, Waima, and Waikato (never commissioned). She would serve with the 97th Auxiliary Minesweeping Group, located at Auckland.[2] In June 1944, she was involved with the salvage of the beached Panamanian freighter Kator.[3][4] In December 1944, she would pull a US Army oil barge off Ripiro Beach, 32km north of Kaipara Heads. With the US Army tug, Culverden, towing it to Auckland for repairs, arriving 2 days later.[3] In 1945, she would be converted into a danlayer, with operations ceasing due to coal shortages.[3] After the war, Waipu was sold to Sanford Ltd of Auckland, for use as a fishing trawler.[2] In 1954, she was sold to Red Funnel Trawlers Pty Ltd. and began trawling from Sydney in 1955, being laid up in 1958.[3] In 1963 she was sold to Robin & Co Ltd, located in Singapore for breaking up.[3]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "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.
  2. ^ Jump up to:a b "CHAPTER 18 — The Minesweeping Flotillas | NZETC". nzetc.victoria.ac.nz. Retrieved 2023-12-29.
  3. ^ Jump up to:a b c d e McDougall, R.J. (1989). New Zealand Naval vessels. ISBN 0-477-01399-6.
  4. ^ "Fine Salvage Feat Saves Ship Ashore Near North Cape". paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. Retrieved 2023-12-29.