HMNZS Puriri (T02)

HMNZS Puriri (T02) was a coastal cargo boat which was requisitioned by the Royal New Zealand Navy (RNZN) and converted into a minesweeper. She was sunk by a German mine 25 days after she was commissioned.

History
New Zealand
NameHMNZS Puriri (T02)
BuilderHenry Robb Ltd., Leith, Scotland
Yard number273[1]
Launched25 October 1938[1]
Commissioned19 April 1941
FateSunk by a mine, 14 May 1941
General characteristics
Tonnage
Length57.4 m (188 ft)
Beam10.7 m (35 ft)
PropulsionDiesel engines, 740 bhp, two shafts
Speed8.5 to 10 knots (15.7 to 18.5 km/h; 9.8 to 11.5 mph)
Complement32
Armament

Operational history

Puriri was owned by the Anchor Shipping and Foundry Company. She was one of four ships requisitioned as a consequence of the German auxiliary cruiser Orion's minefield and the loss of the liner Niagara, the others being Matai, Gale and Rata. Puriri was taken over on 20 November 1940 and handed to the dockyard for conversion.

On 27 November 1940, Puriri put to sea urgently to assist the cruiser HMNZS Achilles in the search for the raiders Orion and Komet, which had sunk the liner Rangitane. She returned to port three days later and resumed conversion.

She was commissioned on 19 April 1941, and assigned to the 25th Minesweeping Flotilla, which was assigned to sweep German mines in the Hauraki Gulf.

Fate

On 13 May 1941, the launch Rawea attached a buoy to a German mine that had been caught in a fishing net eight miles north-east of Bream Head.[2] Puriri and HMNZS Gale were sent to deactivate it, and arrived in the area the next day. Gale sailed past the mine without seeing it, but Puriri, also not seeing the mine, struck it at 11 am. The explosion caused the ship to immediately sink at 35°46′15″S 174°43′00″E and now lies at a depth of 98m.[3]

Of the 31 aboard, five were killed or drowned, and three seamen were injured, one seriously. Gale rescued the 26 survivors.[4]

The cargo boat Breeze was requisitioned as a replacement for Puriri.

See also

References
  1. "PURIRI". clydeships.co.uk. Retrieved 8 February 2021.
  2. Minesweeping in NZ Waters
  3. "Editorial 51". Dive Pacific. No. 51. 2015. Archived from the original on 5 August 2020. Retrieved 20 May 2019.
  4. Ingram, C.W.N. (1972) [1936]. New Zealand Shipwrecks 1795-1970 (4 ed.). Wellington: Reed. p. 374. ISBN 0-589-00715-7.
  • McDougall, R J (1989) New Zealand Naval Vessels. Page 69–78. Government Printing Office. ISBN 978-0-477-01399-4
  • Tonson, A.E. HMS Puriri 1938, NZ Navy, article in Naval Historical Review, March 1983

Further reading
  • Harker, Jack (2000)The Rockies: New Zealand Minesweepers at War. Silver Owl Press. ISBN 0-9597979-9-8
  • Wright, Gerry (2015). HMS Puriri (1938-1941): The story of the only warship to be lost by enemy action in New Zealand waters and the environment in which she served. Auckland: Gerry Wright. ISBN 9780473342258.
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