HMNZS Kiwi (T102)

History
New Zealand
NameHMNZS Kiwi (T102)
BuilderHenry Robb Ltd. Scotland.
Commissioned20 October 1941
Decommissioned20 December 1956
General characteristics
Class and typeBird class minesweeper
Displacement
  • 607 tons standard
  • 923 tons full load
Length168 ft (51 m)
Beam30 ft (9.1 m)
Draught15.3 ft (4.7 m)
Propulsion1,100 ihp (820 kW) oil
Speed13 knots (24 km/h)
Complement33-35
Armament1 × 4-inch gun, 2 × 1 Hotchkiss, twin Lewis, 40 depth charges

HMNZS Kiwi (T102) was a Bird class minesweeper of the Royal New Zealand Navy.

She was commissioned in 1941 for minesweeping and anti-submarine roles. From 1948 to 1956 she functioned as a training ship.

On 29 January 1943, with her sister ship Moa, Kiwi rammed and wrecked[1] the Japanese submarine I-1. At the time Kiwi was under the command of Lieutenant Commander Gordon Bridson who was awarded the DSC and the United States Navy Cross[2] for this action. Leading Signalman Campbell Howard Buchanan (7 April 1920, Port Chalmers – 31 January 1943, Tulagi) manned the Kiwi's searchlight during the action and remained at his post despite having been mortally wounded. He was posthumously mentioned in despatches and awarded the United States Navy Cross.[3][4]

Kiwi was the first vessel with this name to serve in the Royal New Zealand Navy and is named after the national bird of New Zealand.

External videos
video icon HMNZS Kiwi and Moa versus submarine I-1: David versus Goliath at Sea - Drachinifel
  1. ^ Waters, Sydney David (1956) The Royal New Zealand Navy, Page 307-309, Historical Publications Branch, Wellington.
  2. ^ Full Text Citations for award of the Navy Cross Archived 2006-09-19 at the Wayback Machine
  3. ^ "Buchanan, Campbell Howard". Torpedo Bay Navy Museum. Retrieved 4 September 2024.
  4. ^ "Campbell Buchanan and the I-1". Torpedo Bay Navy Museum. Retrieved 4 September 2024.