- For the vessel replacing the this one, see: HMNZS Canterbury (L-421)
HMNZS Canterbury was one of two broad beam Leander class frigates operated by the RNZN from 1971 to 2005. HMNZS Canterbury was laid down on 12 June 1969 by Yarrow Shipbuilders and launched 11 months later on 6 May 1970. Commissioned on the 22 October 1971, Canterbury went onto see operational service in the Arabian and Persian Gulfs, supported UN sanctions against Iraq and peace-keeping in East Timor. In addition, Canterbury relieved a Royal Navy frigate, HMS Amazon in the Indian Ocean, during the Falklands War, and later relieved the frigate HMNZS Otago at Moruroa during anti-nuclear protests.
Canterbury was decommissioned in 2005 and after extensive works to remove potentially toxic materials, she is to be scuttled in 2007 in the Bay of Islands to provide a dive wreck.
History
Service
The last Leander-class frigate (and the last steam-driven warship) in service in New Zealand, the ship was built in Scotland and launched in 1970. During her time in service, the travelled about 960,000 nautical miles (44 circumnavigations of the Earth), and was temporary home of 559 officers and 3,269 ratings.[1]
She was sent to Moruroa Atoll in 1973 as a symbolic protest of New Zealand against French nuclear testing. She was also involved in patrolling the Arabian Gulf during 1982-1983 and in 1996 was one of the ships tasked with enforcing the embargo against Iraq. She also was the first New Zealand Navy ship to visit China (in 1987), and has participated in a number of humanitarian and peace-keeping missions, for example to Samoa, Fiji or New Guinea.[1]
Final fate
In the early 2000s, it was becoming increasingly clear that the ship's technical systems were getting old, and mechanical faults were multiplying. In October 2003, a fire broke out in the auxiliary switchboard while the ship was off the Chatham Islands. The ship was saved through quick action from Dale Bradley and Bjorn MacRae (who received the New Zealand Order of Merit for his actions in the smoke-filled switchboard room), but it was considered that major damage or even ship loss had been only barely avoided. The repairs cost NZ$ 1 million,[2] and the incident may have added to the decision to eventually decommission and replace her with newer multi-role vessels.[1] The ship itself had been sold to the trust for a symbolic NZ$ 1.[3]
After being decommissioned in 2005, enthusiasts at the Bay of Islands Charitable Trust proposed the idea of scuttling her as a drive wreck at Deep Water Cove in the Bay of Islands. The New Zealand Navy ships Tui and Waikato are already lying on the ground off the Tutukaka Coast, while the Greenpeace ship Rainbow Warrior was scuttled of Matauri Bay. It is hoped that the wreck, in addition to becoming an artificial reef enhancing biodiversity, will also provide additional options for the regions diving tourism.[4] It is considered that removed scrap metal and equipment (such as ship's lockers or the propellor) will bring up to NZ$ 400,000 to offset the NZ$ 650,000 costs of cleaning up and scuttling her,[5] while the worth to the local economy could be in the millions.[1]
It is expected that the ship will be able to be sunk in 2007, after possibly toxic materials have already been stripped out, and the Department of Conservation has withdrawn its objections at the end of 2006.[4] The intention is now to sink her on Saturday 20 October 2007 - two days before its 36th commissioning anniversary.[5] It will be sunk by imported plastic explosives placed at 12 locations around the hull. The sinking will be organised by Norman Greenall, once Chief Petty Officer (shipwright) on the Canterbury. Having also undertaken the scuttling of other New Zealand Navy ships (like the HMNZS Wellington), Greenall has a somewhat colorful reputation in the navy as the person who has "sunk more of our navy ships than the enemy did in the whole of the Second World War".[2]
Specifications
Overview
- Displacement: 2945 tonnes (full load)
- Dimensions: 113.4 m x 13.1 m x 5.5 m
- Endurance: 30 days or 5500 nm @ 15 kt
- Max speed 28 kt
- Complement: 245 + 15 officers
- Machinery: 2 Babcock & Wilcox boilers - 38.7 cm², 850 °F (455 °C), 22.4 MW, 2 diesel generators
Sensors
Both vessels were extensively modernized from the 1980s. The sensors listed below were those fitted to the vessel at the time the vessels were withdrawn from service.
- Air Search Radar: Signaal LW-08 D Band: Range 265 km for 2 m² target
- Air Surface Search Radar: Plessey Type 993 E/F Band
- Navigation Radar: Kelvin Hughes Type 1006 I band
- Hull Sonar: Graseby Type 750 Medium Frequency Active
- Electronic Surveillance: Argo Phoenix intercept and Jammer, Telegon PST 1288 HVU
- IFF system: Cossor Mk XII
- Data System: Plessey/Marconi Nautis F with Link 11
- Weapons Control: RCA TR-76 I Band
- Countermeasures: 2 SRBOC Mk 36 Mod 1 launchers
Weapons
- Guns: 2 x Vickers 4.5"(114mm) L45 DP guns in one Mk 6 twin mounting; 1 x Phalanx CIWS, 4 x 12.7 mm.
- Missiles: Sea Cat missile system removed early 1990s and replaced by Phalanx.
- Anti-submarine: Mk 46 Mod 5 ASW torpedo in Mk 32 Tubes
Aircraft
Originally fitted to operate the Wasp helicopter but both vessels later operated the Kaman SH-2G Helicopter.
Helicopter weapons:
- Mk 46 Mod 2 ASW torpedos
- Maverick AGM-65(NZ) Air-to-surface missile
- Depth charges
- M60 machine gun
See also
References
- ^ a b c d All hands on deck to farewell a grand dame - New Zealand Herald, Saturday 05 March 2005
- ^ a b Warship headed for the deep (from the New Zealand Drivewrecks website, Wednesday 04 April 2007)
- ^ Last steam frigate sold for a dollar (from the New Zealand Drivewrecks website, Monday, 02 February 2007)
- ^ a b Frigate's final journey draws near - New Zealand Herald, Monday 11 December 2006
- ^ a b Frigate to find final resting place in October (from the New Zealand Drivewrecks website, Monday 09 April 2007)
- Jane's Fighting Ships (various editions)
External links
- Canterbury Wreck (from the Bay of Islands Canterbury Charitable Trust website)