The Bird-class minesweeper was a class of naval trawlers built for the Royal New Zealand Navy and which served during the Second World War.

[2][3] Although similar in appearance to the later Isles-class minesweeping trawlers, derived from Basset and Mastiff, the Bird-class ships had an extended forecastle.

Propulsion was through a single-shaft reciprocating steam engine that burned oil, providing a top speed of 13 knots (24 km/h; 15 mph) at 1,100 indicated horsepower (820 kW).

[2] The three Bird-class vessels, designated build numbers 314 to 316, were laid down on 19 March 1940 with the first of them, Moa, launched on 15 April and completed on 19 August 1941.

[2][3] Upon commissioning, each ship worked up in Scotland before being dispatched to New Zealand with the first leg being a North Atlantic crossing as part of an escort to a convoy.

[2] On 29 January 1943, Kiwi and Moa rammed and wrecked the Japanese submarine I-1, which had surfaced off the coast of Guadalcanal after several depth charges had been dropped.

Once completed she went back to the Solomons but not long after her return to service she suffered damage from a friendly fire incident which necessitated more repairs at Auckland.

One of the wounded was the captain of Moa, Lieutenant Commander Peter Phipps (later Vice Admiral), who had a bomb penetrate the roof of his cabin and pass through the floor where it exploded beneath him.

Both Tui and Kiwi returned to Auckland for refits in 1944 during which the previously unofficial 20 mm Oerlikon guns were made a permanent feature of their armament.