History of the Royal New Zealand Navy

Later, the so-named Waikato Flotilla operated from 1860 to 1865, and at the same time a Naval Artillery Volunteer corps was established to provide harbour defence.

Achilles sister ship, HMS Leander, escorted the New Zealand Expeditionary Force to the Middle East in 1940, and was then deployed in the Mediterranean Sea, the Red Sea, and the Indian Ocean, where she was subjected to air and naval attack from Axis forces, conducted bombardments and escorted convoys, and sank the Italian auxiliary cruiser Ramb I.

After serving in the Mediterranean she returned to the Pacific in 1943, assisting in the destruction of the Japanese cruiser Jintsu and being seriously damaged by torpedoes during the Battle of Kolombangara.

They also played an important role in the defence of New Zealand, from German raiders, especially when the threat of invasion from Japan appeared imminent in 1942.

[2] During April 1947 a series of non-violent mutinies occurred amongst the sailors and non-commissioned officers of four RNZN ships and two shore bases.

The resulting manpower shortage forced the RNZN to remove Black Prince, one of their most powerful warships, from service and set the navy's development and expansion back by a decade.

[3] Six Loch-class frigates were deployed during the Korean War; HMNZ Ships Hawea, Kaniere, Pukaki, Rotoiti, Taupo, and Tutira.

The team's role was to provide medical and surgical assistance to South Vietnamese civilians and developing local knowledge in this field.

The New Zealanders relieved a United States Army medical team at Bong Son in Binh Dinh province.

They also treated military casualties who were brought to the Bong Son Dispensary, including Army of the Republic of Vietnam personnel and Viet Cong prisoners.

On several occasions, New Zealand dispatched RNZN vessels to monitor environmental damage caused by French nuclear testing in the Pacific.