She subsequently became HMS Monowai, a Landing Ship, Infantry and mostly operated as a troopship. In 1946 she returned to her old trade as a passenger ship. Civilian career SS Razmak was built at Greenock yard for P&O by Harland & Wolff, launched in 1924 and completed on 26 February 1925.[1] She was designed for service between Bombay and Aden and spent several years in the Mediterranean Sea. WhenContinue reading “Cruiser – HMNZS Monowai (F59) (armed merchant cruiser) was a former Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company (P&O) merchant vessel. At the outbreak of World War II she became an armed merchant cruiser of the Royal New Zealand Navy (RNZN).”
Author Archives: Currin Family
Cruiser – HMS/HMNZS Black Prince (81)
HMS Black Prince was a Dido-class light cruiser of the Royal Navy, of the Bellona subgroup. The cruiser was commissioned in 1943, and served during World War II on the Arctic convoys, during the Normandy landings, and as part of the British Pacific Fleet. In 1946, the cruiser was loaned to the Royal New Zealand Navy, becoming HMNZS Black Prince. The cruiser was docked for modernisation in 1947, but in April,Continue reading “Cruiser – HMS/HMNZS Black Prince (81)”
NZDF WRECK SET TO BECOME DIVE SITE
Dale Crisp | 12th March, 2025 THE GOVERNMENT of Samoa has told its New Zealand counterpart it now sees no need to salvage the sunken HMNZS Manawanui. The vessel sank on the morning of 6 October 2024, after hitting a reef it was in the process of surveying, the previous evening. An initial finding by an officialContinue reading “NZDF WRECK SET TO BECOME DIVE SITE”
Cruiser – HMS/HMNZS Royalist (C89)
HMS Royalist was a Bellona-class (improved Dido-class) light cruiser of the Royal Navy (RN) and Royal New Zealand Navy (RNZN) during the Second World War and early Cold War. After her commissioning in 1943, Royalist was modified with extra facilities and crew for operating as a flagship in aircraft carrier operations. Initially, she operated in the North Sea before transferring to the Mediterranean for the invasion of southern France. Royalist remained in the Aegean Sea until the end of 1944 beforeContinue reading “Cruiser – HMS/HMNZS Royalist (C89)”
Cruiser – HMS/HMNZSGambia (48) later (C48)
HMS Gambia (pennant number 48, later C48) was a Crown Colony-class light cruiser of the Royal Navy. She was in the service of the Royal New Zealand Navy (RNZN) as HMNZS Gambia from 1943 to 1946. HMS Gambia (pennant number 48, later C48) was a Fiji-class light cruiser of the Royal Navy. She was in the service of the Royal New Zealand Navy (RNZN)Continue reading “Cruiser – HMS/HMNZSGambia (48) later (C48)”
