Category Archives: Minesweepers – Castle Class NZ – HMNZS Waipu (T32/T357)

The vessel was ordered after the New Zealand government, facing a requirement for more minesweepers to operate in home waters, chose the Castle-class design because it was simple enough to be built with the country’s limited ship construction facilities at the time.[1] Operational history [edit] Waipu was the sixth of the nine steel minesweepers constructed for the Royal New Zealand Navy andContinue reading “HMNZS Waipu was one of eight steel New Zealand-built Castle-class ships built and commissioned by the Royal New Zealand Navy during World War II.”