Category Archives: Minesweepers – Castle Class NZ – HMNZS Hautapu (T26/T340)

HMNZS Hautapu was one of eight steel New Zealand-built Castle-class trawlers built and commissioned by the Royal New Zealand Navy during World War II. Background [edit] 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 theContinue reading “Castle Class NZ – HMNZS Hautapu (T26/T340)”