New Zealand declared war on Germany on 3 September 1939. At the outbreak of World War II the New Zealand Division comprised two light cruisers, ACHILLES and LEANDER and a minesweeper trawler, WAKAKURA, for training. The main objective of New Zealand's Naval Forces was to protect shipping to and from this country. Three corvettes were on order from British shipbuilders, but would not be delivered until 1941. When war was declared, ACHILLES was proceeding to her war station off South America and LEANDER had recently returned from landing a garrison on Fanning Island to protect the international cable station there. The cruisers were virtually new. Both had been launched in 1933; ACHILLES was commissioned for New Zealand in 1936 and LEANDER in 1937. ACHILLES had returned from a refit in Britain in March 1939. New Zealanders - around 350 of a complement of 550 - predominantly manned both ships, although most officers were Royal Navy.
With war imminent, ACHILLES had deployed to hunt for German merchant ships off Chile. She joined Commodore Harwood's Force G in the South Atlantic and took part in the Battle of the River Plate in December 1939. ACHILLES, with HM Ships AJAX and EXETER, engaged the German panzerschiffe (pocket battleship) ADMIRAL GRAF SPEE, which was subsequently scuttled.
While ACHILLES was on the South American Station, LEANDER provided some means of local defence around New Zealand, including escorting convoys as far as Sydney. ACHILLES returned to New Zealand in February 1940. LEANDER deployed for the Middle East soon after, initially escorting the ships carrying the New Zealand Expeditionary Force. Based in Aden for a deployment of 16 months she operated in the Mediterranean, the Red Sea and the Indian Ocean. LEANDER experienced a number of air attacks, engaged Vichy French warships on the coast of Syria, conducted various bombardments and escorted convoys past Italian bases in Somalia and Abyssinia.
In May 1940 some 400 officers and ratings, mostly from the Volunteer Reserve, sailed with the Second Echelon to Britain for duties with the RN. By June 1944, 4,746 RNZN and RNZNVR personnel were serving with the RN; by war's end some 7000 Kiwi naval men had served a period with the RN. In manpower terms this was the equivalent of another brigade in the field. In addition, a small number of Kiwis who had directly joined the RN in pre-war years were serving in high positions.
These numbers were possible because of the training facility HMNZS TAMAKI, on Motuihe Island, which was commissioned to train young Kiwis. While some served in the RNZN's ships, most were drafted to the United Kingdom to serve in RN ships. Their contributions to the war at sea are a proud part of our nation's war effort. New Zealanders generally served in small groups in the RN, particularly after HMS NEPTUNE was sunk in December 1941, when 150 New Zealanders on board were lost.
New Zealanders not only served in every theatre and every type of vessel, but also in the Fleet Air Arm. In addition to normal entries, there were several special types of entry specifically tailored for the RN. Among them were Scheme B and Scheme F. Scheme B saw men recruited for six months' sea service as ratings in the RN, before being trained as officers and commissioned as RNZNVR.
Scheme F was for entry as aircrew in the RN's Fleet Air Arm, where successful candidates were also commissioned into the RNZNVR when qualified. These men saw service in many battles and all theatres of war. A considerable number were decorated for gallantry.
Our contribution was not only manpower, but also technology; for example, New Zealand was a leader in the development of radar.
Englishman L C Reynolds captured the multi-national flavour of the RN in 1944, as his MGB flotilla sailed on another mission in the Adriatic Sea: '[w]e were a real Commonwealth show tonight. Peter Hughes from South Africa, Dickie Bird from New Zealand [commanding MGB 643], Ted Smyth from Ireland, Ken Golding from England and Corny from Canada ...'