HMNZS Tui (T234)
| History | |
|---|---|
 New Zealand
|
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| Name: | HMNZS Tui (T234) |
| Builder: | Henry Robb Ltd, Scotland |
| Commissioned: | 26 November 1941 |
| Decommissioned: | 22 December 1967 |
| Fate: | Sold to Pacific Scrap in Dec 1969 |
| General characteristics | |
| Displacement: | 607 standard, 923 full load |
| Length: | 168 ft (51 m)/157.5 ft (48.0 m) |
| Beam: | 30 ft (9.1 m) |
| Draught: | 15.3 ft (4.7 m) |
| Propulsion: | 1,100 ihp (820 kW) oil |
| Speed: | 13 knots (24 km/h; 15 mph) |
| Complement: | 33-35 |
| Armament: | 1 × 4 inch gun, 2×1 Hotchkiss, twin Lewis, 40 depth charges |
HMNZS Tui (T234) was a Bird class minesweeper of the Royal New Zealand Navy. She was commissioned in 1941 for minesweeping and anti-submarine roles.
Tui was the first of two ships with this name to serve in the Royal New Zealand Navy and was named after a native bird from New Zealand.
In March 1942 in Scotland, Tui and the four Isles class trawlers, Killegray, Inchkeith, Sanda and Scarba had been newly built for New Zealand. They were formed into a flotilla and departed from the River Clyde with a convoy bound for Canada. The trawler flotilla then left for Auckland, arriving there in August.
In Auckland Tui was assigned to the 25th Minesweeping Flotilla and sailed for Suva to replace Matai. In December she joined her sister ships Kiwi and Moa at Nouméa. The 25th Minesweeping Flotilla had been offered to COMSOPAC, and by early December Tui, Moa, and Kiwi with Matai as flotilla leader, were all together at Nouméa ready to move north. They sailed for the Solomons, escorting a convey some of the way. Making Tulagi their base they began anti-submarine screen patrols on 19 December 1942 off Tulagi and Lunga Point, Guadalcanal.
On 21 January 1943, Tui and Moa came across four Japanese landing barges stopped close inshore. When Tui and Moa closed in, those aboard the barges opened fire with machine guns and small arms, and got under way. At close range Moa fired on the leading barge, but a fluke shot passed through the 4-inch gun aperture, ignited a cordite charge and injured all seven in the gun crew. Moa managed to silence the first barge and sink the last in line with 20mm fire, then withdrew and attended to the cordite fire and injuries. Tui then opened fire on the barges, sinking one with her 4 inch gun, and the remaining two escaped inshore in the darkness.
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