HMNZS Leander

HMNZS ''Leander'' was a light cruiser which served with the Royal New Zealand Navy during World War II. She was the lead ship of the . The ship initially served as HMS ''Leander'' in the Royal Navy before her transfer to New Zealand in 1937. In 1945, the ship was returned to the Royal Navy as HMS ''Leander'' and was involved in the Corfu Channel incident. The ship was scrapped in 1950.

History

''Leander'' was launched at Devonport on 24 September 1931. She was commissioned into the Royal Navy as HMS ''Leander'' on 24 March 1933. Along with she served in the New Zealand Division of the Royal Navy. In August 1937 ''Leander'', on a journey from Europe to New Zealand, carried out an aerial survey of Henderson, Oeno and Ducie, and on each island a British flag was planted and an inscription was nailed up proclaiming: "This island belongs to H.B.M. King George VI."

In World War II, ''Leander'' served initially in the Pacific and Indian Oceans. Commander Stephen Roskill, in later years the Royal Navy's Official Historian, was posted as the ship's executive officer in 1941. In the action on 27 February 1941, she sank the Italian armed merchantman near the Maldives, rescuing 113 of her crew and taking slight damage. On 23 March 1941, ''Leander'' intercepted and captured the Vichy French merchant ''Charles L.D.'' in the Indian Ocean between Mauritius and Madagascar. On 14 April, ''Leander'' deployed for support of military operations in Persian Gulf and, on 18 April, joined the aircraft carrier and the light cruiser . On 22 April, ''Leander'' was released from support duties in the Persian Gulf and took part in search for the German raider south of the Maldives.

In June 1941, ''Leander'' was transferred to the Mediterranean Fleet and was active against the Vichy French during the Syria-Lebanon Campaign. After serving in the Mediterranean, ''Leander'' returned to the Pacific Ocean in September 1941. In 1941 the New Zealand Division became the Royal New Zealand Navy (RNZN) and she was commissioned as HMNZS ''Leander'' in September 1941.

On 13 July 1943, ''Leander'' was with Rear Admiral Walden Lee Ainsworth's Task Group 36.1 of three light cruisers: ''Leander'' and the US ships and . The task group also included ten destroyers. At 01:00 the Allied ships established radar contact with the , which was accompanied by five destroyers near Kolombangara in the Solomon Islands. In the ensuing Battle of Kolombangara, ''Jintsu'' was sunk and all three Allied cruisers were hit by torpedoes and disabled. ''Leander'' was hit by a single torpedo just abaft 'A' boiler room. 26 crew from the boiler room and the No.1 4-inch gun mount immediately above were killed or posted missing. The ship was so badly damaged that she took no further part in the war. She was first repaired in Auckland, then proceeded to a full refit in Boston.

She returned to the Royal Navy on 27 August 1945. In 1946 she was involved in the Corfu Channel Incident. She was scrapped in 1950.

Legacy

The superyacht , owned by Sir Donald Gosling, is named after HMS ''Leander'', the first naval vessel on which he served.

In 2020, Fiji commissioned , a patrol vessel named after Savenaca Naulumatua, a sailor from Fiji who died while serving aboard ''Leander'' during the Battle of Kolombangara.

See also

* Cruisers of the Royal New Zealand Navy

References

Sources

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Further reading

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External links

HMNZS Leander at Uboat.net

{{DEFAULTSORT:Leander
Leander-class cruisers (1931) of the Royal Navy
Ships built in Plymouth, Devon
1931 ships
Leander-class cruisers (1931) of the Royal New Zealand Navy
World War II cruisers of New Zealand
Maritime incidents in 1946
Corfu Channel incident