HMS Achilles (70)

HMNZS ''Achilles'' was a light cruiser, the second of five in the class. She served in the Royal New Zealand Navy in the Second World War. She was launched in 1931 for the Royal Navy, loaned to New Zealand in 1936 and transferred to the new Royal New Zealand Navy in 1941. She became famous for her part in the Battle of the River Plate, alongside and and notable for being the first Royal Navy cruiser to have fire control radar, with the installation of the New Zealand-made SS1 fire-control radar in June 1940.

After Second World War service in the Atlantic and Pacific, she was returned to the Royal Navy. She was sold to the Indian Navy in 1948 and recommissioned as INS ''Delhi''. She was scrapped in 1978.

Design

She was the second of five ships of the ''Leander''-class light cruisers, designed as effective follow-ons to the . Upgraded to ''Improved Leander''-class, she could carry an aircraft and was the first ship to carry a Supermarine Walrus, although both Walruses were lost before the Second World War began. At one time she carried the unusual DH.82 Queen Bee which was a radio-controlled unmanned aircraft, normally used as a drone.

Service

''Achilles'' was originally built for the Royal Navy, and was commissioned as HMS ''Achilles'' on 10 October 1933. She would serve with the Royal Navy's New Zealand Division from 31 March 1936 up to the creation of the Royal New Zealand Navy, into which she was transferred in September 1941 and recommissioned HMNZS ''Achilles''. About 60 per cent of her crew was from New Zealand.

At the outbreak of the Second World War, ''Achilles'' began patrolling the west coast of South America looking for German merchant ships. On 2 October 1939, ''Achilles,'' then operating with the liner ''Orduna'' north of Callao off the west coast of South America, was instructed that after fuelling from the fleet tanker , she was to proceed south about to the South Atlantic. "The ''Achilles'' was to show herself at Chilean ports as considered desirable and refuel at the Falkland Islands. The passage was to be made with moderate despatch and on arrival the cruiser was to come under the orders of the Commander-in-Chief, Africa." Thus ''Achilles'' arrived in the South Atlantic and joined the South American Division under Commodore Henry Harwood, later to take part in the Battle of the River Plate against the ''Graf Spee''.

By 22 October 1939 she had arrived at the Falkland Islands, where she was reassigned to Harwood, and allocated to Force G with ''Exeter'' and .

Battle of the River Plate

In the early morning of 13 December 1939, a force consisting of ''Achilles'', ''Ajax'' and ''Exeter'' detected smoke on the horizon, which was confirmed at 06:16 to be a pocket battleship, thought to be the but which turned out to be . A fierce battle ensued, at a range of about . ''Achilles'' suffered some damage. In the exchange of fire, four crew were killed, her captain, WE Parry, was wounded; 36 of ''Graf Spee''s crew were killed.

The range reduced to about at around 07:15 and ''Graf Spee'' broke off the engagement around 07:45 to head for the neutral harbour of Montevideo which she entered at 22:00 that night, having been pursued by ''Achilles'' and ''Ajax'' all day. ''Graf Spee'' was forced by international law to leave within 72 hours. Faced with what he believed to be overwhelming odds, the captain of ''Graf Spee'', Hans Langsdorff, scuttled his ship rather than risk the lives of his crew. An ensign flag flown by HMNZS ''Achilles'' in the Battle of the River Plate was donated to Christ Church Cathedral in the Falkland Islands and is still on display hanging on the south wall of the Cathedral at Port Stanley.

Pacific theatre

Following the Atlantic battle, ''Achilles'' returned to Auckland, New Zealand, on 23 February 1940, where she underwent a refit until June. After German raider activity in the South Pacific in 1940 ''Achilles'' escorted the first Trans-Tasman commercial convoy, VK.1, composed of , , , and leaving Sydney 30 December 1940 for Auckland. After Japan entered the war, she escorted troop convoys, then joined the ANZAC Squadron in the south-west Pacific.

''Achilles'' met , flagship of Rear-Admiral John G. Crace, and in December 1941 to form an escort for the Pensacola Convoy.

While operating off Guadalcanal Island with US Navy Task Force 67 on 5 January 1943, she was attacked by four Japanese aircraft. A bomb blew the top off X turret, killing 13 sailors. Between April 1943 and May 1944 ''Achilles'' was docked in Portsmouth, England for repairs and modernisation. Her single 4-inch AA guns were replaced by the dual-purpose QF 4 inch Mk XVI naval gun in four twin mountings, modern radar was fitted, and the damaged X turret was replaced by four QF 2 pom poms in a quadruple-mount. The work was delayed by a dockyard explosion that killed 14 men. Stoker William Dale was awarded the Albert Medal for Lifesaving for his actions in saving the lives of several dockyard workers.

Sent back to the New Zealand Fleet, ''Achilles'' next joined the British Pacific Fleet in May 1945 for final operations in the Pacific War.

Indian Navy

After the war, ''Achilles'' was returned to the Royal Navy at Sheerness in Kent, England on 17 September 1946. She was then sold to the Indian Navy and recommissioned on 5 July 1948 as . She remained in service until decommissioned for scrap in Bombay on 30 June 1978. In 1968 she was present at the granting of independence to Mauritius representing the Indian Government together with the Royal Navy frigate under Captain Cameron Rusby. As part of the scrapping her Y turret was removed and presented as a gift to the New Zealand government. It is now on display at the entrance of Devonport Naval Base in Auckland. On 22 January 1979, Admiral Jal Cursetji, the Indian Navy Chief of the Naval Staff, presented ''Achilles's'' builder's plaque, steering wheel and engine room telegraph to Admiral Terence Lewin, the First Sea Lord and Chief of the Naval Staff of the Royal Navy.

''Achilles'' played herself in the film '' The Battle of the River Plate'' in 1956.

Notes

References

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External links

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Royal New Zealand Navy article

{{DEFAULTSORT:Achilles (70)
1932 ships
Leander-class cruisers (1931) of the Royal Navy
Ships built on the River Mersey
Steamships of the United Kingdom
World War II cruisers of the United Kingdom
Battle of the River Plate
Steamships of New Zealand
Leander-class cruisers (1931) of the Royal New Zealand Navy
World War II cruisers of New Zealand