The HS ''Maunganui'' was a

hospital ship A hospital ship is a ship designated for primary function as a floating healthcare, medical treatment facility or hospital. Most are operated by the military forces (mostly navy, navies) of various countries, as they are intended to be used in or ...

that served in the

Royal New Zealand Navy The Royal New Zealand Navy (RNZN; ) is the maritime arm of the New Zealand Defence Force. The fleet currently consists of eight ships. The Navy had its origins in the Naval Defence Act 1913, and the subsequent acquisition of the cruiser , whi ...

(RNZN) during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. ''Maunganui'' was converted from a 30-year-old oil burner, and was larger than the previous ships operated by the RNZN, those being the ''Maheno'' and ''Marama''. She had electric lifts installed which could carry two stretchers each from deck to deck and a fresh water tank holding up to 700 tons of water. Also installed were an operating block containing rooms for sterilization, massage,

X-ray An X-ray (also known in many languages as Röntgen radiation) is a form of high-energy electromagnetic radiation with a wavelength shorter than those of ultraviolet rays and longer than those of gamma rays. Roughly, X-rays have a wavelength ran ...

and

diathermy Diathermy is electrically induced heat or the use of high-frequency electromagnetic currents as a form of physical therapy and in surgical procedures. The earliest observations on the reactions of the human organism to high-frequency electromagn ...

. Initially planned to have accommodation for 390 patients with 100 swinging cots, 100 single fixed cots and 95 fixed two-tier cots she ultimately ended up with 365 cots, 22 for fractures, 84 single cots and the rest two-tier cots. In total these conversions cost the New Zealand government around £50,000. By 21 April 1941, the conversions had been completed. Once completed she had a crew of 104 medical officers, nurses and orderlies and an indeterminate amount of crew. She set sail for

Suez Suez (, , , ) is a Port#Seaport, seaport city with a population of about 800,000 in north-eastern Egypt, located on the north coast of the Gulf of Suez on the Red Sea, near the southern terminus of the Suez Canal. It is the capital and largest c ...

a day after finishing conversions, leaving on 22 April 1941 to assist 2 NZEF. She arrived at Suez on 22 May 1941 taking casualties from Greece and

Crete Crete ( ; , Modern Greek, Modern: , Ancient Greek, Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the List of islands by area, 88th largest island in the world and the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, fifth la ...

before returning to New Zealand on 10 June 1941 full with patients. This was a voyage she completed a total of 14 times. On her 15th voyage, the ship was diverted to the Pacific to assist around various islands making repeated voyages to pick up and treat patients until the end of the war when she brought back one final load of 2 NZEF casualties from Italy and Egypt. By the end of the war the total number of patients she had taken on numbered 5,677.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Maunganui Hospital ships of New Zealand Hospital ships in World War II Auxiliary ships of the Royal New Zealand Navy