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John Currin

15 years in Royal New Zealand Navy

6 Nov 2023

NZ Navy conduct Pacific operation to dispose submerged World War II bombs

Dive and hydrographic vessel HMNZS Manawanui has arrived in Niue, the first stop in a seven-week deployment to the south-west Pacific.

Dive and hydrographic vessel HMNZS Manawanui has arrived in Niue, the first stop in a seven-week deployment to the south-west Pacific. Photo: NZDF

The New Zealand Navy is conducting a seven-week operation in the Pacific to conduct underwater surveys and help dispose of submerged World War II bombs.

The HMNZS Manawanui has arrived in Niue, the first stop in the Calypso operation.

There are 70 personnel, including some of Pasifika heritage, who will undertake maritime security patrols, hydrographic surveys, and community engagement activities in Niue, Fiji and Vanuatu.

In Niue, the team will support local authorities to inspect Beveridge Reef, 38km out to sea.

In Fiji, NZ personnel will work with Fiji’s military on two maritime surveys, one of which is in the Koro Sea east of Viti Levu island – an area that was last surveyed in 1895.

Once the ship reaches Vanuatu, NZ explosive ordnance disposal divers will be tasked with the disposal of four, over 226 kg bombs left submerged in Port Vila Harbour after World War II.

Commanding Officer of HMNZS Manawanui Commander Yvonne Gray said the ship’s company was excited about the deployment.

“For all of us, the Pacific is our neighbourhood and it’s always special to get out here and work with our friends on these tasks,” she said.

“Some of our crew hail from Pacific nations and so for them our deployments to the Pacific are a way for them to give something back to their communities.”

Operation Calypso is due to conclude in early December.

The third USS Los Angeles (CA-135) was a Baltimore-class heavy cruiser, laid down by the Philadelphia Navy Yard, Philadelphia, on 28 July 1943 and launched on 20 August 1944.

USS Los Angeles

The U.S. Navy heavy cruiser USS Los Angeles (CA-135) returns to the Korean theater for its second tour of combat duty with UN Naval Forces, 13 October 1952. Note that the ship’s Jack and National Ensign are flying at half-mast.

She was sponsored by Mrs. Fletcher Bowron and commissioned on 22 July 1945, with Captain John A. Snackenberg in command.

Service history
1944–1948
After a shakedown cruise out of Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, Los Angeles sailed on 15 October for the Far East via the west coast and arrived at Shanghai, China, on 3 January 1946. During the next year she operated with the 7th Fleet along the coast of China and in the western Pacific to the Marianas. She returned to San Francisco, California, on 21 January 1947, and was decommissioned at Hunters Point on 9 April 1948, and entered the Pacific Reserve Fleet.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Los_Angeles

USS Vesuvius, the third ship of the United States Navy named for the Italian volcano, was a unique vessel in the Navy inventory which marked a departure from more conventional forms of main battery armament. She is considered a dynamite gun cruiser and was essentially an operational testbed for large dynamite guns.

USS Vesuvius – 1891

The dynamite guns

Vesuvius was laid down in September 1887 at Philadelphia by William Cramp & Sons Ships and Engine Building Company, subcontracted from the Pneumatic Dynamite Gun Company of New York City. She was launched on 28 April 1888 sponsored by Miss Eleanor Breckinridge and commissioned on 2 June 1890 at the Philadelphia Navy Yard with Lieutenant Seaton Schroeder in command.

Dynamite guns[edit]

Dynamite gun muzzles on Vesuvius

Vesuvius carried three 15-inch (38 cm) cast-iron pneumatic guns, invented by D. M. Medford and developed by Edmund Zalinski, a retired officer of the United States Army.[3] They were mounted forward side by side at a fixed elevation of 16 degrees. Gun barrels were 55 feet (17 meters) long with the muzzles extending 15 feet (4.6 meters) through the deck 37 feet (11 meters) abaft the bow. In order to train these weapons, the ship had to be aimed, like a gun, at its target. Compressed air from a 1000 psi (70 atm) reservoir projected the shells from the dynamite guns. Two air compressors were available to recharge the reservoir.[2]

The shells fired from the guns were steel or brass casings 7 feet (2.1 meters) long with the explosive contained in the conical forward part of the casing and spiral vanes on the after part to rotate the projectile. The explosive used in the shells themselves was actually a “desensitized blasting gelatin” composed of nitrocellulose and nitroglycerin. It was less sensitive to shock than regular dynamite, but still sensitive enough that compressed air, rather than powder, had to be utilized as the propellant. Shells containing 550 pounds (250 kg) of explosive had a maximum range of 1 mile (1.6 km), but range could be extended to 4,000 yards (3.7 km) by reducing projectile weight to 200 pounds (91 kg). Maximum muzzle velocity was 800 feet (240 meters) per second. Range could be reduced by releasing less compressed air from the reservoir. Ten shells per gun were carried on board, and 15 shells were fired in 16 minutes 50 seconds during an 1889 test. The shells employed an electrical fuze which could be either set to explode on contact or delayed to explode underwater.

USS Harry S. Truman (CVN 75) approaches the Military Sealift Command fleet replenishment oiler USNS Leroy Grumman (T-AO 195) for a replenishment-at-sea in the Mediterranean Sea

130814-N-MY642-042 MEDITERRANEAN SEA (Aug. 14, 2013) The aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman (CVN 75) approaches the Military Sealift Command fleet replenishment oiler USNS Leroy Grumman (T-AO 195) for a replenishment-at-sea. Harry S. Truman is deployed supporting maritime security operations and theater security cooperation efforts in the U.S. 6th Fleet area of responsibility. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Donald R. White Jr./Released)

The first USS South Dakota (ACR-9/CA-9), also referred to “Armored Cruiser No. 9”, and later renamed Huron, was a United States Navy Pennsylvania-class armored cruiser.

USS South Dakota 1910

South Dakota was laid down on 30 September 1902 by the Union Iron Works, San Francisco, California, she was launched on 21 July 1904; sponsored by Grace Herreid, daughter of Charles N. Herreid, Governor of South Dakota, and commissioned on 27 January 1908.[3]

Design[edit]

An act of Congress authorized South Dakota on 7 June 1900. The ship’s hull and machinery cost a contract total of $3,750,000. Her plant consisted of vertical triple expansion engines and 16 Babcock and Wilcox boilers, which powered two propellers. Four funnels, one cage mast, and one military mast provided a distinctive silhouette. One Type J submarine signal receiving set equipped the ship. Capt. Charles E. Fox reported on board as the ship’s General Inspector on 30 August 1907. The cruiser completed her preliminary acceptance on 19 November.[3]

Shakedown cruise[edit]

South Dakota began her shakedown on 3 March 1908. The ship sailed from San Francisco to Mexican waters, carrying out trials in Magdalena Bay from 8 to 10 March, and on 11 and 12 March off Isla Cedros—the ship reported her movements off the Anglicized spelling of Cerros Island, contributing to debate among international navigators concerning the designation of the island. She came about and visited San Diego, California (13–24 March). South Dakota then made a brief voyage northward along the Californian coast and put into San Pedro through the end of the month, followed by a visit to Long Beach (1–5 April), returning to San Pedro on 5 and 6 April. On 8 and 9 April, the cruiser lay off the Mare Island Light, and then visited San Francisco. South Dakota attained a speed of 22.24 kn (41.19 km/h; 25.59 mph) on trials.[3]

She then made for the Pacific Northwest to accomplish work associated with her shakedown, reaching Port Angeles, Washington, on 12 April 1908, and (13–23 April) entering drydock at Puget Sound Navy Yard, Bremerton, Washington. South Dakota floated from the drydock and then anchored off Anacortes, Washington, from 23 to 25 April. Assigned to the Armored Cruiser Squadron, Pacific Fleet, South Dakota visited Seattle, Washington, (25–27 April). The ship returned to Puget Sound to participate in a reception for the Atlantic Fleet through 1 May. Following the reception, the cruiser completed her final acceptance trials off San Francisco through the end of May. South Dakota cruised off the west coast of the United States into August. She departed San Francisco in company with Tennessee on 24 August, arriving on 23 September at Pago Pago, Samoa.

HMAS Diamantina (M 86), named after the Diamantina River, is a Huon-class minehunter currently serving in the Royal Australian Navy (RAN).

HMAS Diamantina (M 86), named after the Diamantina River, is a Huon-class minehunter currently serving in the Royal Australian Navy (RAN).
Possibly in background, KD Jebat is a Lekiu-class guided missile frigate currently serving in the Royal Malaysian Navy and one of the major naval assets for Malaysia. Jebat serves in the 23rd Frigate Squadron of the Royal Malaysian Navy.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMAS_Diamantina_(M_86)

Port Phillip Bay, prob. 1919: Battlecruiser HMS NEW ZEALAND tends the death of a child – Allan C. Green [1878-1954], SLV.

Capturefile: D:\glass neg raws\Allen C. Green Series\box 254\gr006924.tifCaptureSN: CC001681.074062Software: Capture One PRO for Windows

813. There is something acutely sad and rather intriguing about this photo. There must be a story behind it When we first saw it, posted by on the World Naval Ships Forums website the only information available was that it was the WWI battlecruiser HMS NEW ZEALAND; taken somewhere in Australia ; and the poster – WNSF moderator AlanBenn – noted that the warship’s flags were at half mast. Based on the vaguely familiar navigation beacon on the left, and the flat coastline on the right, we offered the opinion that the photo was taken in Port Phillip Bay , Victoria, off Geelong, in mid-1919 – one of the only two occasions when HMS NEW ZEALAND visited Australia. A ship funded by public subscription in New Zealand as a contribution to Empire defence, she had first steamed into southern waters in April-June 1913 to show the admiring Kiwis the ship they had paid for; and after war service that included a baptism of fire at Jutland, came back again in July-August 1919, bringing Lord Jellicoe on his world tour of the Dominions to report on the future development of their Navies. With the ship’s flags at half-mast, our attention was most drawn here to the sombre tableau of men in the middle of the photograph, both at the head of the warship’s steps, and those standing or seated expectantly in the boats down below. In particular the man in overalls at the head of the steps seems to be holding some kind of small casket, like the coffin of a child. And the body language of everyone in the picture suggests we are dealing here with something of that kind. It’s hard to tell how a Royal Navy flagship carrying the first Sea Lord would be concerned in such a civilian matter, if that’s what it was, but a couple of possibilities do suggest themselves. 1919, of course, was the year of the catastrophic Spanish Influenza pandemic, which claimed somewhere between 40 and 80 million lives worldwide. Lord and Lady Jellicoe had in fact left HMS NEW ZEALAND behind for two months in Australia, while they toured northern Australian ports inside the Great Barrier Reef and the Solomon Islands [ the suggested site for a naval base] on a smaller ship, the specially re-commissioned former RN armed merchant cruiser, HMAS, ex-HMS SUVA. So, its quite possible the battlecruiser was involved in some act of mercy and assistance down South during this period – and one which has clearly had a sad ending. Its all purely conjecture, but we think what we have here is the death of a child, possibly connected with the influenza pandemic. One wonders whether the deceased has come from the ship moored alongside, or maybe the pylon light on the left, from where a third rowboat is just pulling over. A couple of things have since supported at least the location. The photograph turns out to have been taken by Allan C. Green [1878-1954], the great ships photographer and marine artist who worked almost exclusively around Melbourne and Victorian waters for more than half a century; and the beacon on the left is almost certainly Port Phillip Bay’s historic South Channel Pile Light, built in 1875, and in operation off Geelong until 1985. The timber pile structure was dismantled, taken to Melbourne and restored in 1998, and subsequently relocated on the other side of the Port Phillip Bay entrance, off Rye. Traditionally it was occupied by a lightkeeper and his family of up to four people, folks who – in 1919 – would have led very spartan lives. And that’s it. The record for the photograph in the Green Collection at the State Library of Victoria has neither date nor any details of the circumstances seen here. We can only think of one way of possibly finding out, and confirming the details – but it’s an almost hopelessly long shot. In 1972, the diary of one Frank Kelso, a former leading signalman on HMS NEW ZEALAND, was published by NZ Books of Palmerston North , NZ, under the title ‘The Last Voyage of HMS New Zealand.’ It covers the period of Feb 1919 to February 1920, a may quite possibly clarify what has happened here. But the book is rare. There was however a copy being offered for auction on an NZ trading website recently – so, who knows? Maybe NZ’s Navy Museum or some library in the Shakey Isles could clear the story up. Our guess is that the photograph is taken in July-August, 1919, when HMS NEW ZEALAND was here. Meantime, we have a most moody photograph, with the definite air of some long-forgotten tragedy about it. And, come to think of it, maybe that is enough. Phoito: Allan C. Green [1878-1954], State Library of Victoria [La Trobe Library]. 

HMAS Pioneer (formerly HMS Pioneer) was a Pelorus-class light cruiser built for the Royal Navy at the end of the 19th century.

She was transferred to the fledgling Royal Australian Navy (RAN) in 1912. During World War I, the cruiser captured two German merchant ships, and was involved in the East African Campaign, including the blockade of the cruiser SMS Königsberg and a bombardment of Dar-es-Salaam. She returned to Australia in late 1916 and was decommissioned. Pioneer was used as an accommodation ship for the following six years, then was stripped down and sold off by 1926. The cruiser was scuttled outside Sydney Heads in 1931

86 years ago, the Australian Navy and the Melbourne cup – (Coincidentally, I was on HMNZS Otago 1962 and happened to visit Melbourne for the Melbourne cup. A few of us did go to Flemington but did not have a win. Still remember the name of the winner that year – Lord Fury)

Oct. 30, 1937: The Horse Race That Stops A Navy

814. Oh my oh my, it’s Melbourne Cup horse race time again, and yet again the hard-worked ships of the Royal Australian Navy find themselves faced with urgent chores to be done in Melbourne. In Australia, the two-mile thoroughbred classic, The Melbourne Cup, is run on the first Tuesday in November and is known as ‘the horse race that stops a nation.’ Stops a Navy, that’s for sure. About 2.40pm on Melbourne Cup Day would be the time to attack Australia. The entire nation could be done over by the time the winning horse is back in the saddling enclosure. Everyone listens in, and traditionally the main units of the RAN have always berthed at Port Melbourne during Cup Week. 1937 was no exception. Seen here at Station Pier are [from rear] the heavy cruisers HMAS AUSTRALIA [II] and CANBERRA [I], destroyers HMAS WATERHEN and VENDETTA [I], Grimsby Class sloop HMAS SWAN [II] in the foreground, with the funnel of the flotilla leader HMAS STUART visible opposite her.

Coincidentally, I was on HMNZS Otago 1962 and happened to visit Melbourne for the Melbourne cup. A few of us did go to Flemington but did not have a win. Still remember the name of the winner that year – Lord Fury

Ford, Ike carrier strike groups exercise in Eastern Mediterranean

By Geoff Ziezulewicz

 Nov 4, 08:29 AM

As the world waits to see whether the Israel-Hamas war will balloon into a larger regional conflict, two U.S. aircraft carrier strike groups conducted exercises together in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea this week.

Sailors from the Gerald R. Ford and Dwight D. Eisenhower, as well as two Italian frigates — Virginio Fasan and Carlo Margottini — and the U.S. 6th Fleet flagship Mount Whitney, engaged in “high-value unit defense, ballistic missile defense, replenishments-at-sea, cross-deck flight operations and maritime security operations,” the Navy said Friday.

More than 11,000 U.S. personnel participated in the three-day exercise.