Mar. 1969: Kiwi training corvette HMNZS KIAMA visits her NSW name town – RAN.

6004. One of four RAN corvettes gifted to the Royal New Zealand Navy in June 1952, HMNZS KIAMA seems to have made at least two goodwill visits to her NSW South Coast name town. Local records show she presented her battle flag to the Sea Scouts there in 1962, and she is seen here again on an other visit in 1969.

As we have previously mentioned the crew of KIAMA, along with that of the destroyer HMAS QUICKMATCH and other ships, was recalled from leave on Christmas Day 1944 to go to the assistance of the U.S. Liberty Ship ROBERT J. WALKER, torpedoed by the German submarine U862 and sinking 165 miles south east of Sydney. The American ship, which lost two men killed, as it happens put up a remarkably good fight against its stalking enemy.

Armed with one 5-inch, one 3-inch and eight 20mm guns, after the first hit one of its 20mm gun crews managed to explode another torpedo in the water [it must have been running close to the surface] before the ship’s guards threw smoke pots into the water to screen their vessel. Unfortunately there was a second hit from one of the five torpedos fired, and the 7,180 ton Liberty Ship’s fate was sealed.

ROBERT J. WALKER sank at about 5pm on Christrmas Day, the only ship sunk by a German submarine in the Pacific during WWII. Her 56 survivors were picked up from boats by HMAS QUICKMATCH which reached the scene first.

Commanded by Korvettenkapitan Heinrich Timm U862, after successful patrols elsewhere, was based in Batavia from Dec. 1944, and was in fact the only U-boat to operate in the Pacific at any time during the war. After the ROBERT J. WALKER sinking she proceeded to New Zealand and in fact entered the port of Napier, giving rise to an urban myth that members of the crew had landed there to obtain milk from a farm.

Photo: RAN Archives, Navy Heritage Collection, image ID NO. 00142.