Category Archives: Cruiser –

HMNZS Royalist under tow, taken from an RNZAF Sunderland flying boat during a dramatic mid-ocean rescue in November 1965

The 1965 Breakdown Incident. On November 1, 1965, while returning home to New Zealand from a deployment in the Far East, the cruiser suffered a catastrophic total engine failure in the Coral Sea, south of Guadalcanal.The Cause: Severe salt-water contamination entered the ship’s condenser feed-water—a condition colloquially known by the crew as “condenseritis”. This heavilyContinue reading “HMNZS Royalist under tow, taken from an RNZAF Sunderland flying boat during a dramatic mid-ocean rescue in November 1965”

RNZN Ship of the day – HMS/HMNZS Black Prince (81)

HMS Black Prince was a Dido-class light cruiser of the Royal Navy, of the Bellona subgroup. The cruiser was commissioned in 1943, and served during World War II on the Arctic convoys, during the Normandy landings, and as part of the British Pacific Fleet. In 1946, the cruiser was loaned to the Royal New Zealand Navy, becoming HMNZS Black Prince. The cruiser was docked for modernisation in 1947, but in April,Continue reading “RNZN Ship of the day – HMS/HMNZS Black Prince (81)”