Axis naval activity in New Zealand waters

A small number of Axis

Axis Powers

The Axis powers , also known as the Axis alliance, Axis nations, Axis countries, or just the Axis, was an alignment of great powers during the mid-20th century that fought World War II against the Allies. It began in 1936 with treaties of friendship between Germany and Italy and between Germany and...

surface raider

Armed merchantmen

Armed merchantman is a term that has come to mean a merchant ship equipped with guns, usually for defensive purposes, either by design or after the fact. In the days of sail, piracy and privateers, many merchantmen would be routinely armed, especially those engaging in long distance and high value...

s and submarine

Submarine

A submarine is a watercraft capable of independent operation below the surface of the water. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability...

s operated in New Zealand Waters during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

.

Surface raiders

The following German

Nazi Germany

Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...

surface raiders operated in New Zealand

New Zealand

New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...

waters: (13-19 June 1940, late August 1940, late September 1940, November 1940, March 1941) (November 1940, June 1941)

Small auxiliary raider Adjutant (June 1941)
Tanker Ole Jacob (March 1941)

The Orion and Komet sank four ships in New Zealand waters during these operations.

Submarines

Imperial Japanese Navy submarines

Imperial Japanese Navy submarines originated with the purchase of five Holland type submarines from the United States in 1904. Japanese submarine forces progressively built up strength and expertise, becoming by the beginning of World War II one of the world's most varied and powerful submarine...

operated in New Zealand waters in 1942 and 1943: operated off New Zealand in early March 1942. Nobuo Fujita

Nobuo Fujita

was a Warrant Flying Officer of the Imperial Japanese Navy who flew a floatplane from the long-range submarine aircraft carrier , and conducted the only wartime aircraft-dropped bombing on the continental United States of America, which became known as the Lookout Air Raid...

from I-25 in a Yokosuka E14Y floatplane

Yokosuka E14Y

|-See also:-References:NotesBibliography* Francillon, Ph.D., René J. Japanese Aircraft of the Pacific War. London: Putnam & Company Ltd., 1979. ISBN 0-370-30251-6....

conducted reconnaissance flights over Wellington

Wellington

Wellington is the capital city and third most populous urban area of New Zealand, although it is likely to have surpassed Christchurch due to the exodus following the Canterbury Earthquake. It is at the southwestern tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Rimutaka Range...

on 8 March and Auckland

Auckland

The Auckland metropolitan area , in the North Island of New Zealand, is the largest and most populous urban area in the country with residents, percent of the country's population. Auckland also has the largest Polynesian population of any city in the world...

on 13 March before departing for Fiji

Fiji

Fiji , officially the Republic of Fiji , is an island nation in Melanesia in the South Pacific Ocean about northeast of New Zealand's North Island...

. briefly operated off the northern tip of New Zealand in May 1942. I-21s floatplane conducted a reconnaissance flight over Auckland on 24 May.

An unknown Japanese submarine operated off New Zealand in February 1943

Neither I-21 nor I-25 attacked any ships during their brief periods in New Zealand waters.

U-862

The German submarine sailed down the east coast of New Zealand in January 1945. U-862—under the command of Korvettenkapitän Heinrich Timm

Heinrich Timm

Heinrich Timm was a German U-boat commander in World War II and recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross....

—entered New Zealand waters on 1 January 1945 after operating off Australia. The boat rounded the tip of the North Island

North Island

The North Island is one of the two main islands of New Zealand, separated from the much less populous South Island by Cook Strait. The island is in area, making it the world's 14th-largest island...

on 7 January and proceeded down the east coast. She encountered a merchant ship off Cape Brett

Cape Brett

Cape Brett is a promontory on the northern North Island coast in New Zealand. Located at the end of the Cape Brett Peninsula, the head extends north into the Pacific Ocean at the eastern end of the Bay of Islands....

on 10 January but was not able to intercept it. The U-boat continued south and failed to reach firing position on another merchant ship off East Cape

East Cape

East Cape is the easternmost point of the main islands of New Zealand. It is located to the north of Gisborne in the northeast of the North Island....

on 13 January.

On 15 January, Timm took his submarine very close to Gisborne

Gisborne, New Zealand

-Economy:The harbour was host to many ships in the past and had developed as a river port to provide a more secure location for shipping compared with the open roadstead of Poverty Bay which can be exposed to southerly swells. A meat works was sited beside the harbour and meat and wool was shipped...

in search of viable targets. While the submarine was not detected, Timm did not find any worthwhile ships to attack. Timm also sailed close to the shore of Napier

Napier, New Zealand

Napier is a New Zealand city with a seaport, located in Hawke's Bay on the eastern coast of the North Island. The population of Napier is about About 18 kilometres south of Napier is the inland city of Hastings. These two neighboring cities are often called "The Twin Cities" or "The Bay Cities"...

on 16 January and attempted to torpedo a small merchant ship off the city. This attack was not successful, with the torpedo missing its target. Timm believed that U-862 had been sighted during this attack and left the area. This belief was not correct, however, and the New Zealand government remained unaware of the submarine's presence.

Shortly after the attack off Napier, U-862 received orders to return to her home base at Batavia

Jakarta

Jakarta is the capital and largest city of Indonesia. Officially known as the Special Capital Territory of Jakarta, it is located on the northwest coast of Java, has an area of , and a population of 9,580,000. Jakarta is the country's economic, cultural and political centre...

. Timm immediately ceased his patrol and proceeded along the east coast of the South Island

South Island

The South Island is the larger of the two major islands of New Zealand, the other being the more populous North Island. It is bordered to the north by Cook Strait, to the west by the Tasman Sea, to the south and east by the Pacific Ocean...

. U-862 rounded Stewart Island/Rakiura

Stewart Island/Rakiura

Stewart Island/Rakiura is the third-largest island of New Zealand. It lies south of the South Island, across Foveaux Strait. Its permanent population is slightly over 400 people, most of whom live in the settlement of Oban.- History and naming :...

on 21 January and the submarine left New Zealand waters shortly thereafter. Claims that members of the submarine's crew landed in New Zealand are not correct, and this story appears to have been started by Timm as a joke.