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HMNZS Taranaki (F-148)
Encyclopedia
HMNZS Taranaki (F148) was a modified Rothesay class frigate
Rothesay class frigate
The Rothesay class, or Type 12M frigates were a class of frigates serving with the Royal Navy, South African Navy and the New Zealand Navy....
in service with the Royal New Zealand Navy
Royal New Zealand Navy
The Royal New Zealand Navy is the maritime arm of the New Zealand Defence Force...
(RNZN) from 1960 to 1982. She, along with her sister ship Otago
HMNZS Otago
HMNZS Otago was a Rothesay Class Type 12 Frigate, acquired from the Royal Navy before completion. She was launched on 11 December 1958 by Princess Margaret, and was commissioned into the Royal New Zealand Navy on 22 June 1960....
, formed a core part of the RNZN escort force throughout the 1960s and 1970s. She was named after Taranaki Province
Taranaki Province
The Taranaki Province was a province of New Zealand from 1853 until the abolition of provincial government in 1876...
.
Construction and delivery
Taranaki’s first crew arrived in CowesCowes
Cowes is an English seaport town and civil parish on the Isle of Wight. Cowes is located on the west bank of the estuary of the River Medina facing the smaller town of East Cowes on the east Bank...
on 27 March 1961 after a full military march from Plymouth, with the ship officially commissioned into the RNZN a day later. She was formally handed over on 29 March after completing her final sea trials.
Service
The first decade of Taranaki’s existence saw her take part in regular deployments to the Far EastFar East
The Far East is an English term mostly describing East Asia and Southeast Asia, with South Asia sometimes also included for economic and cultural reasons.The term came into use in European geopolitical discourse in the 19th century,...
, to Hawaii
Hawaii
Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
and the Pacific for exercises with ships of other navies, and ‘show the flag’ tours.
Between 1974 and 1978, Taranaki was usually laid up due to a shortage of naval personnel. On the occasions that she was out she was mainly protecting New Zealand's Economic Exclusion Zone. On 23 January 1979, she was fully recommissioned after refitting for a training and fisheries role.
By 1980, Taranaki was twenty years old and reaching the end of her effective life as a combat frigate. Replacement options were sought after and in October 1981 the Government accepted an offer from the British Government to sell New Zealand two Leander class frigate
Leander class frigate
The Leander class, or Type 12I frigates, comprising twenty-six vessels, was among the most numerous and long-lived classes of frigate in the Royal Navy's modern history. The class was built in three batches between 1959 and 1973...
s. Taranaki was to be converted into a resources protection and training ship, but this plan was cancelled after the Leander class purchase.
Decommissioning and fate
On 14 June 1982, Taranaki set out on her last voyage from New Plymouth (her home port and chief city of her namesake provinceTaranaki Province
The Taranaki Province was a province of New Zealand from 1853 until the abolition of provincial government in 1876...
) to 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...
for decommissioning. During 16-17 June, her ammunition was safely removed and her boiler ceremonially doused out.
Taranaki was officially decommissioned on 18 June 1982. She was sold to Pacific Steel Ltd in August 1983 and her breaking up was completed in March 1984.
See also
- Frigates of the Royal New Zealand NavyFrigates of the Royal New Zealand NavyCommissioned frigates of the Royal New Zealand Navy from its formation on 1 October 1941 to the present:-Loch class frigates:-Whitby class frigates:-Leander class frigates:-Anzac class frigates:-References:...
- List of frigates
- List of ship launches in 1959
- List of ship commissionings in 1961
- List of ship decommissionings in 1982