Category: Royal New Zealand Navy

Although the war is briefly covered there is interesting detail on the reserves and their activities.

Extracts from the oral history records of the Royal New Zealand Navy Museum, illuminate a history of the RNZN at war.

In the 35-year existence of the WRNZNS, only some 1655 women served, approximately 700 in WW2. Much of the book records their activities.

A well-illustrated popular history covering well-worn ground. One-third concerns WWII.

Although this is a general history there is a rich seam of contemporary photographs and paintings by Colin C. Wynn, illustrating the war effort.

A general conference but with good relevant papers on the merchant trade and naval intelligence.

A fairly bland autobiography which is a mixture of diary and reminiscence. A member of the RNZNVR, he was called up as a Petty Officer in 1939. He sailed for the UK and joined Alynbank for eighteen months of convoy work based at Scapa. A transfer to the new minesweeper Inchkeith brought a welcome change as she returned for service in New Zealand Waters. He quickly returned to the UK for training at King Alfred and spent the rest of the war in motor minesweepers in the Mediterranean.

A compilation of his letters. Son of a distinguished New Zealander, he volunteered for special entry in 1939 and in 1941 volunteered for submarines. He was lost with Upholder. A clear view of the wartime world of a bright and cheery twenty year old.

A comprehensive guide to the ships of the RNZN. Includes leading details and brief career details.

Only the last four pages cover her wartime role.

The life and times of a New Zealander serving on the destroyer Harvester.

A semi-autobiographical novel. Spence volunteered in 1941 and uses fiction to describe his training, service in the Solomons and with the BPF on Victorious.

Includes a fairly general section on the RNZN and hospital ships.

Attempts to describe the lot of New Zealand's ordinary seamen serving in the Royal Navy and notably through the service of a dozen of them on the destroyer Isis.

A history of New Zealand's Navy. WWII is largely avoided and left to the Official History. However, there is a large and interesting section on warships which had visited New Zealand, including those which paid visits during WWII.

A brief, illustrated biography of the cruiser.

A comprehensive and detailed account of the New Zealand ships wherever they served and of events in New Zealand waters.

The story of the New Zealand based HDMLs. Although mainly concerned with their post-war careers, there is useful background on their acquisition and war service.

A comprehensive and very well written account which focuses on the Second World War.

A thoroughly enjoyable memoir. He enlisted in the USN in 1939 and over the course of the war served in fifteen ships. There is an excellent account of his service in the corvette Moa in 1943 until her sinking, while he was acting as a liaison signaller.

Describes their design and construction as well as operational history, including deployment in the Solomons. Includes plans of these Type B MLs 400–411

A straightforward pictorial record.

Describes three engagements between New Zealand warships and Japanese submarines, two resulting in the sinking of the submarines.

New Zealanders were amongst the naval personnel serving as gun crew on merchant shipping.

A routine brief retelling of the operational histories of Achilles, Gambia, Leander, and Neptune, all from secondary sources.

About half of the book gives a light-hearted account of his war. He joined the New Zealand Volunteer Reserve just after the war started. He was sent to England and trained at Ganges, joined Onslaught as a seaman for Russian convoy work, and was then commissioned. The tale continues with his role in the Normandy landings where he commanded an assault ship.

Neptune had a busy war but was sunk in a Mediterranean minefield with heavy loss of New Zealand life in December 1941 before she could become the RNZN's promised fourth cruiser.

An autobiography. His diary for 1940-42 is topped up by reminisces of his childhood and post-war career. He volunteered in 1940, trained in the UK and served mainly on Kipling at home and in the Mediterranean. In 1942 he was moved to work on food production since he had a degree in agriculture.

A biography of the cruiser which won fame at the River Plate, but also had a full war in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. The author is a former crew member.

A full operational biography of the cruiser.

Naval Reservists, known as "Rockies" were at the core of the minesweeping effort which say the usual periods of action as well as spells of boredom.

Robson was a much loved Armed Forces Chaplain who served at the Auckland base in WW2.

After a very brief account of the first of name, the book focuses on the second of name and her wartime role as troopship and Armed Merchant Cruiser.

The story of Leander told by a wireless operator who served on her. Although historically accurate, it is a very personal account.

The story of a gallant small minesweeper which helped sink a Japanese submarine but was sunk by a bomb at Tulagi in April 1943. An expanded second edition was published in 1993 under the title Big Bird, Little Ship.