Name HMNZS Puriri (T02) Commissioned 19 April 1941 Beam 10.7 m (35 ft) Length 57 m | Yard number 273 Displacement 927 GRT
423 NT Launched 25 October 1938 Weight 0.1919 tons | |
Fate Sunk by a mine, 14 May 1941 Builders Henry Robb, Leith, Scotland | ||
HMNZS Puriri (T02) was a coastal cargo boat which was requisitioned by the Royal New Zealand Navy (RNZN) and converted into a minesweeper. She was sunk by a German mine 25 days after she was commissioned.
Contents
Operational history
Puriri was owned by the Anchor Shipping and Foundry Company. She was one of four ships requisitioned as a consequence of the German auxiliary cruiser Orion's minefield and the loss of the liner Niagara, the others being Matai, Gale and Rata. Puriri was taken over on 20 November 1940 and handed to the dockyard for conversion.
On 27 November 1940, Puriri put to sea urgently to assist the cruiser HMNZS Achilles in the search for the raiders Orion and Komet, which had sunk the liner Rangitane. She returned to port three days later and resumed conversion.
She was commissioned on 19 April 1941, and assigned to the 25th Minesweeping Flotilla, which was assigned to sweep German mines in the Hauraki Gulf.
Fate
On 13 May 1941, the launch Rawea attached a buoy to a German mine that had been caught in a fishing net eight miles north-east of Bream Head. Puriri and Gale were sent to deactivate it, and arrived in the area the next day. Gale sailed past the mine without seeing it, but Puriri, also not seeing the mine, struck it. The explosion caused the ship to quickly sink at 35°46′15″S 174°43′00″E. Of the 31 aboard, five (including the commanding officer) were killed, and another five were injured. Gale rescued the 26 survivors.
The cargo boat Breeze was requisitioned as a replacement for Puriri.