The only specialised marine publication in Oceania that focuses on the maritime industry, from super yachts to small craft to large commercial ships, including coastal shipping, tugs, tow boats, barges, ferries, tourist, sport-fishing craft
Issue link: https://viewer.e-digitaleditions.com/i/119485
was evacuated that night. A surrender took place that day and the remainder of the crew become prisoners of war and marched to Suda Bay. On D-Day, 10 HDMLs were used as marker boats, two each for Utah Beach, Omaha Beach, Gold Beach, Juno Beach and Sword Beach. For this operation the following awards were made: three DSC���s, two DSM���s and 12 Mention in Despatches. NZ SERVICE operated in many parts of the world including the Mediterranean, India, Singapore, Malaya, Burma, Caribbean, Australia and New Zealand. Many which served in the Mediterranean sailed from the UK to Malta via Gibraltar in convoys, voyages that necessitated going well out into the Atlantic in order to keep clear of the enemy occupied coast. On the March 21, 1943 the SS City of Christchurch was bombed and badly damaged off Portugal. Her master intended to make Lisbon and left a Gibraltar-bound convoy escorted by HMCS Morden. By 1645 on the following day, SS City of Christchurch had her stern awash and was abandoned with the crew being taken off by HMCS Morden. Before leaving, the crew cast off the lashings on the three HDMLs she was carrying in the hope that they would float off. HMCS Morden then fired into the forward part of the ship to increase the chances of her sinking horizontally. Around 1900, SS City of Christchurch sank and HDML 1229 and one other floated clear, but the other boat had a broken back. A volunteer crew from HMCS Morden was put aboard HDML 1229 and they sailed her to Gibraltar arriving two days later. HDML 1229 survived the war and subsequently served in the French Navy. HDMLs were normally crewed by Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve officers with a temporary commission, and ���hostilities only��� ratings. The crews gained an enviable reputation for their seamanship skills and fighting ability. The following is an example of an incident in Crete on May 28, 1941. ���At about 0500hrs, 15 miles west of Gavolopula, Crete, HDML 1030 was attacked by two German bombers dropping single bombs in repeated runs in turn. AB Thomas Shiels, lay on his back and directed the Commanding Officer in attempting to avoid the bombs. The first aircraft missed with all bombs. On the last run by the second aircraft, one bomb blew the bow off the HDML all the way back to the for���ard engine room bulkhead. The HDML stopped her engines to assess the damage. Both aircraft then began strafing runs. The telegraphist was wounded and the dinghy was damaged. The aircraft departed and the engineer went over the side to inspect the running gear which had been damaged by near misses, but repairs were not possible. The HDML was abandoned with six men taking to the damaged dinghy, one on the carley raft and three swimming and taking turns in the boat. The survivors landed on Crete and joined up with a group of New Zealand soldiers. The crew split up with the First Lieutenant, Coxswain and five men joining a group heading overland for Sphakia, whilst the Commanding Officer, PO Motor Mechanic and the remaining three men took the dinghy. The overland party reached Sphakia and awaited evacuation. The First Lieutenant 32 Professional Skipper March/April 2013 The first five HDMLs to arrive in New Zealand (Q1183 - Q1187), were offloaded at Wellington and completed their workup in the Marlborough Sounds. They then sailed to Auckland and by May 1943 formed the 124th Flotilla. The next three, Q1188, Q1189 and Q1190, formed the 125th Flotilla in Wellington in mid 1943. In November 1943 Q1187 left Auckland and joined the 125th Flotilla in Wellington. The last four of the Gray���s-engined launches joined the 124th Flotilla in Auckland in September 1943. Lyttelton was intended to get the four Hercules engined launches (Q1348 ��� Q1351) to form the 126th Flotilla, but the delayed shipment was overtaken by an improved war situation, and they joined the 124th at Auckland instead. It was proposed that one launch be detached for service at Suva, and Q1184 left Auckland in November 1944 escorted by HMNZS Kiwi. She returned late December 1944 and was replaced by Q1348. The HDMLs were used for anti-submarine patrols in the port approaches. For Auckland this meant as far as Cape Brett and the outer Hauraki Gulf, and for Wellington, around the harbour entrance and the Cook Strait. Their work took over from the requisitioned private and Naval Auxiliary Patrol Service launches, and with the 112 foot Fairmiles away in the Solomons from March 1944, most patrol work fell to the HDMLs. Routine exercises with other ships and aircraft took place in the Hauraki Gulf and the Marlborough Sounds. POST WAR At the end of the war 12 HDMLs were retained by the Navy, three were sold and one (Q1185), was transferred to the Army and named Bombardier. The boats were refitted and subsequently used as fishery protection, survey and Naval Reserve training boats. In 1950 all HDMLs were reclassified as Seaward Defence Motor Launches (SDMLs), renamed and given new pennant numbers. In 1961 the MLs lost their wartime grey and were painted black, except for the two hydrographic boats, Takapu and Tarapunga, which were painted white, the traditional colour for survey craft. From 1946 to 1963 HMNZS Tamaki, on Motuihe Island in the Hauraki Gulf, was serviced by a number of MLs known as ���Tamaki Trams���. Other MLs were used extensively for fishery protection around the New Zealand coast until the Lake class patrol craft came into service in 1975. Two MLs, Takapu and Tarapunga, were also used for hydrographic work during this period. Paea also assisted in hydrographic duties from 1972 to 1976. These ���droggie��� boats were always painted white From 1948 each of the four Naval Reserve Divisions, Ngapona (Auckland), Olphert (Wellington), Pegasus (Christchurch) and Toroa (Dunedin), were allocated an ML for training purposes. Various MLs were attached to each division until the Moa class IPCs were built in the mid 1980s. They proved to be an excellent training platform and many a ���Rocky��� learnt basic seamanship skills from weekends spent on the MLs. HMNZS PAEA Q1184 Paea (P3552) was built by Madden & Lewis, in Sausalito, California, USA and shipped to Wellington on the Liberty Ship Frank Joseph Irwin with Q1183, arriving on January 18, 1943.