HMNZS Leander
Encyclopedia

HMNZS Leander was a light cruiser
Light cruiser
A light cruiser is a type of small- or medium-sized warship. The term is a shortening of the phrase "light armored cruiser", describing a small ship that carried armor in the same way as an armored cruiser: a protective belt and deck...

 which served 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...

 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...

. She was the lead ship
Lead ship
The lead ship or class leader is the first of a series or class of ships all constructed according to the same general design. The term is applicable military ships and larger civilian craft.-Overview:...

 of a class of eight ships, the
Leander class light cruiser
Leander class cruiser (1931)
The Leander class was a class of eight light cruisers built for the Royal Navy in the early 1930s that saw service in World War II. They were named after mythological figures, and all ships were commissioned between 1933 and 1936...

 and was initially named
HMS Leander
.

History

Leander was launched at Devonport
HMNB Devonport
Her Majesty's Naval Base Devonport , is one of three operating bases in the United Kingdom for the Royal Navy . HMNB Devonport is located in Devonport, in the west of the city of Plymouth in Devon, England...

 on 13 July 1929. She was commissioned into the Royal Navy
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...

 as HMS Leander on 23 July 1931. Along with HMS Achilles
HMNZS Achilles (70)
HMNZS Achilles was a Leander class light cruiser which served with the Royal New Zealand Navy in World War II. She became famous for her part in the Battle of the River Plate, alongside HMS Ajax and HMS Exeter....

 she served in the New Zealand Division of the Royal Navy
New Zealand Division of the Royal Navy
The New Zealand Division of the Royal Navy was formed in 1921 and remained in existence until 1941. It was the precursor to the Royal New Zealand Navy .Originally the British Royal Navy provided total security for the colony of New Zealand...

.

In 1941 the New Zealand Division became 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) and she was commissioned as His Majesty's New Zealand Ship Leander in September 1941.

In 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...

, HMNZS Leander served initially in the Pacific and Indian Ocean
Indian Ocean
The Indian Ocean is the third largest of the world's oceanic divisions, covering approximately 20% of the water on the Earth's surface. It is bounded on the north by the Indian Subcontinent and Arabian Peninsula ; on the west by eastern Africa; on the east by Indochina, the Sunda Islands, and...

s. Commander Stephen Roskill
Stephen Roskill
Captain Stephen Wentworth Roskill, CBE, DSC, FBA, DLitt was a career officer in the Royal Navy, serving during the Second World War and, after his enforced medical retirement, served as the official historian of the Royal Navy from 1949 to 1960...

 was posted as the ship's Captain in 1941. On 27 February 1941, she sank
Action of 27 February 1941
The Action of 27 February 1941 was a single ship action between a New Zealand cruiser and an Italian auxiliary cruiser. The action began when the HMNZS Leander ordered a flagless freighter stopped for inspection. Instead of complying, the freighter, the , rose the Italian colours and engaged the...

 the Italian armed merchantman Ramb I
Italian ship Ramb I
The Italian ship Ramb I was a pre-war "banana boat" that was converted to be an auxiliary cruiser during World War II. The Ramb I operated in the area around the Horn of Africa. It was sunk in the Indian Ocean before it could take a single prize....

 near the Maldives
Maldives
The Maldives , , officially Republic of Maldives , also referred to as the Maldive Islands, is an island nation in the Indian Ocean formed by a double chain of twenty-six atolls oriented north-south off India's Lakshadweep islands, between Minicoy Island and...

, rescuing 113 of her crew. On 23 March 1941, Leander intercepted and captured the Vichy French merchant Charles L.D. in the Indian Ocean
Indian Ocean
The Indian Ocean is the third largest of the world's oceanic divisions, covering approximately 20% of the water on the Earth's surface. It is bounded on the north by the Indian Subcontinent and Arabian Peninsula ; on the west by eastern Africa; on the east by Indochina, the Sunda Islands, and...

 between Mauritius
Mauritius
Mauritius , officially the Republic of Mauritius is an island nation off the southeast coast of the African continent in the southwest Indian Ocean, about east of Madagascar...

 and Madagascar
Madagascar
The Republic of Madagascar is an island country located in the Indian Ocean off the southeastern coast of Africa...

. On 14 April, Leander deployed for support of military operations in Persian Gulf
Anglo-Iraqi War
The Anglo-Iraqi War was the name of the British campaign against the rebel government of Rashid Ali in the Kingdom of Iraq during the Second World War. The war lasted from 2 May to 31 May 1941. The campaign resulted in the re-occupation of Iraq by British armed forces and the return to power of the...

 and, on 18 April, joined the aircraft carrier HMS Hermes
HMS Hermes (95)
HMS Hermes was an aircraft carrier built for the Royal Navy. The ship was begun during World War I and finished after the war ended. She was the world's first ship to be designed and built as an aircraft carrier, although the Imperial Japanese Navy's was the first to be commissioned...

 and the light cruiser HMS Emerald
HMS Emerald (D66)
HMS Emerald was an Emerald-class light cruiser of the Royal Navy. She was built by Armstrong , with the keel being laid down on 23 September 1918...

. On 22 April, Leander was released from support duties in the Persian Gulf
Persian Gulf
The Persian Gulf, in Southwest Asia, is an extension of the Indian Ocean located between Iran and the Arabian Peninsula.The Persian Gulf was the focus of the 1980–1988 Iran-Iraq War, in which each side attacked the other's oil tankers...

 and took part in search for German raider Pinguin
German auxiliary cruiser Pinguin
The Pinguin was a German auxiliary cruiser which served as a commerce raider in World War II. The Pinguin was known to the Kriegsmarine as Schiff 33, and designated HSK 5. The most successful commerce raider of the war, she was known to the British Royal Navy as Raider F...

 south of Maldives.

In June 1941, the Leander was transferred to the Mediterranean Fleet and was active against the Vichy French during the Syria-Lebanon Campaign
Syria-Lebanon campaign
The Syria–Lebanon campaign, also known as Operation Exporter, was the Allied invasion of Vichy French-controlled Syria and Lebanon, in June–July 1941, during World War II. Time Magazine referred to the fighting as a "mixed show" while it was taking place and the campaign remains little known, even...

. After serving in the Mediterranean, the Leander returned to the Pacific Ocean
Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...

 in 1943.

On 13 July 1943, HMNZS Leander was with Rear Admiral Walden Lee Ainsworth's Task Group 36.1 of three light cruisers: the Leander, the USS Honolulu
USS Honolulu (CL-48)
USS Honolulu of the United States Navy was a Brooklyn-class light cruiser active in the Pacific War...

, and the St. Louis
USS St. Louis (CL-49)
USS St. Louis , the lead ship of her class of light cruiser, was the fifth ship of the United States Navy named after the city of St. Louis, Missouri. In January 1951, she was commissioned into the Brazilian Navy as Almirante Tamandaré....

. The task group also included ten destroyers. At 01:00 the Allied ships established radar contact with Japanese cruiser Jintsu
Japanese cruiser Jintsu
was a Sendai-class light cruiser in the Imperial Japanese Navy, named after the Jinzū River in the Gifu and Toyama prefectures of central Japan.-Background:...

. The Jintsu was accompanied by five destroyers near Kolombangara
Kolombangara
Kolombangara is an island in the New Georgia Islands group of the Solomon Islands in the southwestern Pacific Ocean...

 in the Solomon Islands
Solomon Islands
Solomon Islands is a sovereign state in Oceania, east of Papua New Guinea, consisting of nearly one thousand islands. It covers a land mass of . The capital, Honiara, is located on the island of Guadalcanal...

. In the ensuing Battle of Kolombangara
Battle of Kolombangara
The Battle of Kolombangara was a naval battle of the Pacific campaign of World War II, fought on the night of 12/13 July 1943, off Kolombangara in the Solomon Islands.-Background:...

, Jintsu was sunk and all three Allied cruisers were hit by torpedoes and severely damaged. The Leander was so badly damaged that she took no further part in the war. She was repaired, first in Auckland and then proceeded to a full refit in Boston.

She then returned to the Royal Navy. In 1946 she was involved in the Corfu Channel Incident
Corfu Channel Incident
The Corfu Channel Incident refers to three separate events involving Royal Navy ships in the Channel of Corfu which took place in 1946, and it is considered an early episode of the Cold War. During the first incident, Royal Navy ships came under fire from Albanian fortifications...

. She was scrapped in 1949.

See also

  • Cruisers of the Royal New Zealand Navy
    Cruisers of the Royal New Zealand Navy
    Commissioned cruisers of the Royal New Zealand Navy from its formation on 1 October 1941 to the present:-Loss of HMS Neptune:HMS Neptune was a Leander class light cruiser which served with the Royal Navy during World War II. Early in 1941 the New Zealand Government responded to an Admiralty request...

  • List of ships of World War II
  • Action of 27 February 1941
    Action of 27 February 1941
    The Action of 27 February 1941 was a single ship action between a New Zealand cruiser and an Italian auxiliary cruiser. The action began when the HMNZS Leander ordered a flagless freighter stopped for inspection. Instead of complying, the freighter, the , rose the Italian colours and engaged the...

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