ACHILLES

In 1930 the question of the replacement of Dunedin and Diomede, the two cruisers then on loan to the New Zealand Division of the Royal Navy, was under consideration, but it was only after several delays and not until September 1936 that the first arrived. She was the light cruiser Achilles (7,030 tons of the Leander class, built by Cammell Laird of Birkenhead and completed on 10 October 1933. Ships of this class were 554 ½ ft long, 55 ft beam, with engines developing 72,000 h.p. which through four shafts gave a speed of 32 ½ knots. As originally armed, the cruisers had eight 6 in. and four 4 in. guns, with two quadruple 21 in. torpedo tubes and a seaplane. When she was refitted in 1943, the Achilles was given six 6 in. and eight 4 in. guns.

Achilles earned her niche in New Zealand history when, with the Ajax and Exeter, she took part in the destruction of the Admiral Graf Spee at the Battle of the River Plate on 13 December 1939. The ship was hit several times. She shared in a wide variety of operations mostly in the Pacific until she was hit by a bomb from a Japanese aircraft in January 1943 and was sent to England for a refit. By that time she had steamed 246,000 miles on war activities. She returned to the Pacific for the remainder of the war, but was handed back to the Royal Navy in 1946. In 1948 she was sold to India and renamed Delhi.

AWATEA

In August 1936 the Union Steam Ship Co. took delivery of its new trans-Tasman liner, Awatea, which in September began a new express service. She was built to the company's design by Vickers-Armstrong at Barrow-in-Furness and was a handsome vessel with a high standard of accommodation. With a length of 527 ft, a beam of 74 ft, and a gross tonnage of 13,482, she carried 540 passengers and 342 crew and could better 23 knots. Her speed, comfort, and ability to keep going with the minimum of time in port, together with the publicity sense of her master, Captain A. H. Davey, made her a popular and well-known ship. In the summer of 1937 she made 11 Tasman crossings in 41 days and in the same year she brought the times for the Auckland-Sydney and Sydney-Wellington passages to less than 56 hours. Her best day's run was 576 miles, an average speed of 23.35 knots.

At the outbreak of war she was undergoing her annual survey and was fitted with a 4 in. gun aft. She continued to cross the Tasman until July 1940 after which she made several trips to Vancouver and, in addition, was used for transporting troops and refugees. In September 1941 she was requisitioned by the British Government for use as a troop transport and did three voyages. Then she was fitted out to take part in Operation Torch, the Allied landings in North Africa. She carried the 6th Commando group to off Algiers where she dropped them early on 8 November 1942. Eventually the Awatea anchored off Bougie, but as she was leaving German bombers attacked her and despite good anti-aircraft fire she was hit several times and sank during the night. The master, Captain G. B. Morgan, was awarded the D.S.O. and several of the crew were decorated for the ship's part in the operation.

During her six years of life the Awatea steamed 576,132 miles, slightly more than half in peacetime, including 225 Tasman crossings. In its day the Awatea provided the acme of maritime speed and comfort.

by James Oakley Wilson, D.S.C., M.COM., A.L.A., Chief Librarian, General Assembly Library, Wellington.