1. Design and construction

2. Operational history

3. See also

4. Citations

5. References

6. External links

HMNZS Te Mana (F111) is one of ten Anzac class frigates and one of two serving in the Royal New Zealand Navy (RNZN). The name Te Mana is Māori, approximately translating as 'status' or 'authority' (for further information on this term, see Mana). The ship was laid down under the joint Anzac project by Tenix Defence Systems at Williamstown, Victoria in 1996, launched in 1997, and commissioned into the RNZN in 1999 as the Royal New Zealand Navy Flagship.

In 2003 and 2004 and 2013–14, Te Mana was deployed on operations in the Arabian Sea. In 2005, she became the first New Zealand warship to visit a Russian port, Vladivostok.

5 August 2015 saw her emerge from the dry docks at Devonport Naval Base wearing the US Navy 'Haze Grey' coating, following a major systems upgrade which involved a long refit.

Design and construction

During the mid-1980s, the RNZN began considering the replacement of their four Leander class frigates.^[2] Around the same time, a deterioration in New Zealand-United States relations forced the New Zealand government to improve ties with local nations.^[3] As the Royal Australian Navy was seeking to replace their River class destroyer escorts with ships nearly identical to what the RNZN wanted, the two nations decided to collaborate on the acquisition in early 1987.^[4][5][6] Tenders had been requested in 1986, and 12 ship designs (including an airship) were submitted.^[7][8] By August 1987, these were narrowed down in October to Blohm + Voss's MEKO 200 design, the M class (later Karel Doorman class) offered by Royal Schelde, and a scaled-down Type 23 frigate proposed by Yarrow Shipbuilders.^[9][10] In 1989, the Australian government announced that Melbourne-based shipbuilder AMECON (which became Tenix Defense) would build the modified MEKO 200 design.^[9][10][11] However, the decision to buy the frigates had been highly controversial in New Zealand, primarily because of the cost of purchasing frigate-type ships, plus the idea that the high-capability warships would be too few and too overspecialised for the fisheries and Economic Exclusion Zone (EEZ) patrols expected to be the RNZN's core operations.^[12] Despite ongoing debate, the New Zealand government agreed to purchase two frigates in addition to the RAN's eight, and had an option for two more.^[13][14] This option expired in 1997 without the New Zealanders acting upon it; there were proposals to buy a new or second-hand Anzac outside the terms of the original contract, but a lack of political support stopped this developing, and the number built for the RNZN remained at two.^[15] The drop in capability and the issue of tying up the Anzacs on EEZ patrols when they could be deployed more suitably elsewhere were factors leading to the RNZN's Project Protector acquisition program.^[16]

The Anzacs are based on Blohm + Voss' MEKO 200 PN (or Vasco da Gama class) frigates, modified to meet Australian and New Zealand specifications and maximise the use of locally built equipment.^[11][13] Each frigate has a {{convert|3,600|t|adj=on}} full load displacement.^[17] The ships are {{convert|109|m}} long at the waterline, and {{convert|118|m}} long overall, with a beam of {{convert|14.8|m}}, and a full load draught of {{convert|4.35|m}}.^[17] The ships are fitted with a Combined Diesel or Gas (CODOG) propulsion machinery layout, consisting of two controllable-pitch propellers driven by a single General Electric LM2500-30 gas turbine and two MTU diesel engines: initially the TB83 model, but these were replaced in 2010 with more powerful TB93s.^[11][17][18] Maximum speed is {{convert|27|kn}}, and maximum range is over {{convert|6,000|nmi}} at {{convert|18|kn}}; about 50% greater than other MEKO 200 designs.^[11][17][19] The standard ship's company of an Anzac consists of 22 officers and 141 sailors.^[17]

As designed, the main armament for the frigate is a 5-inch 54 calibre Mark 45 gun, supplemented by an eight-cell Mark 41 vertical launch system for RIM-7 Sea Sparrow, two {{convert|12.7|mm|adj=on}} machine guns, and two Mark 32 triple torpedo tube sets firing Mark 46 torpedoes.^[11][17] They were also designed for but not with a close-in weapons system (a Phalanx CIWS installed shortly after the frigate's completion, supplemented by two Mini Typhoons from 2006 onwards), two quad-canister Harpoon missile launchers, and a second Mark 41 launcher (neither of which have been added to the New Zealand ships).^[11][20][21] The New Zealand Anzacs initially operated with a Westland Wasp helicopter, which were later replaced by Kaman SH-2 Seasprites, then Kaman SH-2G Super Seasprite helicopters.^[11][22]

Operational history

A sailor died at sea aboard the frigate on 29 March 2001; the death was investigated by the New Zealand Police but treated as not suspicious.^[27]

In February 2002, a Seasprite helicopter flown by a Royal Australian Navy test pilot crashed into Te Mana{{'}}s deck. The ship was operating during {{convert|3|m|ft|adj=on}} high seas in Cook Strait,^[28] a court of enquiry later found that no single event was to blame for the accident. The repairs to the Seasprite cost an estimated $7.4 million.^[29]

From 28 January 2003 until 4 August 2003, Te Mana was deployed to the Gulf of Oman and the Arabian Sea, conducting Maritime Interdiction Operations as part of Operation Enduring Freedom.^[32]

A fire broke out about Te Mana in February 2006, while it was participating in an exercise off the coast of Australia. The ship's Seasprite helicopter was diverted to sister ship {{HMAS|Stuart|FFH 153|6}} and the fire was put out by the crew.^[38]

The breeding ground of the Kermadec Storm Petrel was discovered with the assistance of Te Mana in August 2006, when the ship transported an ornithologist to a rocky outcrop in the Kermadec Islands group, enabling him to find a nest. The ship was on the annual mission to resupply Raoul Island for the Department of Conservation.^[39]

Early in 2007 the vessel's diesel engines developed a problem as she crossed the Tasman Sea to Sydney. The engines became unusable and the ship had to use the gas turbine for propulsion. Sister ship Te Kaha suffered a similar problem one month later.^[40]

In October 2013, Te Mana participated in the International Fleet Review 2013 in Sydney.^[44]

See also

• Frigates of the Royal New Zealand Navy

Citations

References

Books

• {{cite book|last=Fairall-Lee |first=Sam |author2=Miller, Kate |author3=Murphy, David |title=Sea Power: Challenges Old and New |editor=Andrew Forbes |publisher=Halstead Press |location=Ultimo, NSW |year=2007 |chapter=The Royal Australian Navy in 2030 |isbn=978-1-920831-44-8 |oclc= }}
• {{cite book|last=Greener |first=Peter |title=Timing is everything: the politics and processes of New Zealand defence acquisition decision making |publisher=ANU E Press |series=Canberra Papers on Strategy and Defence |volume=No. 173 |location=Canberra, ACT |year=2009 |isbn=978-1-921536-65-6 |oclc= |url=http://epress.anu.edu.au/timing_citation.html |accessdate=1 September 2011}}
• {{cite book|last=Jones |first=Peter |editor=Stevens, David |title=The Royal Australian Navy |series=The Australian Centenary History of Defence (vol III) |year=2001 |publisher=Oxford University Press |chapter=A Period of Change and Uncertainty |location=South Melbourne, VIC |isbn=0-19-555542-2 |oclc=50418095}}
• {{cite book |title=Jane's Fighting Ships 1998–99 |editor=Sharpe, Richard |publisher=Jane's Information Group |location=Coulsdon, Surrey |year=1998 |edition=101st |isbn=0-7106-1795-X |oclc=39372676}}
• {{cite book |title=The Naval Institute Guide to Combat Fleets of the World: Their Ships, Aircraft, and Systems |editor=Wertheim, Eric |publisher=Naval Institute Press |location=Annapolis, MD |year=2007 |edition=15th |isbn=978-1-59114-955-2 |oclc=140283156 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TJunjRvplU4C}}

Journal articles

• {{cite journal|last=Grazebrook |first=A.W. |date=1 November 1996 |title=Anzac frigates sail diverging courses |journal=Jane's Navy International |publisher=Jane's Information Group |volume=101 |issue=009}}
• {{cite journal |last=Scott |first=Richard |date=12 December 2007 |title=Enhanced small-calibre systems offer shipborne stopping power |journal=International Defence Review |publisher=Jane's Information Group}}
• {{cite journal|last=Scott |first=Richard |date=22 September 2009 |title=New Zealand invests in ANZAC upgrade path |journal=International Defence Review |publisher=Jane's Information Group}}

Web sites

• {{cite web |title=HMNZS Te Mana F111 |url=http://www.navymuseum.mil.nz/history/time/today/anzac/hmnzs-te-mana.htm |publisher=Royal New Zealand Navy Museum |date=2006 |accessdate=6 November 2011}}

External links

• [https://web.archive.org/web/20130919083805/http://www.navy.mil.nz/mtf/te-mana/default.htm Home page]
• [https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/1465218/Mission-to-board.html Mission to board – Reporter with Task Force 150]

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