HMNZS Hawea (F422), formerly HMS Loch Eck (K422), was one of six Loch class

Loch class frigate

The Loch class was a class of anti-submarine frigate built for the Royal Navy and her allies during World War II. They were an innovative design based on the experience of 3 years of fighting in the Battle of the Atlantic and attendant technological advances.-Design:The Lochs were based upon the...

 frigates that served in both 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...

 (RN) and 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). The ship was laid down by Smiths Dock

Smiths Dock Company

Smiths Dock Company, Limited, often referred to simply as Smiths Dock, was a British shipbuilding company.-History:The company was originally established by Thomas Smith who bought William Rowe's shipyard at St. Peter's in Newcastle upon Tyne in 1810 and traded as William Smith & Co. The company...

 on 25 October 1943, launched on 25 April 1943 and commissioned into the Royal Navy as HMS Loch Eck on 7 November 1944.

Royal Navy service

Loch Eck joined the 10th Escort Group in the Western Approaches

Western Approaches

The Western Approaches is a rectangular area of the Atlantic ocean lying on the western coast of Great Britain. The rectangle is higher than it is wide, the north and south boundaries defined by the north and south ends of the British Isles, the eastern boundary lying on the western coast, and the...

 in December 1944 for anti-submarine patrols and support for convoy escorts. In January 1945 the Group was transferred to Scapa Flow

Scapa Flow

right|thumb|Scapa Flow viewed from its eastern endScapa Flow is a body of water in the Orkney Islands, Scotland, United Kingdom, sheltered by the islands of Mainland, Graemsay, Burray, South Ronaldsay and Hoy. It is about...

 for anti-submarine operations in the Faeroes

Faroe Islands

The Faroe Islands are an island group situated between the Norwegian Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, approximately halfway between Scotland and Iceland. The Faroe Islands are a self-governing territory within the Kingdom of Denmark, along with Denmark proper and Greenland...

–Iceland

Iceland

Iceland , described as the Republic of Iceland, is a Nordic and European island country in the North Atlantic Ocean, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Iceland also refers to the main island of the country, which contains almost all the population and almost all the land area. The country has a population...

 Gap. On 3 February she sank north-west of Shetland with her Squid

Squid (weapon)

Squid was a British World War II ship-mounted anti-submarine weapon. It consisted of a three-barrelled mortar which launched depth charges. It replaced the Hedgehog system, and was in turn replaced by the Limbo system....

 (mortar) after Hedgehog

Hedgehog (weapon)

The Hedgehog was an anti-submarine weapon developed by the Royal Navy during World War II, that was deployed on convoy escort warships such as destroyers to supplement the depth charge. The weapon worked by firing a number of small spigot mortar bombs from spiked fittings...

 (mortar) attacks by and . On 14 February she took part in the sinking of , and on the 17th of in the same area.

In March the Group was redeployed in the English Channel

English Channel

The English Channel , often referred to simply as the Channel, is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates southern England from northern France, and joins the North Sea to the Atlantic. It is about long and varies in width from at its widest to in the Strait of Dover...

 and South-Western Approaches as "Force 38". In April Loch Eck carried out trials of new sonobuoy

Sonobuoy

A sonobuoy is a relatively small expendable sonar system that is dropped/ejected from aircraft or ships conducting anti-submarine warfare or underwater acoustic research....

 submarine detection equipment. On 23 May the ship was attached to Rosyth

Rosyth

Rosyth is a town located on the Firth of Forth, three miles south of the centre of Dunfermline. According to an estimate taken in 2008, the town has a population of 12,790....

 Command to support "Operation Doomsday

Operation Doomsday

In Operation Doomsday, the British 1st Airborne Division acted as a police and military force during the Allied occupation of Norway in May 1945, immediately after the victory in Europe during the Second World War. The division maintained law and order until the arrival of the remainder of Force...

", the reoccupation of Norway. On 1 June she escorted from Kristiansund

Kristiansund

Kristiansund is a city and municipality on the western coast of Norway, in the Nordmøre district of Møre og Romsdal county. It was officially awarded township status in 1742, and it is still the major town for the region. The administrative center of the municipality is the city of Kristiansund...

 to Loch Eriboll

Loch Eriboll

Loch Eriboll is a long sea loch on the north coast of Scotland, which has been used for centuries as a deep water anchorage as it is safe from the often stormy seas of Cape Wrath and the Pentland Firth...

 as part of "Operation Deadlight

Operation Deadlight

Operation Deadlight was the code name for the scuttling of U-boats surrendered to the Allies after the defeat of Germany near the end of World War II....

", returning to Norway on the 6th as part of the escort for Convoy RN1 taking King Haakon VII of Norway

Haakon VII of Norway

Haakon VII , known as Prince Carl of Denmark until 1905, was the first king of Norway after the 1905 dissolution of the personal union with Sweden. He was a member of the House of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg...

 to Oslo.

After a refit at the Charles Hill & Sons

Charles Hill & Sons

Charles Hill & Sons was a major shipbuilder based in Bristol, England, during the 19th and 20th centuries. Established in 1845, they specialised mainly in merchant and commercial ships, but also undertook the build of warships and governmental vessels especially during the First and Second World...

 shipyard in Bristol in June and July, she sailed for 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...

 in August, to join the East Indies Escort Force. There she carried out Guard ship and military support duties, as well as the repatriation of military and civilian personnel. She was also present at the formal Japanese surrender of Bali

Bali

Bali is an Indonesian island located in the westernmost end of the Lesser Sunda Islands, lying between Java to the west and Lombok to the east...

 in February 1946 and at Lombok

Lombok

Lombok is an island in West Nusa Tenggara province, Indonesia. It forms part of the chain of the Lesser Sunda Islands, with the Lombok Strait separating it from Bali to the west and the Alas Strait between it and Sumbawa to the east...

 in March. She sailed for home in May, but her return to the UK was delayed after a collision in Colombo

Colombo

Colombo is the largest city of Sri Lanka. It is located on the west coast of the island and adjacent to Sri Jayawardenapura Kotte, the capital of Sri Lanka. Colombo is often referred to as the capital of the country, since Sri Jayawardenapura Kotte is a satellite city of Colombo...

 with a Navy cutter. She returned to 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...

 to decommission on 13 August 1946.

Transfer to New Zealand

Loch Ech was one of six Loch class frigates sold to the Royal New Zealand Navy. Renamed HMNZS Hawea, she was acquired on 7 September 1948, and commissioned on 1 October 1948.

Since the Admiralty named the Loch class ships after Scottish lakes, the six in New Zealand

New Zealand

New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...

 service were renamed after New Zealand lakes. Lake Hawea

Lake Hawea

Lake Hawea is located in the Otago Region of New Zealand, at an altitude of 348 metres. It covers an area of some 141 km² and is, at its deepest, 392 metres deep...

 is a glacial lake located in the Central Otago

Central Otago

Central Otago is the inland part of the New Zealand region of Otago in the South Island. The area commonly known as Central Otago includes both the Central Otago District and the Queenstown-Lakes District to the west....

 region of New Zealand. The name is Māori

Maori language

Māori or te reo Māori , commonly te reo , is the language of the indigenous population of New Zealand, the Māori. It has the status of an official language in New Zealand...

 and is thought to refer to a local tribe although the exact meaning is uncertain. Hawea was the first of three ships with this name

HMNZS Hawea

Three ships of the Royal New Zealand Navy have been named HMNZS Hawea:*HMNZS Hawea , was a frigate, 1948–1965*HMNZS Hawea , was a Lake-class patrol vessel, 1975–1991, pennant number P3571...

 to serve in the Royal New Zealand Navy.

Royal New Zealand Navy service

After commissioning 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...

 Hawea sailed for the Mediterranean with three other Loch class frigates. After exercises with the Mediterranean Fleet in November, she sailed for Auckland

Auckland

The Auckland metropolitan area , in the North Island of New Zealand, is the largest and most populous urban area in the country with residents, percent of the country's population. Auckland also has the largest Polynesian population of any city in the world...

, via the Suez Canal

Suez Canal

The Suez Canal , also known by the nickname "The Highway to India", is an artificial sea-level waterway in Egypt, connecting the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea. Opened in November 1869 after 10 years of construction work, it allows water transportation between Europe and Asia without navigation...

 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...

, arriving in January 1949 to join the 11th Frigate Flotilla.

On 22 March 1949 Hawea participated in sinking the coal hulk Occident in Palliser Bay

Palliser Bay

Palliser Bay is located at the southern end of the North Island of New Zealand, to the southeast of Wellington. It runs for 40 kilometres along the Cook Strait coast from Turakirae Head at the southern end of the Rimutaka Ranges to Cape Palliser, the North Island's southernmost point.Inland from...

.

In 1949 Hawea carried out patrols in the Pacific, visiting Suva

Suva

Suva features a tropical rainforest climate under the Koppen climate classification. The city sees a copious amount of precipitation during the course of the year. Suva averages 3,000 mm of precipitation annually with its driest month, July averaging 125 mm of rain per year. In fact,...

, Fiji

Fiji

Fiji , officially the Republic of Fiji , is an island nation in Melanesia in the South Pacific Ocean about northeast of New Zealand's North Island...

 and Samoa

Samoa

Samoa , officially the Independent State of Samoa, formerly known as Western Samoa is a country encompassing the western part of the Samoan Islands in the South Pacific Ocean. It became independent from New Zealand in 1962. The two main islands of Samoa are Upolu and one of the biggest islands in...

. After a refit from October to February 1950 she was transferred on loan to 2nd Frigate Flotilla of the Mediterranean Fleet, with her sister ship joining the flotilla at Malta

Malta

Malta , officially known as the Republic of Malta , is a Southern European country consisting of an archipelago situated in the centre of the Mediterranean, south of Sicily, east of Tunisia and north of Libya, with Gibraltar to the west and Alexandria to the east.Malta covers just over in...

 in May for Fleet exercises and cruises. She returned to Auckland in November.

Korean War

The Korean War

Korean War

The Korean War was a conventional war between South Korea, supported by the United Nations, and North Korea, supported by the People's Republic of China , with military material aid from the Soviet Union...

 started on 25 June 1950 when North Korean forces crossed the 38°N parallel and invaded South Korea

South Korea

The Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...

. The New Zealand Government decided to maintain two frigates in support of a United Nations Naval Force assisting South Korea. Hawea's sister ships, Pukaki and Tutira, were hurriedly prepared for war service and sailed for Sasebo

Sasebo, Nagasaki

is a city located in Nagasaki Prefecture, Japan. As of 2011, the city has an estimated population of 259,800 and the density of 609 persons per km². The total area is 426.47 km². The locality is famed for its scenic beauty. The city includes a part of Saikai National Park...

, their main base in Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

, on 3 July 1950. They did escort and patrol services, often working with Commonwealth, South Korean and other Allied ships, and in support of amphibious landings. The frigates were rotated in turn with the other four Loch frigates.

In February 1951 Hawea sailed to Kure

Kure

Kure can refer to:*KURE, a radio station in Ames, Iowa*Kure Software Koubou, Japanese video game development company*Kure, Hiroshima , a city in Hiroshima prefecture, Japan**Kure Line, a rail line in the city...

, Japan, to join the United Nations Task Force. In May she was deployed for convoy defence, patrol and bombardment duties off the west coast of Korea. On 18 May she shelled a gun position on the coast, the first time that an RNZN ship fired on the enemy. From June to December she provided navigational data for bombardments in the Han River

Han River (Korea)

The Han River is a major river in South Korea and the fourth longest river on the Korean peninsula after the Amnok, Duman, and Nakdong rivers. It is formed by the confluence of the Namhan River , which originates in Mount Daedeok, and the Bukhan River , which originates on the slopes of Mount...

 estuary, shelling rail traffic and maintaining a blockade. On 15 September 1951, Hawea swamped a 7.6 metres (24.9 ft) motor boat which sank in the Han River estuary while navigating swift tidal channels to reach a bombardment position.

In February 1952 she was relieved by , returning to Auckland on 8 March. She had spent 272 days at sea, steamed 55,000 miles, and fired 21,000 rounds of ammunition. After refit and maintenance at Auckland from April to June she returned to Korea in October for further operations. After the Armistice Agreement of July 1953 she returned to Auckland, arriving there in August.

Later service

After a refit she returned to the 11th Frigate Flotilla in February 1954 for patrols and port visits. In December 1956 she and escorted in a passage to the Southern Ocean

Southern Ocean

The Southern Ocean comprises the southernmost waters of the World Ocean, generally taken to be south of 60°S latitude and encircling Antarctica. It is usually regarded as the fourth-largest of the five principal oceanic divisions...

, sailing from Bluff

Bluff, New Zealand

Bluff is a town and seaport in the Southland region, on the southern coast of the South Island of New Zealand. It is the southern-most town in New Zealand and, despite Slope Point being further to the south, is colloquially used to refer to the southern extremity of the country...

 to the edge of the pack ice. Endeavour was taking Sir Edmund Hillary

Edmund Hillary

Sir Edmund Percival Hillary, KG, ONZ, KBE , was a New Zealand mountaineer, explorer and philanthropist. On 29 May 1953 at the age of 33, he and Sherpa mountaineer Tenzing Norgay became the first climbers known to have reached the summit of Mount Everest – see Timeline of climbing Mount Everest...

 and members of the Trans-Antarctic Expedition

Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition

The 1955–58 Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition was a Commonwealth-sponsored expedition that successfully completed the first overland crossing of Antarctica, via the South Pole...

 to make a trans-polar crossing as part of International Geophysical Year

International Geophysical Year

The International Geophysical Year was an international scientific project that lasted from July 1, 1957, to December 31, 1958. It marked the end of a long period during the Cold War when scientific interchange between East and West was seriously interrupted...

.

Decommissioning and fate

On 15 February 1957 Hawea was decommissioned and put into reserve. The ship was used as a Harbour Training ship in Auckland until sold for breaking up in September 1965. On 15 November 1965 Hawea and sister ship were towed by the tug Atlas to a breaker's yard

Ship breaking

Ship breaking or ship demolition is a type of ship disposal involving the breaking up of ships for scrap recycling. Most ships have a lifespan of a few decades before there is so much wear that refitting and repair becomes uneconomical. Ship breaking allows materials from the ship, especially...

 in Hong Kong

Hong Kong

Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...

.

See also

• Frigates of the Royal New Zealand Navy
  Frigates of the Royal New Zealand Navy
  Commissioned frigates of the Royal New Zealand Navy from its formation on 1 October 1941 to the present:-Loch class frigates:-Whitby class frigates:-Leander class frigates:-Anzac class frigates:-References:...