HMNZS Te Mana (F111)

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HMNZS Te Mana in Dunedin
Career (Royal New Zealand Navy) RNZN Ensign
Builder: Tenix Defence Systems
Launched: May 10, 1997
Commissioned: December 10, 1999
Homeport: Tauranga
Motto: "Kokiri Kia U" - Striving towards perfection
Status: Active
General characteristics
Class and type: Anzac class frigate
Displacement: 3,600 tonnes full load
Length: 118 metres
Beam: 15  metres
Draught: 4 metres
Propulsion: 1 × General Electric LM2500+ gas turbine providing 30,000 hp (22.5 mW)
2 × MTU 12V1163 TB83 diesel engines providing 8,840 hp (6.5 mW)
two shafts with controllable pitch propellers in CODOG configuration
Speed: 27 knots (50 km/h)
Range: 6,000 nautical miles (11,000 km) at 18 knots (33 km/h)
Complement: 178 Officers and ratings (25 Officers, 153 ratings)
Sensors and
processing systems:		 Sonars: Thomson Sintra Spherion B Mod 5; hull-mounted; active search and attack; medium frequency. Provision for towed array
Air search radar: Raytheon AN/SPS-49(V)8 ANZ (C/D-band)
Surface search radar: CelsiusTech 9LV 453 TIR (Ericsson Tx/Rx) (G-band)
Navigation: Atlas Elektronik 9600 ARPA (I-band)
Electronic warfare
and decoys:		 ESM: Racal modified Sceptre A (radar intercept), Telefunken PST-1720 Telegon 10 (comms intercept)
Countermeasures: Decoys: G & D Aircraft SRBOC Mk 36 Mod 1 decoy launchers for SRBOC
Armament: Guns and missiles: 1 × 5 in/54 (127 mm) Mk 45 Mod 2 gun, Phalanx CIWS, various machine guns and small arms, Mk 41 Mod 5 VLS for Sea Sparrow and Evolved Sea Sparrow
Torpedoes: 2 × triple 324 mm Mk 32 Mod 5 tubes
Fire control: CelsiusTech 9LV 453 (J-band)
Combat data systems: CelsiusTech 9LV 453 Mk 3.Link 11
Weapons control: CelsiusTech 9LV 453 optronic director with Raytheon CW Mk 73 Mod 1
Aircraft carried: One KAMAN SH-2G Super Seasprite helicopter

HMNZS Te Mana (F111) is one of ten Anzac class frigates and one of two serving in the Royal New Zealand Navy. The name Te Mana is Māori, meaning 'status' or 'authority'.

Contents

[edit] Construction

Te Mana was constructed by Tenix Defence Systems at Williamstown, Victoria, Australia and launched on May 10, 1997 by the Maori Queen, Dame Te Atairangikaahu. The frigate was commissioned into the RNZN on 10 December 1999 in her homeport of Tauranga.[1] She is expected to be in service beyond 2020.[2] The ship is based at Devonport Naval Base, Auckland. However in keeping with RNZN tradition she is ceremonially homeported at Tauranga. Cracks were discovered in Te Mana's sister ships HMAS Anzac and HMNZS Te Kaha, at the point the bilge keel joints the hull. Te Mana was to be checked and repaired for similar cracks at her scheduled service in August 2002.[3]

[edit] Operational history

The Te Mana was sent to the Solomon Islands in 2000, in preparation to evacuate around 225 New Zealanders from the ethnic conflict on the islands.[4]

A sailor died at sea aboard the frigate on March 29, 2001, the death was investigated by the New Zealand Police but treated as not suspicious.[5]

In February 2002, a Seasprite helicopter flown by a Royal Australian Navy test pilot crashed into the Te Mana's deck. The ship was operating during 3 m high seas in Cook Strait,[6] 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.[7]

Te Mana went to the aid of HMS Nottingham in July 2002, when the Nottingham ran aground on the submerged Wolf Rock, and provided manpower, supplies and salvage equipment to the stricken vessel.[8][9]

From 28 January 2003 until 4 August 2003 the Te Mana was deployed to the Gulf of Oman and the Arabian Sea, conducting Maritime Interdiction Operations as part of Operation Enduring Freedom.[10]

Te Mana deployed to the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman for a second time in 2004, again to undertake Maritime Interdiction Operations, as part of Combined Task Force 150. In May the helicopter was damaged, at a cost of up to $4 million; a court of enquiry later found the pilot and co-pilot had failed to lash the aircraft down to the deck correctly.[11] In the Gulf of Oman on July 14, 2004, a crewmember aboard a merchant bulk chemical carrier fell into a tank while cleaning it. The Te Mana responded to the emergency call and sprinted to the scene, the ship's medic was flown over to the bulk carrier, but the patient was unable to be revived.[12] She returned to Devonport on September 10, 2004, having queried 380 ships and boarded 38.[13]

Te Mana and HMNZS Endeavour were the first RNZN vessels to visit Russia, arriving in the Pacific port of Vladivostok on June 10, 2005 on a diplomatic mission.[14][15]

A fire broke out about the 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 her sister ship the HMAS Stuart and the fire was put out by the crew.[16]

The breeding ground of the Kermadec Storm Petrel was discovered with the assistance of the 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.[17]

Early in 2007 the vessel's diesel engines developed a problem as it crossed the Tasman Sea to Sydney. The engines became unusable and the ship had to use the gas turbine for propulsion. Her sister ship Te Kaha suffered a similar problem one month later.[18]

Te Mana deployed from Devonport to the Central and Southern Persian Gulf on 7 April 2008, as part of Coalition Task Force 152.[19] Sailing via Singapore she arrived on 11 May 2008, beginning a three month patrol of the region's waterways, including guarding against threats to the oil industry infrastructure.[20]

[edit] Gallery

Te Mana's VLS

SH2G(NZ) inside the hangar

Te Mana in Devonport

Te Mana in Devonport

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ HMNZS TE MANA F111. Royal New Zealand Navy Museum. Retrieved on 2008-05-13.
  2. ^ $300m frigate upgrade. New Zealand Herald (July 17, 2004). Retrieved on 2008-05-14.
  3. ^ Navy to fix frigate damage now, argue cost later. New Zealand Herald (April 17, 2002). Retrieved on 2008-05-14.
  4. ^ Australia plans Solomons rescue. BBC News (8 June 2000). Retrieved on 2008-05-14.
  5. ^ NZ Navy sailor dies at sea. New Zealand Herald (March 30, 2001). Retrieved on 2008-05-14.
  6. ^ Chopper repairs set to cost $2m. New Zealand Herald (June 18, 2002). Retrieved on 2008-05-14.
  7. ^ No one event to blame for navy helicopter crash landing. New Zealand Herald (May 2, 2003). Retrieved on 2008-05-14.
  8. ^ Navy warship crew fly to Australia. BBC News (16 July 2002). Retrieved on 2008-05-14.
  9. ^ DAILY SHIPPING NEWSLETTER 2002 - 013 (PDF) (2002-07-15). Retrieved on 2008-05-14.
  10. ^ Te Mana returns after stint in Gulf. New Zealand Herald (August 4, 2003). Retrieved on 2008-05-14.
  11. ^ Pilots censured on helicopter bungle. New Zealand Herald (February 23, 2005). Retrieved on 2008-05-13.
  12. ^ Te Mana Races To The Aid Of A Merchant Ship. Scoop (July 15, 2004). Retrieved on 2008-05-13.
  13. ^ Cool to be home for HMNZS Te Mana crew. New Zealand Herald (September 11, 2004). Retrieved on 2008-05-13.
  14. ^ New Zealand Navy pays first visit to Vladivostok, Russia. Vladivostok Novosti (June 14, 2005). Retrieved on 2008-05-13.
  15. ^ Navy ships head to Russia. New Zealand Herald (February 16, 2005). Retrieved on 2008-05-13.
  16. ^ Sailors fought fire at sea on Anzac warship. New Zealand Herald (March 27, 2006). Retrieved on 2008-05-13.
  17. ^ Elusive petrel breeding ground found. TVNZ (August 28, 2006). Retrieved on 2008-05-13.
  18. ^ Navy's frigates break down at sea. New Zealand Herald (April 27, 2007). Retrieved on 2008-05-13.
  19. ^ HMNZS Te Mana sails for Persian Gulf. NewsTalkZB (2008-04-07). Retrieved on 2008-05-13.
  20. ^ Te Mana arrives in Arabian Gulf. NewsTalkZB (2008-05-11). Retrieved on 2008-05-13.

[edit] External links

v • d • e
Anzac class frigate
Royal Australian Navy
Royal New Zealand Navy
Te Kaha | Te Mana
List of major warship classes of the Royal Australian Navy