View source for HMNZS Hawea (F422)

{{Short description|1944 Loch-class frigate}}
{{other ships|HMNZS Hawea}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2021}}
{|{{Infobox ship begin}}
{{Infobox ship image
|Ship image=HMS Loch Eck 1944 IWM FL 9588.jpg
|Ship caption=''Loch Eck'' in October 1944
}}
{{Infobox ship career
|Ship country=United Kingdom
|Ship flag={{shipboxflag|United Kingdom|naval}}
|Ship name=HMS ''Loch Eck''
|Ship namesake=[[Loch Eck]]
|Ship ordered=25 January 1943
|Ship builder=[[Smiths Dock Company]], [[Middlesbrough]]
|Ship yard number=1129
|Ship laid down=25 October 1943
|Ship launched=25 April 1944
|Ship commissioned=7 November 1944
|Ship decommissioned=13 August 1946
|Ship honours=*Atlantic 1945
*North Sea 1945
|Ship fate=Sold to New Zealand, 1948
}}
{{Infobox ship career
|Hide header=title
|Ship country=New Zealand
|Ship flag={{shipboxflag|New Zealand|naval-1941}}
|Ship name=HMNZS ''Hawea''
|Ship namesake=[[Lake Hāwea]]
|Ship acquired=7 September 1948
|Ship commissioned=1 October 1948
|Ship decommissioned=15 February 1957
|Ship reclassified=[[Training ship]] in 1961
|Ship motto=*''Kia Toa''
*("Be brave")
|Ship honours=Korea 1951-53
|Ship fate=Sold for breaking up, September 1965
}}
{{Infobox ship characteristics
|Ship class={{sclass2|Loch|frigate}}
|Ship displacement=*1,435 [[Tonnage|tons]] standard
*2,250 tons full load
|Ship length=*{{convert|87.2|m|ft|abbr=on}} [[Length between perpendiculars|p/p]]
*{{convert|93.7|m|ft|abbr=on}} [[Length overall|o/a]]
|Ship beam={{convert|11.8|m|ft|abbr=on}}
|Ship draught={{convert|4.3|m|ft|abbr=on}} full load
|Ship propulsion=*2 Admiralty 3-drum boilers
*2 shafts
*4-cylinder vertical triple expansion [[steam engine|reciprocating engines]]
*{{convert|5500|ihp|lk=in|abbr=on}}
|Ship speed={{convert|19.5|kn|km/h}}
|Ship range=730&nbsp;tons oil fuel, {{convert|9500|nmi|km}} at {{convert|12|kn|km/h}}
|Ship complement=114
|Ship sensors=
|Ship armament=*1 × [[QF 4-inch naval gun Mk V|QF 4&nbsp;inch Mark V]] on one single mounting [[British ordnance terms#HA|HA]] MkIII**
*4 × [[QF 2-pounder naval gun|QF 2-pounder]] MkVII on 1 quad mount MkVII
*2 × [[Bofors 40 mm Automatic Gun L/60|40&nbsp;mm Bofors]] A/A on 2 single mounts Mk.III
*Up to 8 × 20&nbsp;mm Oerlikon A/A on single mounts MkIII
*2 × [[Squid (weapon)|Squid]] triple barreled A/S mortars
*1 rail and 2 throwers for [[depth charge]]s
|Ship notes=
}}
|}
'''HMNZS ''Hawea'' (F422)''', formerly '''HMS ''Loch Eck'' (K422)''', was one of six {{sclass2|Loch|frigate|0}} frigates that served in both the [[Royal Navy]] (RN) and the [[Royal New Zealand Navy]] (RNZN). The ship was laid down by [[Smiths Dock Company|Smiths Dock]] on 25 October 1943, launched on 25 April 1944 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]] in December 1944 for anti-submarine patrols and support for convoy escorts. In January 1945 the Group was transferred to [[Scapa Flow]] for anti-submarine operations in the [[Faroe Islands|Faeroes]]&ndash;[[Iceland]] Gap. On 3 February she sank the {{GS|U-327}} north-west of Shetland with her [[Squid (weapon)|Squid]] (mortar) after [[Hedgehog (weapon)|Hedgehog]] (mortar) attacks by the frigates {{HMS|Bayntun|K310|2}} and {{HMS|Braithwaite|K468|2}}. On 14 February she took part in the sinking of {{GS|U-989||2}}, and on the 17 February of {{GS|U-1278||2}} in the same area.<ref name="naval-history.net">{{Cite web |url= http://www.naval-history.net/xGM-Chrono-15Fr-Loch-LochEck.htm |title=HMS Loch Eck, frigate |work=naval-history.net |last=Mason |first=Geoffrey B. |editor=Gordon Smith |date=2005 |accessdate=12 March 2010}}</ref>

In March the Group was redeployed in the [[English Channel]] and [[South-Western Approaches]] as "Force 38". In April ''Loch Eck'' carried out trials of new [[sonobuoy]] submarine detection equipment. On 23 May the ship was attached to [[Rosyth]] Command to support "[[Operation Doomsday]]", the reoccupation of Norway. On 1 June she escorted {{GS|U-2529||2}} from [[Kristiansund]] to [[Loch Eriboll]] as part of "[[Operation Deadlight]]", returning to Norway on 6 June as part of the escort for Convoy RN1 taking King [[Haakon VII of Norway]] to Oslo.<ref name="naval-history.net"/>

After a refit at the [[Charles Hill & Sons]] shipyard in Bristol in June and July, she sailed for the [[Indian Ocean]] 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]] in February 1946 and at [[Lombok]] in March. She sailed for home in May, but her return to the UK was delayed after a collision in [[Colombo]] with a Navy cutter. She returned to [[HMNB Devonport|Devonport]] to decommission on 13 August 1946.<ref name="naval-history.net"/>

==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.<ref>{{cite book|editor=Raymond V B Blackman |title=Jane's Fighting Ships 1963-4 |publisher=Sampson Low, Marston & Co. Ltd |location=London |pages=184}}</ref>

Since the Admiralty named the Loch-class ships after Scottish lakes, the six in [[New Zealand]] service were renamed after New Zealand lakes. [[Lake Hāwea]] is a glacial lake located in the [[Central Otago]] region of New Zealand. The name is [[Māori language|Māori]] and is thought to refer to a local tribe although the exact meaning is uncertain. ''Hawea'' was the first of [[HMNZS Hawea|three ships with this name]] to serve in the Royal New Zealand Navy.

==Royal New Zealand Navy service==
After commissioning at [[HMNB Devonport|Devonport]] ''Hawea'' sailed for the Mediterranean with three other Loch-class frigates. After exercises with the [[Mediterranean Fleet (United Kingdom)|Mediterranean Fleet]] in November, she sailed for [[Auckland]], via the [[Suez Canal]] and [[Indian Ocean]], arriving in January 1949 to join the 11th Frigate Flotilla.<ref name="naval-history.net"/>

On 22 March 1949 ''Hawea'' participated in sinking the coal hulk ''Occident'' in [[Palliser Bay]].

In 1949 ''Hawea'' carried out patrols in the Pacific, visiting [[Suva]], [[Fiji]] and [[Samoa]]. 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]] {{Ship|HMNZS|Taupo|F423|2}} joining the flotilla at [[Malta]] in May for Fleet exercises and cruises. She returned to Auckland in November.<ref name="naval-history.net"/>

===Korean War===
The [[Korean War]] started on 25 June 1950 when [[North Korea]]n forces crossed the 38°N parallel and invaded [[South Korea]]. The New Zealand Government decided to maintain two frigates in support of a United Nations Naval Force assisting South Korea. ''Hawea''{{'}}s sister ships, {{Ship|HMNZS|Pukaki|F424|2}}  and {{HMNZS|Tutira|F420|2}}, were hurriedly prepared for war service and sailed for [[Sasebo, Nagasaki|Sasebo]], their main base in [[Japan]], 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]], Japan, to join the United Nations Task Force. 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 (Korea)|Han River]] estuary, shelling rail traffic and maintaining a blockade.<ref name="naval-history.net"/> On 15 September 1951, ''Hawea'' swamped a {{convert|7.6|m|adj=on}} 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 {{ship|HMNZS|Rotoiti|F425|2}}, 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 [[s:Korean Armistice Agreement|Armistice Agreement]] of July 1953 she returned to Auckland, arriving there in August.<ref name="naval-history.net"/>

===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 ''Pukaki'' escorted the supply ship {{ship|HMNZS|Endeavour|1944|2}} in a passage to the [[Southern Ocean]], sailing from [[Bluff, New Zealand|Bluff]] to the edge of the pack ice.<ref name="naval-history.net"/>

==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.<ref name="naval-history.net"/> On 15 November 1965 ''Hawea'' and sister ship ''Pukaki'' were towed by the tug ''Atlas'' to a [[Ship breaking|breaker's yard]] in [[Hong Kong]].

==See also==
* [[Frigates of the Royal New Zealand Navy]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Bibliography==
* {{Cite Colledge2006}}
* McDougall, R J (1989) ''New Zealand Naval Vessels.'' Page 37–41. Government Printing Office. {{ISBN|978-0-477-01399-4}}

{{Loch class frigate}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hawea}}
[[Category:1944 ships]]
[[Category:Loch-class frigates of the Royal New Zealand Navy]]
[[Category:Military units and formations of New Zealand in the Korean War]]