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Post by Dave Homewood on Jan 30, 2006 10:59:22 GMT 12
It seems that the now deocmmissioned HMNZS Canterbury will be sunk, just like Wakato and Wellington have been.
There are several places vying to get the ship sunk in their waters, including the town of Leigh in the Rodney District, Tutukaka in Northland, Slipper Island off Coromandel Peninsular, and Mahia on the East Coast.
Personally I'd rather see it kept above water and turned into a floating museum. There are already two Leander Frigates that can be dived on, plus dozens of other wrecks. The only other Leander Frigate is Southland, which I believe is a restaurant and museum at Bluff or somewhere. Why the RNZN Museum doesn't save this I do not know. They will regret it later.
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Post by phil on Jan 30, 2006 16:31:07 GMT 12
I agree, I thought keeping Canterbury as a museum would be a much better idea.
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Post by corsair67 on Jan 30, 2006 17:35:25 GMT 12
The CRFU should buy it, paint it red & black and have it on display at Lancaster Park (oops, Jade Stadium: I forgot they sold out!) up in the DB Stand.  |
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Post by rnzafhusband on Feb 9, 2006 16:00:31 GMT 12
I guess the only positive about it being sunk is that at least it stays in NZ and does'nt end up being cut up for scrap and remanufactured into dog food tins.... I had a BBQ with a ex XO of Canterbury and he was a dissapointed that it may have been cut up.... so he may be pleased with the outcome!
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Post by Calum on Feb 10, 2006 19:57:15 GMT 12
agreed, being a Dive wreck is better than being rasor blades. A musemn would be nice but it costs a fortune to look after the ship.
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Post by Dave Homewood on Feb 11, 2006 16:24:10 GMT 12
Wouldn't it have been great if they'd given the Skyhawks one last fling and let them sink it!
That occurred in the 1950's when 75 Sqn Mosquitoes were called on to sink a ship in Cook Straight with live rockets. It was all filmed, including from the cockpit, and I saw the film at the Blenheim Museum. It's spectacular. That Museum also had lots of other aeronautical milestones playing in the cinema, such as the arrival of a DH88 Comet to Omaka, arrival of the first Bristol Freighter to NZ, etc. Well worth a look if down that way. I don't recall the exact name ofthe museum, it's just out of town.
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Post by Bruce on Feb 11, 2006 21:22:16 GMT 12
In 1958 the RNZN minesweeper Rimu was to be dispatched by RNZAF aircraft just outside the Hauraki Gulf. A Sunderland was to Machine gun it, then carry out a Depth charge attack on it, before a flight of Vampires from Ohakea would finish it off with rockets. However the 5 Sqn crew placed the depth charges beautifully, and the last one broke the Rimu's wooden hull clean in half, causing it to sink instantly. The leader of the Vampire flight was not impressed when he found a lone Sunderland had destroyed his target!
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