H.M.S. AUCKLAND
LAUNCHING THIS WEEK
FIRST NAVAL VESSEL NAMED AFTER CITY
Special Service.!
AUCKLAND, July I
The time when the city of Auckland will see the first ship of the Royal Navy ever named after it has been brought considerably closer by the launching at Dumbarton, Scotland, this week of H.M.S. Auckland. The ship, which was originally called the Heron, had- the name Auckland assigned to it by the Lords Commitsioners of .the Admiralty through a suggestion by the Mayor of Auckland, Sir Ernest Davis, through the Minister for Defence (the Hon. F. Jones), j It has been suggested that the Auckland would succeed the Imperial Escort Vessel Leith on the New Zealand station, since it has always been understood that the ship would be sent out to the country which has given her a name. However, a far more likely course is that she will be sent out to Auckland to relieve the Admiralty surveying ship Endeavour. It* was stated last year that the Endeavour would not complete the survey which she has started on the New Zealand coastline. This task is estimated to take about 20 years, and at present the Endeavour is not due to stay here' for much longer than two years. Force to probability that the Auckland will relieve the Endeavour is given by the fact that of the several vessels which have been regarded as possibilities to come out to Auckland, the Heron, as the Auckland wds originally laid down,'was looked upon as the most likely. Although it is now definite that the Auckland is being fitted as a survey ship, she was planned as a sister ship, under the 1936 Naval estimates, to the escort vessel Egret, and she is still officially der scribed as “escort ship, convoy class.
Light Armament
In place of the Egret’s eight 4-mch angle guns, however, the Auckland will carry only one small threepounder gun aft, just as the Endeavour does. This gun is not necessarily intended for combative purposes, but enables ships of the Royal Navy to take advantage of certain massage privileges which are not available for merchantmen. Although her armament will consequently be limited, the Auckland will be readily transformed into a warship if need arises. She is, like any other ship of her class, equipped with the regulation armour-plating, and in other respects bears resemblances rather to a war vessel than to a survey ship. . ~ The dimensions of the Auckland are as follows (comparative figures for the escort vessels Wellington and Leith being given in parenthesis):— Displacement 1190 tons (990 tons)., Length 282 feet (226 feet). ! Draught Bft 6in (7ft 6in). Horse-power 3300- (2000). The cost of building the Auckland, which should be delivered by Denny and Brothers. Ltd., in November, will be about £159,366.
Permanent link to this item
https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/CHP19380702.2.145
Bibliographic details
Press, Volume LXXIV, Issue 22443, 2 July 1938, Page 20
Word Count
461H.M.S. AUCKLAND Press, Volume LXXIV, Issue 22443, 2 July 1938, Page 20
Using This Item
Stuff Ltd is the copyright owner for the Press. You can reproduce in-copyright material from this newspaper for non-commercial use under a Creative Commons BY-NC-SA 3.0 New Zealand licence. This newspaper is not available for commercial use without the consent of Stuff Ltd. For advice on reproduction of out-of-copyright material from this newspaper, please refer to the Copyright guide.
Acknowledgements
This newspaper was digitised in partnership with Christchurch City Libraries.