HMS New Zealand was one of three s. Launched in 1911, the ship was funded by the government of New Zealand as a gift to Britain,
thumb|left|Starboard elevation and deck plan as depicted in [[Brassey's Naval Annual, 1915. Note: plan is of Invincible-class battlecruisers; the Indefatigable-class had a third superstructure element with 'P' & 'Q' turrets more widely spaced.]]
New Zealand had an overall length of , a beam of , and a draught of at deep load. The ship displaced at load and at deep load. She initially had a crew of 818 officers and ratings, though this was to increase in subsequent years. At the time of her visit to New Zealand in 1913 the engineering department had a staff of 335.
The ship was powered by two sets of Parsons direct-drive steam turbines, each driving two propeller shafts using steam provided by 31 coal-burning Babcock & Wilcox boilers. The turbines were rated at and were intended to give the ship a maximum speed of . However, during trials in 1912, the turbines produced over , which allowed New Zealand to reach . The ship carried enough coal and fuel oil to give her a range of at a speed of . She mounted two 18-inch (450 mm) submerged torpedo tubes, one on each side aft of 'X' barbette, and twelve torpedoes were carried.
The Indefatigables were protected by a waterline armoured belt that extended between and covered the end barbettes. Their armoured deck ranged in thickness between with the thickest portions protecting the steering gear in the stern. The turret faces were thick, and the turrets were supported by barbettes of the same thickness.
New Zealands 'A' turret was fitted with a rangefinder at the rear of the turret roof. It was also equipped to control the entire main armament in the event that the normal fire control positions were knocked out or communication between the primary positions and the gun layers was disabled.
Wartime modifications
The ship was fitted with a single QF 6 pounder Hotchkiss anti-aircraft (AA) gun from October 1914 to the end of 1915. In March 1915, a single QF 3 inch 20 cwt AA gun was added. It was provided with 500 rounds. The battlecruiser's 4-inch guns were enclosed in casemates and given blast shields during a refit in November to better protect the gun crews from weather and enemy action. Two aft guns were removed at the same time.
New Zealand received a fire-control director sometime between mid-1915 and May 1916; this centralised fire control under the director officer. The turret crewmen merely had to follow pointers transmitted from the director to align their guns on the target. This greatly increased accuracy, as it was easier to spot the fall of shells and eliminated the problem of the ship's roll dispersing the shells when each turret fired independently.
To address deficiencies in the armour of British capital ships raised by the Battle of Jutland, New Zealand entered the dockyard in November 1916 where an additional inch of armour was added to selected horizontal areas of the main deck. In the forward part of the ship it covered the magazines for A-turret and the 4-inch guns; midships to cover the magazines for Q- and P-turrets, while it was extended vertically by to protect the magazine trunks and escape shafts. During a refit in June 1917 the armour was again improved when 1-inch armour plate was added on the lower deck at the bottom of the inner and outer upper coal bunkers as well as over the boiler. Each platform had a canvas hangar to protect the aircraft during inclement weather.
Post-war modifications
In preparation for its role as Admiral Jellicoe's personal transport for his planned visit to Australia, Canada, India and New Zealand New Zealand was refitted between December 1918 and February 1919. The fore topmast and both top gallants were replaced. Her flying-off platforms were removed and new peacetime trim was installed. The range clocks were removed and the deflection scales on the turrets were painted over. The lower forward four-inch guns were removed and replaced with cabins on the port and starboard sides of the forward superstructure to house Jellicoe and provide offices for his staff of eight.
Acquisition and construction
thumb|New Zealands bell; this bell had previously been used on the battleship of the same name
At the start of the 20th century, the British Admiralty maintained that naval defence of the British Empire, including the Dominions, should be unified under the Royal Navy. Attitudes on this matter softened during the first decade, and at the 1909 Imperial Conference, the Admiralty proposed the creation of Fleet Units: forces consisting of a battlecruiser, three light cruisers, six destroyers, and three submarines. While Australia and Canada were encouraged to purchase fleet units to serve as the core of new national navies, other fleet units would be operated by the Royal Navy at distant bases, particularly in the Far East; New Zealand was asked to partially subsidise a fleet unit for the China Station.
To this end, the Prime Minister of New Zealand, Sir Joseph Ward, announced on 22 March 1909 that his country would fund a battleship (later changed to an ) as an example to other countries. It is unclear why this design was selected, given that it was known to be inferior to the battlecruisers entering service with the Imperial German Navy (). Historian John Roberts has suggested that the request may have been attributable to the Royal Navy's practice of using small battleships and large cruisers as flagships of stations far from the United Kingdom, or it might have reflected the preferences of the First Sea Lord, Admiral of the Fleet John Fisher, preferences not widely shared. The New Zealand Government took out a loan to fund the cost of the ship.
Construction
Wright has identified that the Controller of the Admiralty John Jellicoe had wanted to have Australia and New Zealand constructed by the same shipbuilder. This would have reduced construction costs and simplified administration. Tenders were issued early in 1910, but of those who were prepared to tender, all were only prepared to construct one vessel. The construction contract was between the Admiralty and Fairfield (using the Admiralty's standard contract terms) and was overseen by the Admiralty with manufacturer's payment claims being approved and then passed on by the Admiralty to the New Zealand High Commission's office in London. Variation claims were often individually itemised (such as £1. 12s. 6d. for a specific drawing) and passed on for payment, with some payments still being processed as late as the 1914–15 financial year. The ship was built with all stores supplied from the Admiralty at the "Rate Book" price plus 20 per cent,
The four main gun mountings were made by Armstrong Whitworth's Elswick Ordnance Works, at a cost of £207,593 (excluding delivery and assembly) while the guns were supplied by both Armstrong Whitworth and Vickers. The twenty-two 12-inch guns (including six spares) and thirty-six 4-inch guns (including four spares) required to equip both of the Dominion's ships cost a combined total of £249,550.
New Zealand was launched on 1 July 1911 in front of 8,000 onlookers by Lady Theresa Ward, the wife of Sir Joseph Ward, using a bottle of New Zealand wine for the christening.
Following her launch New Zealand was moved by the Clyde Shipping Company's tugs Flying Linnet and Flying Swallow to the shipyard's fitting out basin, for installation of the boilers, engines, and auxiliary machinery though temporary openings in the main deck before the superstructure and armament was installed.
The battlecruiser's first captain, Lionel Halsey, took command on 21 September 1912. Sea trials began in October with the hull checked in dry dock on 8 October prior to a 30-hour steam test at three-quarter power being undertaken on the 9 and 10 October. Full power tests were conducted off Polperro on 14 October with 49,048 shp being generated. Over the “measured mile” she reached 25.49 knots (based on revolutions) and 26.3 knots (by bearings). The Admiralty required that all new ships be drydocked as part of the acceptance process to allow the completion and inspection of all underwater fittings. As Fairfield didn't have their own drydock, the ship sailed from Govan with the nucleus of her crew to Devonport to use that shipyard's facilities. By now the ship's hull had spent a considerable time in Fairfield's often polluted fitting out basin, so the hull was cleaned and then painted with a fresh anti-fouling coating.
The ship was officially completed on 23 November 1912, when she reached her nominally full complement of crew. Her officers by now included three New Zealanders, Lieutenant Alexander David Boyle, Lieutenant Rupert Clare Garsia and Midshipman Hugh Beckett Anderson, all from Christchurch.
thumb|William Lionel Wylie, Tower House, Portsmouth [HMS “New Zealand” fitting out]
To signal her upcoming completion the New Zealand government commissioned the marine artist William Lionel Wyllie to produce a painting of New Zealand which he titled Tower House', Portsmouth [HMS "New Zealand" fitting out]. In subsequent years he also produced other paintings of the ship.
Service history
In December 1912 the battlecruiser began the task of working up prior to joining the 1st Battlecruiser Squadron. While at sea over the 1912-13 New Year some of the masting was damaged by a storm.
1913 circumnavigation of the world
thumb|Painting by Walter Armiger Bowring showing the arrival of New Zealand in New Zealand in 1913
In 1912 it was agreed that the ship would visit its donor country as a 'thank you' for funding its construction, with a basic nine month long itinerary developed in the last months of 1912. To facilitate the flag-waving cruise New Zealand was temporary detached from the 1st Battlecruiser Squadron on 20 January 1913 for the duration of the voyage with Halsey having independent command. As soon as the King's party had departed, New Zealand took on coal before leaving Portsmouth on 6 February.
Two greenstone hei-tiki (pendants), which were intended to ward off evil were gifted to the ship. One was given by the Boy Scouts of Wellington on 13 April, and the second by Christchurch businessman C. J. Sloman in May 1913. He had deposited the hei-tiki at Canterbury Museum in 1913 and then uplifted it a few months later to lend it to the ship on the condition that it had to be returned to Canterbury Museum should the name New Zealand ever be removed from the navy list.
The most notable gift was the personal gift to Halsey of a Māori piupiu (a warrior's skirt made from rolled flax).
According to legend, the chief who gave the piupiu to Halsey instructed him to wear it during battle to protect the ship and its crew. If he did, then the ship would be involved in three sea battles; it would be hit only once; and no one on board would be killed. Another likely candidate was that the piupiu was given to Halsey on behalf of Ngāi Tahu chief Mana Himiona Te Ataotu by Southern Māori MP, Taare Rakatauhake Parata (Charles Rere Parata) when he visited the ship in Wellington on 19 April 1913. A delegation of 25 leading Māori (including Māori members of parliament) did visit the battlecruiser in Wellington on 21 April among whom was Tureiti Te Heuheu Tukino V a leading chief of the Ngāti Tūwharetoa, New Zealanders had visited the vessel during her time in the country, though other sources quote 376,086, 368,118. and 378,068. It is estimated that approximately another 125,000 had been able to see the ship either from the shore or from boats.
Assigned to the Grand fleet
The Admiralty requested that New Zealand return to the United Kingdom when the tour concluded, rather than remain in the Pacific region as originally planned. The New Zealand Government acceded to the request.
As a result, upon her return to the United Kingdom, New Zealand joined the 1st Battlecruiser Squadron (1st BCS) of the Grand Fleet. The squadron visited Brest in February 1914, and Riga, Reval and Kronstadt in the Russian Empire the following June. While there they were visited by the Tsar and Tssarina on the 27 June and that evening hosted in a formal ball in conjunction with Lion, which was moored alongside.
On the 29 June the squadron departed for the United Kingdom. The intention was that New Zealand would decommission on 30 August prior to transferring to the Mediterranean fleet where she would become the flagship of Rear Admiral Archibald Moore, but the outbreak of war cancelled that deployment.
First World War
On 19 August 1914, shortly after the First World War began, New Zealand was transferred to the 2nd Battlecruiser Squadron (2nd BCS).
Battle of Heligoland Bight
thumb|right|New Zealand steaming during the Battle of Heligoland Bight|alt=
New Zealands first wartime action was the Battle of Heligoland Bight on 28 August 1914, as part of the battlecruiser force under the command of Admiral David Beatty. Beatty's ships were originally intended to provide distant support for the British cruisers and destroyers closer to the German coast, in case large units of the High Seas Fleet sortied in response to the British attacks once the tide rose. When the British light forces failed to disengage on schedule at 11:35, the battlecruisers, led by Beatty aboard his flagship, , began to head south at full speed to reinforce the smaller British ships; the rising tide meant that German capital ships would be able to clear the sandbar at the mouth of the Jade estuary.
The brand-new light cruiser had been crippled earlier in the battle and was under fire from the German light cruisers and when Beatty's battlecruisers loomed out of the mist at 12:37. By this time, New Zealand had fallen behind the three newer and faster battlecruisers and was not in position to significantly participate in the battle. Strassburg was able to evade fire by hiding in the mists, but Cöln remained visible and was quickly crippled by the British squadron. Before the German ship could be sunk, Beatty was distracted by the sudden appearance of the elderly light cruiser off his starboard bow. He turned to pursue, but Ariadne was set afire after only three salvos fired from under . At 13:10, Beatty turned north and made a general signal to retire. Shortly after turning north, the battlecruisers encountered the crippled Cöln, which was sunk by two salvos from Lion. During the battle, New Zealands captain, Lionel Halsey, wore the Māori piupiu over his uniform, setting a tradition followed for the duration of the war. Two days after the battle, New Zealand was transferred back to the 1st BCS, when the battlecruiser arrived from the Mediterranean.
Raid on Scarborough
The German Navy had decided on a strategy of bombarding British towns on the North Sea coast in an attempt to draw out the Royal Navy and destroy elements of it in detail. An earlier raid on Yarmouth on 3 November 1914 had been partially successful, but a larger-scale operation was later devised by Admiral Franz von Hipper. The fast battlecruisers would conduct the bombardment, while the rest of the High Seas Fleet stationed itself east of Dogger Bank, so they could cover the battlecruisers' return and destroy any pursuing British vessels. Having broken the German naval codes, the British were planning to catch the raiding force on its return journey, although they were not aware of the High Seas Fleet's presence. Admiral Beatty's 1st BCS (now reduced to four ships, including New Zealand) and the 2nd Battle Squadron (consisting of six dreadnoughts) were detached from the Grand Fleet in an attempt to intercept the Germans near Dogger Bank.
Admiral Hipper's raiders set sail on 15 December 1914, and successfully bombarded several English towns; British destroyers escorting the 1st BCS had already encountered German destroyers of the High Seas Fleet at 05:15 and fought an inconclusive action with them. Vice Admiral Sir George Warrender, commanding the 2nd Battle Squadron, had received a signal at 05:40 that the destroyer was engaging enemy destroyers, although Beatty had not. The destroyer spotted the German armoured cruiser and her escorts at about 07:00, but could not transmit the message until 07:25. Admiral Warrender received the signal, as did New Zealand, but Beatty, aboard Lion, did not, even though New Zealand had been specifically tasked to relay messages between the destroyers and the flagship. Warrender attempted to pass on Shark's message to Beatty at 07:36, but did not manage to make contact until 07:55. On receiving the message, Beatty reversed course, and dispatched New Zealand to search for Roon. She was being overhauled by New Zealand when Beatty received messages that Scarborough was being shelled at 09:00. Beatty ordered New Zealand to rejoin the squadron and turned west for Scarborough.
thumb|300px|right|Relative positions of the British and German forces at about 12:00 hours
The British forces, heading west to cover the main route through the minefields protecting the coast of England, split up while passing the shallow Southwest Patch of Dogger Bank; Beatty's ships headed to the north, while Warrender passed to the south. This left a gap between them, through which the German light forces began to move. At 12:25, the light cruisers of the II Scouting Group began to pass the British forces searching for Hipper. The light cruiser spotted the light cruiser and signalled a report to Beatty. At 12:30, Beatty turned his battlecruisers toward the German ships, which he presumed were the advance screen for Hipper's ships. However, those were some behind. The 2nd Light Cruiser Squadron, which had been screening for Beatty's ships, detached to pursue the German cruisers, but a misinterpreted signal from the British battlecruisers sent them back to their screening positions.