HMNZS Canterbury (F421) was one of two broad beam Leander-class frigates operated by the Royal New Zealand Navy (RNZN) from 1971 to 2005. She was built in Scotland and launched in 1970. Commissioned in 1971, Canterbury saw operational service in much of Australasia and other regions like the Persian Gulf. She undertook operations such as supporting UN sanctions against Iraq and peace-keeping in East Timor. With her sister ship HMNZS Waikato she relieved the Royal Navy frigate in the Indian Ocean during the Falkland War. Early in HMNZS Canterbury's career, in 1973, she relieved the frigate , as part of a unique, Anzac, naval operation or exercise at Moruroa during anti-nuclear protests, supported by a large Royal Australian Navy tanker, providing fuel and a large platform for Australian media. This was due to F421 being a more modern RNZN frigate, with then current RN surveillance radar and ESM and a more effectively insulated frigate from nuclear fallout, with the Improved Broad Beam Leander steam plant, for example, being remote controlled and capable of unmanned operation and therefore the ship provided a more effective sealed citadel for operations in areas of nuclear explosions.
Canterbury was decommissioned in 2005. In 2007, she was scuttled in the Bay of Islands to provide a dive wreck. She lies in of water.Vital measurements (from the 'canterburywreck.co.nz' website. Retrieved 3 March 2008.)
Operational history Canterbury was the RNZN's fourth Type 12 frigate. She was laid down on 12 June 1969 by Yarrow Shipbuilders and launched 11 months later on 6 May 1970. She was the last Leander-class frigate and the last steam-driven warship to serve in New Zealand. The order for the ship went ahead after some controversy and doubt generated by the then Minister of Finance, Robert Muldoon.The rise and fall of a young Turk - R.D Muldoon) She was built at the end of the production line for Leanders to fit the most economical frigate building programme for the British Government, requiring 4 more Leanders for the Royal Navy, a pair for Chile (who ordered Exocet missiles) and one for RNZN.NZPD 1968, Vol 355, Q to Hon David Thompson by Mr Whitehead, p 371
Canterbury was built in modular form in 25 sectionsM Wright. Blue WaterKiwis. NZ Naval Story. Reed (2001) p183 and then welded together on the slipway. This reduced construction time to 2.5 years but resulted in continuous disputes as neither Yarrow, the RNZN or RN had fully planned or had adequate supervision for fitting out RNZNs rather different broad beam Leander whose operations room, messing and helicopter facilities were 2 years behind or ahead of the RN 1969 patterns. She was the first Leander-class frigate to have the wells for Limbo mortars and VDS (dipping sonar) replaced and plated over to give a larger helicopter landing area, so helicopters larger than the original Westland Wasp could land and operate from the ship. A close circuit TV system was also introduced so flight deck operations could be observed and accurately controlled from the ships operation room. These innovations were refitted to most of the Royal Navy Leander fleet, including Canterbury's sisters in the NZ fleet.
In 1968, the NZ government contemplated introducing US weapons systems.NZPD 1968, Vol 355, Q Mr Harrison, p371 In line with this Mk 32 anti-submarine torpedo tubes were fitted and a limited number of Mark 46 torpedoes were provided to supplement the older shallower diving Mk 44 torpedoes, to replace the short range Limbo mortar and to arm the Wasp helicopter. However plans for a US Edo sonar and chaff decoys and to arm the Wasp with the Anglo-French AS-12 small anti-ship missiles were not introduced due to cost and for political reasons.
During her time in service, she travelled about 960,000 nautical miles (a distance equivalent to 44 circumnavigations of the Earth), and was temporary home for 559 officers and 3,269 ratings.
Gerald Hensley, then at the New Zealand Embassy in Washington, recalled that: "The frigate "Canterbury" on its delivery voyage sailed up the Potomac River to Washington, said to be the first foreign warship to do so since the British raid in 1814. Memories were long. A barbecue was held on the ship to promote New Zealand lamb and as I came away a man said to me, 'What are these guys doing in this town? Last time they were here they burnt the place down'."Final Approaches: A Memoir by Gerald Hensley (2006, Auckland University Press) p.221
1970s She was sent to Moruroa Atoll in 1973 as a symbolic protest of New Zealand against French nuclear testing.New Zealand Special Service Medal (from the New Zealand Defence Force website. Retrieved 12 September 2008.) F421 small GP computer was able to assess the radiation level and its up to date electronic warfare sniffers immediately identify a French P-2 Neptune, on 50,52 IFF bands sweeping the area, flying low, with radar, ECM ESM and visual search for the location of unwanted naval, protest yacht and possibly submarine activity. She observed the 'Melpomène' nuclear test carried out on 28 July 1973, part of the 1971–74 French nuclear tests. It is the assessment of RAN officers that the presence of the modern RNZN warship, Canterbury, posed significant political and operational difficulties for the French and may have reduced the 1973 tests to 5 small bombs and been a factor why France never again conducted atmospheric testing.. T. Frame. Gunboat Diplomacy? The RAN & RNZN at Muroroa in the 'NZ International Review . NZIIA No 3/4,1991', p 21-24 && Lt CDR M.A.Harling. Australian Naval Diplomacy in 'Journal of Australian Naval Institute 8/93,' p16 The NZ Labour Government admitted that not only France but the UK government opposed the use of its recently delivered British frigate on this mission.NZPD V484 11/7/1973, p2175-7. Question, No 10 R.D. Muldoon to A. Faulkner (Acting Min of Defense) The French Government claimed in 1985 that the RNZ deployment to Muroroa in 1973 was one of the 'provocations that led to the attack by the French Intelligence service and Navy on the Rainbow Warrior in 1985.M. King. NZ after the War. NZ since 1945. Hoddr & Stoughton )1988) Auckland, p 149 In November 1974, Canterbury deployed with Destroyer Squadron 5 of the United States Pacific Fleet off the West Coast for six months,HMNZS Canterbury. Naval Museum of RNZN, Website). Torpedo Bay, Auckland. Retrieved 31 March 2016 the first time a RNZN frigate had operated as an integral part of a U.S. Navy force. While such joint operation was common for the RAN, it was not repeated in the 20th Century by the RNZN, possibly because while the deployment was approved by the Kirk/Rowling 3rd Labour Government, there was considerable official comment when the frigate returned to Devonport bearing the prominent insignia, US DESRON 5 and because integrated operations were restricted by lack of funding by the following Muldoon government for common Link 10 data link communication systems and baseline HYCOR chaff defence systems,I.Bradley. 'Defending Defence Spending. NZ Listener Sept 11 1982, p39-41 and the standard for RNZN frigates was compatibility rather than commonality with, USN FF52 FrigatesRear Admiral K.M.Saull. TVNZ. TV1.Tonight, 19–20 October 1981, 20.00.,
In April 1977, Canterbury and the Australian destroyer were assigned to escort the Australian aircraft carrier during a five-month return trip to the United Kingdom for the Queen's Silver Jubilee Naval Review.Stevens et al., Page 231. Priority for a planned new frigate (either a Type 21 frigate or Dutch Kortanear) and modernisation of HMNZS Taranaki, projects later cancelled by the Muldooon government, meant F421 received only a 12-month refit in 1980 to maximise seatime, and its mid life refit was delayed to Nov 1987 to June 1990, at a cost of $73 million,Audit Office NZ. The Quality and Reliability of Defence Equipment: RNZN. Government Print. Wellington.(1991)p27 the most significant changes fitting of Dutch LW08 long range surveillance radar, Phoenix electronic warfare systems and general replacement of radar and sonar with new solid state systems in place of the original obsolescent, British equipment. Updating was similar but more limited to that carried out of HMNZS Wellington, as F421 did not receive the extra fuel tanks and greatly increased cruising range of Wellington.
1980s After the Argentinian invasion of the Falkland Islands in 1982, New Zealand Prime Minister Robert Muldoon offered to send Canterbury to join the Royal Navy's task force sailing south to retake the British territory . This offer was declined by the British government . Possible reasons for this included the facts that (1) The Leanders in RN service were past their primeGlobal Security. Leander Class, (2) HMNZS Canterbury had had little updating since its completion in 1971 (3) It had dated, slow processing radar (4) It was not yet fitted with UK or US sourced chaff decoy systems (5) Its crew lacked practice in using them (6) Its crew had little Atlantic experience operating against Soviet naval vessels which might be observing in the South Atlantic (7) Only four Leanders, HMS Argonaut, , HMS Minerva, and participated in the conflict; Bacchante joined the task group in the last week. The British government suggested as a less-controversial alternative that Muldoon send RNZN frigates to relieve the British frigate squadron in the Persian Gulf for Falkland duties. It was a difficult deployment with long stints at sea and infrequent runs ashore in very foreign ports for the crews.HMNZS Canterbury. National Museum of NZ Navy. Torpedo Bay Naval Museum website. Auckland. 2016 However they did feel closer to the Cold War action seeing significant Soviet warships and "Bear" surveillance aircraft.'Armilla Patrol' HMNZS Canterbury 1982. RNZN Communicators. Word Press 2012. pdf & Cmdr Ian Bradley ret. Interview 5/1984
Canterbury was built with a surplus 1960s RN Type 177 sonar, tuned for the Persian Gulf. The British MoD refused to fit the US Edo sonars (also planned for an RAN version of the Type 21 frigate rejected by the Australian Government in 1968)N.Freidman. British Destroyers and Frigates. Chatham, (2006) London and the NZ government - on cost grounds - rejected the new Doppler 184M sonars fitted to HMS Apollo, Achilles and Diomede being built alongside Canterbury in the Yarrow yardCaptain Ian Bradley RNZN-ret -1983 interview- with researcher The rather dated solid state sensors fitted were finally replaced as totally obsolescent, in the delayed mid life refit of the Canterbury between Nov 1987 and June 1990 costing $73 million. The fit was essentially similar to preceding refit of its sister broad beam, HMNZS Wellington, except Canterbury was not fitted with extra fuel tanks as RNZN and RN experience confirmed the modification difficult, dirty and expensive, on middle aged Leanders. The 1991 audit office review of the refit raised some issues, over the cost and need, for new 'long range' air surveillance,Audit Office. Quality & reliability of Defence Equipment RNZN (4.5, Seacat, LRAW, steam turbines)1991, GP, p 17-line 326 LWO8 radar, but lacked the background to assess the relevance of maintaining the Leander frigates, historical role, as a fleet radar picket for operating with the RN fleet or whether the 4.5 guns and Seacat missiles were still useful, given RN reassessment and more accurate reporting, by 1991 of their failure as AA weapons in the Falklands war of 1982.S.Woodward. Memoirs of a Falklands Battle Commander & Rear Admiral C. Parry. 'Journey South' and lectures to the Hudson Institute and US War College on 15 March 2016