A small number of

Axis An axis (plural ''axes'') is an imaginary line around which an object rotates or is symmetrical. Axis may also refer to: Mathematics * Axis of rotation: see rotation around a fixed axis * Axis (mathematics), a designator for a Cartesian-coordinat ...

surface raiders and

submarine A submarine (or sub) is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability. The term is also sometimes used historically or colloquially to refer to remotely op ...

s operated in New Zealand Waters during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

Surface raiders

The following

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

surface raiders operated in

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

waters: * (13–19 June 1940, late August 1940, late September 1940, November 1940, March 1941) * (November 1940, June 1941) *Small auxiliary raider ''Adjutant'' (June 1941) *Tanker ''Ole Jacob'' (March 1941) The ''Orion'' and ''Komet'' sank four ships in New Zealand waters during these operations. The three ships sunk were: *Turakina, on 20 August 1940, a steamer (8,706 tons) bound for Wellington from Sydney. *Holmwood, on 25 November 1940, a steamer (546 tons) bound from the Chatham Islands for Lyttelton. * RMS ''Rangitane'', on 27 November 1940; a motor ship left Auckland on 24 November for Britain with a cargo of meat, dairy products and wool. She transmitted that she was under attack, and the "savage and ruthless" shelling killed 16 people (8 passengers and 8 crew). The liner RMS ''Niagara'' was sunk by a mine laid by the off Whangarei on 19 June 1940. She was carrying British gold destined for the United States. The minesweeper HMNZS ''Puriri'' was sunk by a mine while sweeping in the

Hauraki Gulf The Hauraki Gulf / Tīkapa Moana is a coastal feature of the North Island of New Zealand. It has an area of 4000 km2,

Imperial Japanese Navy submarines Imperial Japanese Navy submarines originated with the purchase of five Holland type submarines from the United States in 1904. Japanese submarine forces progressively built up strength and expertise, becoming by the beginning of World War II one ...

operated in New Zealand waters in 1942 and 1943: * is said to have operated off New Zealand in February 1942, although this seems unlikely given its construction was only completed in February. Its floatplane was also said to have overflown Wellington. * operated off New Zealand in early March 1942.

Nobuo Fujita (1911 – 30 September 1997) was a Japanese naval aviator and warrant flying officer of the Imperial Japanese Navy who flew a floatplane from the long-range submarine aircraft carrier and conducted the Lookout Air Raids in southern Oreg ...

from ''I-25'' in a Yokosuka E14Y floatplane conducted reconnaissance flights over

Wellington Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by me ...

on 8 March and

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The List of New Zealand urban areas by population, most populous urban area in the country and the List of cities in Oceania by po ...

on 13 March before departing for

Fiji Fiji ( , ,; fj, Viti, ; Fiji Hindi: फ़िजी, ''Fijī''), officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consists ...

. * briefly operated off the northern tip of New Zealand in May 1942. ''I-21''s floatplane flown by Lt Ito Isuma conducted a reconnaissance flight over Thames and then Auckland on 24 May. Auckland was blanketed by heavy fog, and when Auckland Airport heard a plane apparently in trouble, it turned on the runway lights, allowing Ito to regain his bearings and retrace the path to the submarine *An unknown Japanese submarine operated off New Zealand around 22–23 February 1943. This was one of several reported sightings in the period up to early 1944. Neither ''I-21'' nor ''I-25'' attacked any ships during their brief periods in New Zealand waters. Initially Japanese submarine commanders were under strict orders to save their torpedoes for aircraft carriers and battleships. The freighter ''Kalingo'' (2047 tons) bound for New Plymouth was torpedoed and sunk by on 18 January 1943, when she was 110 miles east of Sydney, with the loss of 2 of her crew of 34.

Kriegsmarine

The German submarine sailed down the east coast of New Zealand in January 1945. ''U-862''—under the command of ''

Korvettenkapitän () is the lowest ranking senior officer in a number of Germanic-speaking navies. Austro-Hungary Belgium Germany Korvettenkapitän, short: KKpt/in lists: KK, () is the lowest senior officer rank () in the German Navy. Address The offici ...

Heinrich Timm Heinrich Timm (30 April 1910 in Bremen – 12 April 1974 in Axstedt) was a German U-boat commander in World War II and recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross. In 1944-45 Timm commanded the U-862, the only U-boat to conduct a patrol in th ...

—entered New Zealand waters on 1 January 1945 after operating off Australia. The boat rounded the tip of the

North Island The North Island, also officially named Te Ika-a-Māui, is one of the two main islands of New Zealand, separated from the larger but much less populous South Island by the Cook Strait. The island's area is , making it the world's 14th-largest ...

on 7 January and proceeded down the east coast. She encountered a merchant ship off

Cape Brett Cape Brett Peninsula ( mi, Rākaumangamanga) is a long peninsula in the Bay of Islands, in the Northland Region of New Zealand. The head of the peninsula is Cape Brett itself (also known by the Māori, ), a promontory which extends north into ...

on 10 January but was not able to intercept it. The U-boat continued south and failed to reach firing position on another merchant ship off

East Cape East Cape is the easternmost point of the main islands of New Zealand. It is located at the northern end of the Gisborne District of New Zealand's North Island. It can also refer to the broader Gisborne cape. East Cape was originally named "C ...

on 13 January. On 15 January, Timm took his submarine very close to Gisborne in search of viable targets. While the submarine was not detected, Timm did not find any worthwhile ships to attack. Timm also sailed close to the shore of Napier on 16 January and attempted to torpedo a small merchant ship off the city. This attack was not successful, with the torpedo missing its target. Timm believed that ''U-862'' had been sighted during this attack and left the area. This belief was not correct, however, and the New Zealand government remained unaware of the submarine's presence. Shortly after the attack off Napier, ''U-862'' received orders to return to her home base at

Batavia Batavia may refer to: Historical places * Batavia (region), a land inhabited by the Batavian people during the Roman Empire, today part of the Netherlands * Batavia, Dutch East Indies, present-day Jakarta, the former capital of the Dutch East In ...

. Timm immediately ceased his patrol and proceeded along the east coast of the

South Island The South Island, also officially named , is the larger of the two major islands of New Zealand in surface area, the other being the smaller but more populous North Island. It is bordered to the north by Cook Strait, to the west by the Tasman ...

. ''U-862'' rounded

Stewart Island/Rakiura Stewart Island ( mi, Rakiura, ' glowing skies', officially Stewart Island / Rakiura) is New Zealand's third-largest island, located south of the South Island, across the Foveaux Strait. It is a roughly triangular island with a total land ar ...

on 21 January and the submarine left New Zealand waters shortly thereafter. Claims that members of the submarine's crew landed in New Zealand are not correct, and this story appears to have been started by Timm as a joke.Stevens (1997). Page 221.

Notes

References

* (Parts I & II) * * * *David Stevens (1997), ''U-Boat Far from Home''. Allen & Unwin, Sydney. *Sydney David Waters (1956)
''The Royal New Zealand Navy''
Historical Publications Branch, Wellington. *Sydney David Waters (undated)

in ''Episodes & Studies Volume 1''. Historical Publications Branch, Wellington.

Surface raiders

Kriegsmarine

See also

Notes

References

Further reading