HMNZS ''Hickleton'' (M1131) was a that operated in the Royal Navy and the Royal New Zealand Navy (RNZN). She was named after a small village near Doncaster. Built for the Royal Navy by John I Thornycroft of Southampton, the minesweeper was launched on 26 January 1955 and later commissioned as HMS ''Hickleton'' She was commissioned into the RNZN in 1965 and decommissioned in 1966. After leaving New Zealand service, she was transferred to the

Argentine Navy The Argentine Navy (ARA; es, Armada de la República Argentina). This forms the basis for the navy's ship prefix "ARA". is the navy of Argentina. It is one of the three branches of the Armed Forces of the Argentine Republic, together with the ...

and renamed ARA ''Neuquen'' (M1).

Operational history

United Kingdom

New Zealand

Early in 1965, Indonesia was employing a policy of confrontation against Malaysia. New Zealand agreed to assist Malaysia by deploying two Royal Navy minesweepers then in reserve at Singapore. These were commissioned into the RNZN on 10 April 1965 and joined the Royal Navy's 11th Minesweeping squadron (also Ton class), taking part in anti-infiltration patrols in Malaysian waters. In her first year ''Hickleton'', together with her sister ship , carried out 200 patrols, with 20 incidents involving intruding Indonesians, often taking as prisoners those aboard the intercepted craft. By the time the Indonesian confrontation policy ended in August 1966 ''Santon'' had steamed . Following the withdrawal of

Commonwealth A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. Historically, it has been synonymous with "republic". The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the ...

ships from the anti-infiltration patrols, the RNZN crew took her back to England, where she paid off in reserve at Portsmouth.

Argentina

The ship was subsequently sold to Argentina and renamed ''Neuquen'' (M1). She was decommissioned in 1996.''Recorrido de imágenes de buques de la Armada Argentina''
by Guillermo Schaer

References

Notes

Bibliography

* McDougall, R J (1989) ''New Zealand Naval Vessels.'' pp. 83–84. Government Printing Office. * Wright, Gerry (2006) ''A Kiwi on our Funnel: The story of HMNZ Ships Hickleton and Santon'', Zenith Print and Design. {{DEFAULTSORT:Hickleton (M1131) Ships built in Southampton 1955 ships Cold War minesweepers of the United Kingdom Ton-class minesweepers of the Royal New Zealand Navy Ships built by John I. Thornycroft & Company