The British Pacific and East Indies Fleets

Early history

Ordered as HMS ARBUTUS (II), a revised Flower Class Corvette, and laid down at the George Brown & Co shipyard in Greenock, Scotland. She was launched on January 26th 1944 and was transferred to the Royal New Zealand Navy on completion. She commissioned as HMNZS ARBUTUS on July 5th 1944, Lt. Cdr. J. A. Rhind, RNZNVR in command. She was to carry the pennant number K 403.

She sailed from Greenock on August 1st as an additional escort for Convoy O-S 85/ K-M-S 59, which sailed from Liverpool; ARBUTUS remained in company as far as the Azores Islands. She then proceeded to Bermuda, from there she sailed for the Panama Canal, and on to San Diego. She then sailed for Pearl Harbour, and Suva. ARBUTUS was severely damaged on October 7th when she grounded on a reef off Viwa Island, the westernmost of the Fiji Islands. She was shuck fast and had to be towed off by HMNZS AROHA and on to Suva, from where she was towed to Auckland, arriving there on October 27th. A survey showed that, in addition to the loss of the rudder blade, the bearing casting of the rudder stock had been fractured, the tail shaft bent, the propeller blades broken and bent, and the ship's bottom cut up for a length of about 25 feet. The ARBUTUS remained at Auckland for nearly three months awaiting the local fabrication of a new rudder and castings, and the arrival from the UK of a new propeller and tail shaft. In January, she was towed to Lyttelton, where permanent repairs were made and the work was completed by the end of April 1945.

Reallocated to the British Pacific Fleet

On February 9, 1945, Lieutenant N. D. Blair was appointed to command her. It had originally been intended that she would operate with the 25th Minesweeping Flotilla, but instead, the New Zealand Naval Board offered her for service to the British Pacific Fleet. The offer was accepted, and in May, she was sent to Sydney, where she was fitted out for radio and radar repair and servicing duties with the Fleet Train.

ARBUTUS left Sydney on July 4th and, arriving at Manus Island on the 11th, embarked a New Zealand radar officer and three radar mechanics. She sailed from Manus on July 15th, escorting the Armament Store Issuing Ship CORINDA forming Task Unit 112.2.6, heading north to join the Fleet Train in Japanese waters on July 28th. Now part of the Logistic Support Group (LSG) ARBUTUS was at sea with tankers WAVE GOVERNOR, CARELIA, OLNA, and WAVE KING, V.S.I.S. (Victualling Store Issuing Ship) GLENARTNEY, Armament Store Issuing Ships ROBERT MAERSK and CORINDA, escort Replenishment carriers CHASER and SPEAKER. CVE RULER providing Air cover for the LSG, destroyers NORMAN and QUEENBOROUGH, sloops CRANE, PHEASANT, WOODCOCK, and REDPOLE, frigates ODZANI and DERG and the minesweeper PIRIE.

At 09:00 on July 31st, the British Pacific Fleet (TF 37) rendezvoused with the LSG in replenishment area, 'British TIZZY' (28°00'N, 138°55'E), approximately 460 miles south of Tokyo, for the Fleet’s seventeenth replenishment at Sea (RAS) period. Replenishment commenced at 10:00. The weather in the area was less than ideal, with a heavy swell running caused by a succession of typhoons to the east of the region. However, the British were now mastering replenishment at sea, and the weather did not affect the operation as much as it would have done just a few weeks earlier.

At 09:00 on July 31st, the British Pacific Fleet (TF 37) rendezvoused with the LSG in replenishment area, 'British TIZZY' (28°00'N, 138°55'E), approximately 460 miles south of Tokyo, for the Fleet’s seventeenth replenishment at Sea (RAS) period. Replenishment commenced at 10:00. The weather in the area was less than ideal, with a heavy swell running caused by a succession of typhoons to the east of the region. However, the British were now mastering replenishment at sea, and the weather did not affect the operation as much as it would have done just a few weeks earlier.

Fuelling continued through the day, and SPEAKER issued replacement aircraft and pilots to the carriers. Upon completion of replenishment operations, SPEAKER transferred her remaining airframes to CHASER. She then embarked Rear-Admiral J. H. Edelsten, C.B., C.B.E. (R.A. (D)) and Rear-Admiral R. M. Servaes, C.B.E. (C.S.2) and their staffs via jackstay transfer for passage. She sailed in company with QUEENBOROUGH for Manus to reload replacement airframes. TF 37 disengaged at 18:50 for the night and changed course to the south to avoid the tail of a typhoon due to pass to their north.

On August 1st fuelling resumed at 05:20 in approximate position 27° 15’ N 138° 00’ E. Oiling was hampered by a heavy swell and the typhoon still threatened the ships of TF 37 and TF 38; the US commander ordered a further move south at the end of the day’s replenishment, to rendezvous in area ‘HURRICANE’ at position 25° N, 137° E.

On the morning of August 2nd, storing and ammunitioning continued. To keep the tanker cycle going, it was necessary to discard two of the four tankers as soon as possible to reload and return in time for the next planned replenishment. Instructions were given to Commander LSG to consolidate cargoes at first light, with VAVE GOVERNOR being transferred into OLMA and CARELIA being transferred into WAVE KING. At 08:30, VICTORIOUS and IMPLACABLE went alongside the oilers for fuel and avgas whilst the destroyers were topped up. FORMIDABLE embarked bombs from CORINDA, and after detaching from the Tankers, VICTORIOUS commenced embarking bombs from ROBERT MAERSK. ACHILLES, KING GANGE V and LACK PRINCE drew provisions from GLENARTNEY. Fuelling was completed at 16:50, and at 17:00, CARELIA, escorted by PIRIE and ULYSSES, the latter for collision damage repair, sailed for MANUS. WAVE GOVERNOR, escorted by ODZANI, sailed for ENIWETOK for reloading and return. The Commander SLG in PHEASANT with OLMA, WAVE KING, GLENARTNEY, RULER, CHASER, NORMAN, and CRANE were detached to proceed at 15 knots to the next fuelling area, which was in position 34° 20' N 147° E, approximately 420 miles SE of Tokyo, slightly further northeast of area ‘British DRINK’. The slower ROBERT MAERSK, CORINDA, and ARBUTUS, escorted by REDPOLE, DERG and WOODCOCK, followed at their best speed.

However, at 20:00, CTF 37 received orders from the Commander 3rd Fleet that the next strike day would now be on the 5th, weather permitting. All Task Forces were to remain in area ‘HURRICANE’, which was to be shifted to 25⁰ N, 136⁰ 45’ E., topping up Destroyers on the 3rd. This forced a change of plans for the replenishment group, which now had to delay its departure.

At first light on August 3rd, VICTORIOUS began embarking bombs from ROBERT MAERSK. That morning, KING GEORGE V fuelled the Destroyer QUALITY. The next planned refuelling was on August 8th, and any delay in the Tanker Groups' arrival on station would jeopardise the Fleet's ability to participate in future strikes.

On August 4th, now on passage to the next refuelling area, RULER, launched Avenger to provide anti-submarine Patrols (ASP) and search for incoming assets, including Tankers DINGLEDALE and SAN AMADO, the VSIS FORT WRANGELL and the Replenishment CVE ARBITER. Meanwhile, TF 37 were preparing to leave area ‘HURRICANE’ for the upcoming Strike, all Destroyers having been refuelled from King GEORGE V and the cruisers. At 13:30, however, Commander 3rd Fleet notified CTF 37 that the Strike was again postponed until the 8th, requiring a further replenishment on the 6th. A new set of co-ordinates for a refuelling in position 33° 36’ N, 147° E was passed to Commander LSG, and the course was altered.

The August 6th – 7th replenishment was planned as the last full resupply before the BPF was to withdraw to Australia for another significant replenishment, so the majority of the support vessels were to return to Manus when the fleet departed for the next round of operations. ARBUTUS sailed with the ammunition-issuing ships ROBERT MAERSK and CORINDA, and the Sloop REDPOLE; they were still on passage when the news of the Japanese surrender was announced on August 15th. During the nine days she was on station with the Logistic Support group, ARBUTUS went alongside no fewer than forty ships to tranship stores and spare parts, and service radar equipment.

Post War history

When she arrived back at Manus, the ARBUTUS had completed a continuous period at sea of 33 days and steamed 7600 miles without a stop of her main engines. She next sailed from Manus on August 30th, in company with other repair ships of the Fleet Train, bound for Hong Kong, where she arrived off the colony on September 11th to assist in the rebuilding effort. She was present in Hong Kong at the time of the official surrender ceremony on September 16th. Although the official Japanese surrender had been signed in Tokyo Bay on September 2nd, the return of former Allied colonies was done in stages. ARBUTUS was released from service with the BPF after the ceremony and sailed for Auckland, calling at Manus on September 26th to refuel, continuing her passage the following day. She arrived in Auckland Harbour on October 1st, having steamed more than 20,000 miles in 77 days since leaving Sydney on July 4th.

After her return to New Zealand she was employed for a brief period on a scientific expedition to the Three Kings Islands. After the successful completion in June 1946, of the clearance of the German minefield laid in the approaches to the Hauraki Gulf, the ships of the 25th Minesweeping Flotilla, with the exception of HMNZS ARBUTUS were placed in reserve.

ARBUTUS now received a new commanding officer, Lieutenant-Commander J. F. A. O'Neil, D.S.C., RNZN, after working in the Hauraki Gulf. Under his command, ARBUTUS was dispatched on a goodwill cruise to the islands in the New Zealand dependencies of the Cook and Samoan Group, and to French Oceania, American Samoa, and the British Crown Colony of Fiji, departing from Wellington on 20th September 1946. Arrangements were made to transport the French Minister, Monsieur Gazel, from Rarotonga to Papeete. HMNZS ARBUTUS completed her cruise, and arrived back in Auckland on 1st December 1946.

In January 1947, ARBUTUS carried out exercises in the Hauraki Gulf, she also attended the ceremony commemorating the landing of the first Governor, Captain Hobson, RN, at Waitangi, returning from there to Auckland to act as flag-ship at the annual Kawau regatta. During March and April 1947 ARBUTUS and an HDML were placed under the operational command of the Commanding Officer of the cruiser HMNZS BELLONA, as she worked up in the Hauraki Gulf.

The corvettes ARABIS and ARBUTUS were returned to the Royal Navy in 1948 when the six Loch class frigates HAWEA, KANIERE, PUKAKI, ROTOITI, TAUPO, and TUTIRA were purchased for the Royal New Zealand Navy.

Last modified: 16 November 2025

Additional sources:

Waters S.D. (1956) The Official History of New Zealand in the Second World War 1939–45, Wellington, Historical Publications Branch http://nzetc.victoria.ac.nz/tm/scholarly/tei-WH2Navy.html

Extract taken from the report to the New Zealand government by the New Zealand Naval Board 1st April 1946 to 31st March 1947 http://rnzncomms.org/ourhistory/nznbr-1946/

CTF 37 (British) report of air & surface strikes against the Japanese Empire, preparation for and initial occupation of the Tokyo Bay area, Honshu, Japan, 6/28/45 TO 9/2/45

U.S. Naval Base, Manus War Diaries