Q400 – Crew Lists

Mike Jennings is looking for anybody who served in or is in possession of the crew lists for Q400.  His Grandfather James Charles GORE served on Q400 as an Seaman Nov 43 – Aug 44.  Indications from the Naval Museum are that there are no actual official crew lists available however, personnel were actually posted to individual ML or Q boats.  The following post is most informative and thanks to Jim Dell and Michael Wynd for their contributions

The vessel in question is a Class “B” Fairmile. The original design came from the drawing board of an Admiralty Naval Architect during WWII. Several hundred boats were built throughout the dominions and colonies. They were used in a variety of roles. Power was usually two Hall-Scott petrol engines running on Av-Gas and producing 600HP each. This gave a top speed of around 18 – 20 knots, cruise at 12 – 13 Kt. Some Canadian boats are said to have been powered with Rolls-Royce Merlins. One reference states that the original design called for three engines, but due to wartime shortages two became the norm. This was found to be satisfactory.

Now to the NZ boats. An Admiralty recommendation that these boats would be suitable for use as submarine chasers in NZ waters resulted in twelve boats being constructed at several shipyards in St Mary’s Bay, Auckland. They were assigned build numbers ML400 – ML411 but were launched as Q400 – Q411. They were built with double diagonal Kauri planking over Kauri stringers on plywood frames and bulkheads. Frames and bulkheads were supplied in kitset form from the Fairmile Marine Company in England. Keels were of kauri and stem and stern posts were of Pohutukawa. Below the waterline, the hulls were sheathed with copper or muntz metal as a protection against worm attack. The first boat, Q403 was launched at Lidgard’s shipyard on 29 September 1942 and commissioned on 21 October. The last of the series, Q411, was the second boat built at Vos’ yard. She was laid down in November 1942 and launched on 2nd September 1943. She was commissioned on 20th December 1943.

Armament consisted of a Rolls-Royce Mark XIV 2 pounder gun on a mounting forward of the bridge, two twin Lewis guns, later replaced by Vickers guns. A 20mm Oerlikon and 12 depth charges were carried on the after deck. A Holman Projector and a “Y” gun completed the fit. There was a total crew of sixteen.

Initial deployment had six boats in Auckland, four in Wellintgon and two at Lyttelton. As the war in the Pacific progressed, it became clear that there was little likelihood of a Japanese submarine threat in NZ waters, although two submarines of the Japanese Navy had visited the area previously. In 1944, the NZ Fairmiles were formed into the 80th and 81st Flotillas and deployed to the Soloman Islands for anti-submarine and convoy escort duties. They also helped in setting up and maintaining Coast Watch stations on remote islands. During their Soloman’s deployment they were under control of US Navy COMSOPAC. At war’s end they returned to NZ and were laid up in the reserve fleet. When RNZN had no further use for them, they were prepared for disposal and brought to an anchorage between Greenhithe and Herald Island. All except Q411 were sold. She was initially offered to the Island Territories Department for administration use in the Cook Islands. Cost of conversion was considered to be too high, so it reverted back to the War Assets Realisation Board and thence to the RNZN. The Navy brought Q411 back into service in 1947 under the pennant number P3571 and named it HMNZS Kahu. Kahu became a “Tamaki Tram,” providing ferry services from Devonport Naval Base (DNB) to the Navy training establishment HMNZS Tamaki, when it was located at Motuihe Island. Following the closure of the training establishment at Motuihe and the subsequent move to Fort Cautley at Narrow Neck, there was no further requirement to retain HMNZS Kahu. She was decommissioned in 1965 and sold into private ownership, when the name reverted to “Kahu”. She was owned and operated by North Shore Ferries for a while and then later spent some time laid up at Bailey’s Shipyard at St Mary’s Bay, where she gradually came to be in a somewhat derelict condition. She was subsequently bought by a private buyer for conversion to a pleasure boat. Kahu spent some time on a mooring in the Tamaki River while undergoing further conversion work.

The vessel you see upstream of the Greenhithe bridge is in fact the former RNZN Fairmile ”B” Class, Q411, P3571, HMNZS Kahu. She is the last of twelve built in NZ during WWII. She was originally commissioned 20th December 1943, finally decommissioned 1965.

She has had several owners since her time on the Tamaki River and coming to the present mooring at Greenhithe. Since arriving at Greenhithe, Kahu has led an interesting life. She has been grafitti’d and has dragged the mooring in heavy weather, coming to rest on the mudflat below Remu Rd. Currently, the wheelhouse door is ajar, suggesting that she has been illegally entered and has probably been vandalised. Since my information for the period to now is rather sketchy, I will not pass it on until such time as it can be confirmed.

Many former Fairmiles have been converted for pleasure use and high class charter operation. Some are quite magnificent. One in particular plies as a luxury charter vessel working out of a Canadian port. It is rather sad that Kahu has fallen into major disrepair, rather than becoming the vessel dreamed of by former owners.

The smaller vessel a little further upstream is the former RNZN Harbour Defence Motor Launch (HDML) HMNZS Tamure. She was one of the HDML’s that formed the inshore Fisheries Patrol fleet after WWII, prior to being sold into private ownership.

Many of these vessels are still in service in private or commercial roles.

Other RNZN Fairmiles became:
Ngaroma, Colville, Iris Moana, La Reta, Rodney Farrey, Motunui. Most of them carried other names at some time in their lives after going into private ownership. The Motunui is on dry land at Woodlynn Park, Waitomo, set up as a luxury accommodation unit.

The above information has been taken from a number of sources freely available on the Internet, from personal knowledge and private communications. For further information and a full and personal account of life on a Fairmile, in particular during the Soloman’s deployment, see “Fairmile Flotillas of the Royal New Zealand Navy” by K R Cassells.

From Jim Dell’s site – Q409 was repurchased by the navy in 1953 and used as the Tamaki liberty boat Iris Moana P3570. Renamed Maori in 1956 and sold in 1963 to become the Auckland ferry Iris Moana.  Jim’s site also gives some comment from a crew member of Q411 which is shown below. Further details available by clicking HERE

Q411

From the Naval Museum – No crew lists were ever made or kept by the RNZN. ML400/Q400 – was a Fairmile B class motor launch that came into service in November 1942 and was paid off in August 1945.