Royal New Zealand Navy
Corvette
Displacement
600 Tons
Wartime
History
On the night of January 29 1943
HMNZS Kiwi and HMNZS Moa rammed Japanese Submarine I-1 near Kamimbo Bay,
off the western edge of Guadalcanal.
Sinking History
On April 7, 1943 Moa was fueling from Erskine Phelps in Tulagi Harbor. Caught by Japanese air attack., a direct hit passed thru the upper deck, out the hull and exploded. This direct hit and two near misses sank Moa in four minutes, with the loss of 5 KIA and several WIA. Phelps was damaged in the same attack and settled to the bottom (later raised).
Shipwreck
In 1975 a typhoon hit the area, and a fishingboat moored at Tulagi dragged its anchor across the deck of the ship, destroying the superstructure. The debris field from the 1975 anchor incident is scattered along the seafloor nearby. The wreck is SCUBA diveable via Tulagi Dive, but due to higher siilt concentrations is not visited as often. Depth Charge racks at the stern and the 4” gun at the bow.
References
Thanks to Neil Yates of Tulagi Dive for additional information.
X Attack of I-Operation by Richard Dunn
35-41m
