| Class overview | |
|---|---|
| Name: | Bird |
| Builders: | Henry Robb Ltd, Leith, Scotland. |
| Succeeded by: | Isles class |
| Completed: | 45 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type: | Minesweeper |
| Displacement: | 607 standard, 923 full load |
| Length: | 168 ft (51 m) overall /157.5 ft (48.0 m) keel |
| Beam: | 30 ft (9.1 m) |
| Draught: | 15.3 ft (4.7 m) |
| Propulsion: | 1100 ihp (820 kW) oil |
| Speed: | 13 knots (24 km/h) |
| Complement: | 33-35 |
| Sensors and processing systems: |
asdic |
| Armament: | 1x4 inch gun, 2x1 Hotchkiss, twin Lewis, 40 depth charges |
The Bird class minesweeper was a naval trawler built to Admiralty specifications so it could function as a minesweeper. Forty-five were built. The RNZN ships were also referred to as corvettes.
The Bird class evolved from the experimental MS trawler HMS Basset, 1935, followed by HMS Mastiff, 1938, both built by Henry Robb Ltd. They were slightly larger and more powerful than these prototypes of what ultimately became the Isles' class.
On 29 January 1943, in a classic duel, Kiwi and Moa rammed and wrecked the Japanese submarine I-1. On 19 August 1943 Tui and some US Kingfisher float-planes jointly sank the Japanese submarine I-17.