the HMS 'New Zealand'

The HMS New Zealand was one of three Indefatigable-class battlecruisers built for the Royal Navy, although in this case the ship was paid by for by the NZ government as a gift to the 'mother country' — launched in 1911 and commissioned in 1912.  The following year HMS New Zealand was sent on a ten-month tour of the British Dominions, with an emphasis, naturally, on NZ. She was back in British waters at the start of WW1 and during the war took part in all three of the major North Sea battles of WW1 — Heligoland Bight, Dogger Bank, and Jutland — and was involved in the response to the inconclusive Raid on Scarborough, and the Second Battle of Heligoland Bight.

HMS New Zealand contributed to the destruction of two cruisers during the war, but was hit by enemy fire only once and sustained no casualties; her status as a "lucky ship" was attributed by the crew to a Māori piupiu (warrior's skirt) and tiki (pendant) worn by the captain during battle.

After the war, New Zealand was sent on a second world tour. In 1920, the battlecruiser was placed in reserve and was broken up for scrap in 1922 in compliance with Britain's tonnage limit in the disarmament provisions of the Washington Naval Treaty.

Displacement: 18,500 long tons (18,800 tonnes) at normal load; 22,130 long tons (22,490 t) at deep load
Length: 590 ft 3.5 in (179.9 metres)
Beam:  80 ft (24.4 metres)
Draught: 27 ft (8.2 metres)
Installed power: 44,000 hp (33,000 kW)
Propulsion: Four-shaft Parsons direct-drive steam turbines; 31 Babcock & Wilcox water-tube boilers
Speed:  25 knots (46 km/h; 29 mph)
Range: 6,690 nautical miles (12,390 km; 7,700 mi) at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph)
Complement: 800
Armament: 4 × 2 - BL 12-inch Mk X guns
16 × 1 - BL 4-inch Mk VII guns
2 × 1 - submerged 18-inch torpedo tubes
Armour:  Belt: 4–6 in (102–152 mm)
Decks: 1–2.5 inches (25–64 mm)
Barbettes: 7 inches (178 mm)
Turrets: 7 inches (178 mm)
Conning tower: 4–10 inches (102–254 mm)
Torpedo bulkheads: 2.5 inches (64 mm)