Gordon Bridson Commander Gordon Bridson DSO , DSC ( 2 December 1909 – 6 December 1972 ) of the Royal New Zealand Navy ( RNZN ) was the commander of the minesweeping trawler " Kiwi " which , with her sister ship " Moa " , fought a classic duel with Japanese submarine " I - 1 " . Early years . Bridson grew up in Auckland , New Zealand . He went to Auckland Grammar School and became the Auckland swimmer of the decade . At the 1930 British Empire Games he won silver medals for both the 400 yd and 1500 yd freestyle . There is no mention of Bridsen ' s civilian career pre - war , I believe he had become Chief Engineer with McAlpine Refrigeration Coy in Auckland while spare time serving in RNZVR . Incidentally . a member of his crew on KIWI was Tammy McVinnie , half - brother of James McAlpine . Is there any confirmation ofhis information submitted by a fellow employee of McAlpine ( now 96 yr old ) Keith STewart War career . Bridson began his naval career in 1927 when he joined the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve in Auckland . He was commissioned in February 1928 and in April 1940 was mobilised for war and promoted to lieutenant commander . In May he left with the first draft of the Volunteer Reserve for service with the Royal Navy . In England Bridson commanded HMS " Walnut " , part of the 24th and 25th minesweeping and anti - submarine flotillas , ten ships all commanded by New Zealanders . For a year the flotillas escorted convoys around the east coast of Britain and through the English Channel . They were often attacked by air and sea . Bridson was awarded the DSC for his performance during this time . Commander of the " Kiwi " . Bridson was then appointed to command the newly built minesweeping trawler HMNZS " Kiwi " , which he commissioned at Greenock on 20 October 1941 . On New Year ' s Day " Kiwi " left Greenock and escorted a convoy across the North Atlantic to Newfoundland . She suffered considerable damage in a fierce storm . Bridson then sailed her back to New Zealand . In December 1942 the RNZN ’ s 25th Minesweeping Flotilla , consisting of the three new minesweeping trawlers " Kiwi " , " Moa " and " Tui " and the converted merchant ship " Matai " , were deployed in the Solomon Islands . On 14 January 1943 an American PT boat mistakenly fired two torpedoes at " Kiwi " . They missed , but the New Zealanders were furious . Later Bridson and the PT commander became firm friends . The wrecking of submarine I - 1 . Two weeks later on the night of 29 – 30 January , " Kiwi " and " Moa " were on patrol near Guadalcanal Island with Bridson as senior officer , when they encountered the Japanese submarine " I - 1 " . The " Kiwi " made several depth charge attacks and the submarine surfaced to engage them with its five - inch gun . " I - 1 " weighed more than both corvettes together and was more heavily armed . The New Zealanders continued to attack and the " Kiwi " rammed the submarine three times , firing at point blank range with its main 4 inch gun and a 20 - mm Oerlikon mounted on its bow ( acquired unofficially at Noumea for two bottles of gin ) . [ Bridson ] . . . gave the order to ram . At the same time he thought he ' d better let the engine room know what was going on . So he shouted down the voice pipe , " Stand by to ram . " When the voice came back from the engine room , " What the hell do you mean by ram ? " he replied , " I don ' t know . I ' ve never done it before . " Pursued by the " Moa " , " I - 1 " ran onto a reef and sank . Leading Signalman Buchanan , the searchlight operator on the " Kiwi " was killed , and the damage to the bow was such that the ship had to return to New Zealand for repairs . Bridson was awarded the DSO and the United States Navy Cross for this action . In May 1944 he was promoted to acting commander and appointed naval officer in charge at Dunedin . Six months later he was confirmed in the rank and became naval officer in charge at Lyttelton . He then became an aide de camp to the Governor General , holding both positions until he was demobilised in 1946 . Post war . Bridson settled with his family in Te Aroha where he was a partner in a hardware business . In the late 1950s he became a farmer near Cambridge , where he died on 6 December 1972 .