Fundy-class minesweeper
| |
| Class overview | |
|---|---|
| Name | Fundy class |
| Builders | list error: <br /> list (help) Burrard Dry Dock Co. Ltd. Collingwood Shipyards Ltd. Morton Engineering & Dry Dock Co. Yarrows Ltd. |
| Operators |  Royal Canadian Navy |
| Succeeded by | Bangor-class minesweeper |
| Built | 1938 |
| In commission | 1 September 1938 - 27 July 1945 |
| Completed | 4 |
| Active | 0 |
| Retired | 4 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type | Minesweeper |
| Displacement | 460 long tons (470 t; 520 short tons) |
| Length | 163 ft (49.7 m) |
| Beam | 27.5 ft (8.4 m) |
| Draught | 14.5 ft (4.4 m) |
| Speed | 12 knots (22.2 km/h) |
| Complement | 38 |
| Armament | 1 × QF 4-inch (102-mm) Mk IV gun[Note 1][1] |
The Fundy-class minesweepers were a class of four minesweepers operated by the Royal Canadian Navy during the Second World War.
The class derives its name from the lead ship HMCS Fundy and are all named after bays in Canada. The Fundy-class minesweepers were modified versions of the British Basset-class trawler minesweepers. The Canadian ships were given extra strengthening for ice conditions. Two were initially assigned to the west coast and two, including Fundy, to the east coast.[2]
Design and construction
By 1930 the Battle-class trawlers which had been re-designated as minesweepers in November 1922[3] were coming to the end of their effective service lives. In 1935, all three remaining minesweepers active in the Royal Canadian Navy were laid up.[4] In the naval estimates of the 1936 budget, provision was made to replace two of the Battle-class with two new, modern minesweepers.[5]
In 1938 four hulls were laid down in four shipyards across the country to be completed by the end of the year.[6] The two minesweepers built on the east coast would cost $ 318 000 per vessel and the two constructed on the west coast, $403 000 per vessel.[7]
According to the design, the vessels displaced 460 long tons (470 t; 520 short tons). They were 163 ft (49.7 m) long, with a beam of 27.5 ft (8.4 m) and a draught of 14.5 ft (4.4 m). They had a complement of 38 officers and ratings.
The vessels had a top speed of 12 knots (22.2 km/h) and were armed with one QF 4-inch (102-mm) Mk IV gun mounted forward on a raised platform.[1]
Ships in class
| Ship | Original Pennant Number | Builder | Laid Down | Launched | Commissioned | Paid Off | Fate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Comox | J64 | Burrard Dry Dock Co. Ltd., Vancouver | 5 February 1938 | 9 August 1938 | 23 November 1938 | 27 July 1945 | Sold in 1946 into mercantile service as the tugboat Sung Ming. |
| Fundy | J88 | Collingwood Shipyards Ltd. Collingwood | 24 January 1938 | 18 June 1938 | 1 September 1938 | 27 July 1945 | Sold in 1947 into mercantile service to Marine Industries Ltd. Sold around 1960 to Rail & Water Terminals in St-Joseph-de-la-Rive and rebuilt as a diesel coaster named Aigle Marin. Resold in 1972 (approx) and renamed Anne R.D. Scrapped in 1987. |
| Gaspe | J94 | Morton Engineering & Dry Dock Co., Quebec City | 24 January 1938 | 12 August 1938 | 21 October 1938 | 23 July 1945 | Sold in 1946 into mercantile service as the tugboat Sung Li. |
| Nootka | J35 | Yarrows Ltd., Esquimalt | 1 February 1938 | 26 September 1938 | 6 December 1938 | 29 July 1945 | Renamed HMCS Nanoose (J35) in 1943. Sold in 1956 into mercantile service as the tugboat Sung Ling. |
See also
References
- Notes
- ^ Photographs positively identify the ships' guns as QF 4-inch Mk IV. They may have come from decommissioned First World War-era destroyers HMCS Vancouver and HMCS Champlain.
- Citations
- References
- Johnston, William; Rawling, William G.P; Gimblett, Richard; and MacFarlane, John. (2010) The Seabound Coast: The Official History of the Royal Canadian Navy, 1867-1939. Volume 1; Toronto: Dundurn Press. ISBN 978-1-55488-908-2
External links
- Fundy class - hazegray.org