HMCS ''Galiano'' was a Canadian government

fisheries patrol Monitoring, control and surveillance (MCS), in the context of fisheries, is defined by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations as a broadening of traditional enforcing national rules over fishing, to the support of the broa ...

vessel pressed into service with the

Royal Canadian Navy The Royal Canadian Navy (RCN; french: Marine royale canadienne, ''MRC'') is the Navy, naval force of Canada. The RCN is one of three environmental commands within the Canadian Armed Forces. As of 2021, the RCN operates 12 frigates, four attack s ...

in 1917 during the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. Used for patrol and assessment duties on the

West Coast of Canada , settlement_type = Region of British Columbia , image_skyline = , nickname = "The Coast" , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Canada , subdivision_type1 = Province , subdivision_name1 = British ...

, ''Galiano'' disappeared in a storm in October 1918, making her Canada's only

warship A warship or combatant ship is a naval ship that is built and primarily intended for naval warfare. Usually they belong to the armed forces of a state. As well as being armed, warships are designed to withstand damage and are usually faster a ...

lost during the First World War.

Description

''Galiano'' was

long between perpendiculars Length between perpendiculars (often abbreviated as p/p, p.p., pp, LPP, LBP or Length BPP) is the length of a ship along the summer load line from the forward surface of the stem, or main bow perpendicular member, to the after surface of the ster ...

with a

beam Beam may refer to: Streams of particles or energy *Light beam, or beam of light, a directional projection of light energy **Laser beam *Particle beam, a stream of charged or neutral particles **Charged particle beam, a spatially localized grou ...

of and a draught of . The vessel had a gross register tonnage (GRT) of 393. The vessel was powered by a single steam-powered

triple-expansion engine A compound steam engine unit is a type of steam engine where steam is expanded in two or more stages. A typical arrangement for a compound engine is that the steam is first expanded in a high-pressure ''(HP)'' cylinder, then having given up h ...

driving one shaft creating . This gave the vessel a maximum speed of . In Royal Canadian Navy service, the vessel had a

complement A complement is something that completes something else. Complement may refer specifically to: The arts * Complement (music), an interval that, when added to another, spans an octave ** Aggregate complementation, the separation of pitch-clas ...

of 33.

Construction and career

The vessel was constructed by Dublin Dockyard in

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

, in 1913. ''Galiano'' was a steel-hulled, single-screw vessel launched on 18 October 1913 and completed in December 1913. The

sister ship A sister ship is a ship of the same class or of virtually identical design to another ship. Such vessels share a nearly identical hull and superstructure layout, similar size, and roughly comparable features and equipment. They often share a ...

of CGS ''Malaspina'', the vessel was acquired by the Canadian government in 1914 for service on the West Coast of Canada as a fisheries patrol vessel. ''Galiano'' arrived in

Esquimalt The Township of Esquimalt is a municipality at the southern tip of Vancouver Island, in British Columbia, Canada. It is bordered to the east by the provincial capital, Victoria, British Columbia, Victoria, to the south by the Strait of Juan de ...

, British Columbia, on 21 February 1914 to start her duties in the fisheries protection service as a patrol boat with the prefix Canadian Government Ship (CGS). After the First World War broke out, ''Galiano'' and sister ship ''Malaspina'' alternated between naval and civic duties along the Pacific coast, being retained as part of the government fleet. This included performing examination duties at Esquimalt. ''Galiano'' was commissioned in the Royal Canadian Navy on 15 December 1917 and given the prefix His Majesty's Canadian Ship (HMCS).

Lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often sub ...

R. M. Pope of the

Royal Canadian Naval Volunteer Reserve The Royal Canadian Navy Volunteer Reserve (RCNVR) was a naval reserve force of the Royal Canadian Navy, which replaced the Royal Navy Canadian Volunteer Reserve (RNCVR). Foundation The RCNVR was created in 1923. The organization was established ...

was given command of the vessel.

Loss

In late October 1918, ''Galiano'', just returned from the Queen Charlotte Islands (now

Haida Gwaii Haida Gwaii (; hai, X̱aaydag̱a Gwaay.yaay / , literally "Islands of the Haida people") is an archipelago located between off the northern Pacific coast of Canada. The islands are separated from the mainland to the east by the shallow Hecat ...

) and, in need of some repair, was sent with supplies to the light house at Triangle Island off

Cape Scott Cape Scott is a cape at the western side of the terminus of Dennistoun Glacier on the northern coast of Victoria Land in Antarctica Antarctica () is Earth's southernmost and least-populated continent. Situated almost entirely south of the ...

at the northwestern tip of

Vancouver Island Vancouver Island is an island in the northeastern Pacific Ocean and part of the Canadian Provinces and territories of Canada, province of British Columbia. The island is in length, in width at its widest point, and in total area, while are o ...

. A number of her regular crew were unable to make the trip due to illness as the

1918 flu pandemic The 1918–1920 influenza pandemic, commonly known by the misnomer Spanish flu or as the Great Influenza epidemic, was an exceptionally deadly global influenza pandemic caused by the H1N1 influenza A virus. The earliest documented case was ...

had reached her base at Esquimalt. She set out towards the Queen Charlotte Islands from Triangle Island at 5 pm on 29 October 1918. When she made her only distress call at 3 am the next morning, she was estimated to be within visual range of the light at Cape St. James from Triangle Island. She was never heard from again and went down with the loss of all hands. At the time of her distress call, there were heavy seas running at her location in Queen Charlotte Sound. ''Galiano'' was lost just days after ran aground on Vanderbilt Reef, near

Skagway, Alaska The Municipality and Borough of Skagway is a first-class borough in Alaska on the Alaska Panhandle. As of the 2020 census, the population was 1,240, up from 968 in 2010. The population doubles in the summer tourist season in order to deal wit ...

also in heavy weather. The Naval Memorial in

Ross Bay Cemetery Ross Bay Cemetery is located at 1516 Fairfield Road in Victoria, British Columbia, on Vancouver Island, Canada. Many historical figures from the early days of the province and colony of British Columbia are buried at Ross Bay. History The ceme ...

Vancouver Island, British Columbia Vancouver Island is an island in the northeastern Pacific Ocean and part of the Canadian province of British Columbia. The island is in length, in width at its widest point, and in total area, while are of land. The island is the largest by ...

bears the names of 39 officers and men who were lost at sea. Of these, 36 were from HMCS ''Galiano'', which sank on 30 October 1918.

Legacy

In honour of ''Galiano'' and her crew, Canadian Forces Fleet School Esquimalt (CFFS(E)) named its

damage control In navies and the maritime industry, damage control is the emergency control of situations that may cause the sinking of a watercraft. Examples are: * rupture of a pipe or hull especially below the waterline and * damage from grounding (ru ...

training facility after the lost ship. Located in

Colwood, British Columbia Colwood is a city located on Vancouver Island to the southwest of Victoria, British Columbia, Victoria, capital of British Columbia, Canada. Colwood was incorporated in 1985 and has a population of approximately 17,000 people. Colwood lies within ...

, DCTF Galiano houses multiple-storey flood and fire simulators and utilizes complex freshwater flooding and propane fire systems. The simulators are designed as realistic mock-ups of Canadian naval vessels to provide controlled emergency environments in which sailors are trained to respond to ruptured pipes, flooding compartments, engine-room fires, aircraft crashes, and electrical emergencies.

Citations

Sources

* * * * *

External links

Canada's only lost Warship

Converted civilian vessels
{{DEFAULTSORT:Galiano, HMCS Patrol vessels of the Royal Canadian Navy 1913 ships Auxiliary ships of the Royal Canadian Navy Canadian Government Ship