The TR series were

minesweeping Minesweeping is the practice of the removal of explosive naval mines, usually by a specially designed ship called a minesweeper using various measures to either capture or detonate the mines, but sometimes also with an aircraft made for that ...

naval trawler Naval trawlers are vessels built along the lines of a fishing trawler but fitted out for naval purposes; they were widely used during the First and Second World Wars. Some—known in the Royal Navy as "Admiralty trawlers"— were purpose-built to ...

s built during

World War I 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 ...

. Ordered by the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...

, they were loaned to 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 ...

for seaward defence of the East Coast of Canada. The total number of vessels that entered service is unknown with 60 hulls constructed by eight Canadian shipyards. Based on the British , some entered service with the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

during the war. Following World War I, they were sold for commercial use to replace the fishing vessels lost during the war. In

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

many of them were taken over by the Royal Navy as auxiliary minesweepers and two of them returned to the Royal Canadian Navy.

Design and description

The TR series of

were copies of the

's .Macpherson and Barrie, p. 26 There were some changes in the Canadian version, including the gun being mounted further forward and a different lighting system. The TR series had a

displacement Displacement may refer to: Physical sciences Mathematics and Physics *Displacement (geometry), is the difference between the final and initial position of a point trajectory (for instance, the center of mass of a moving object). The actual path ...

of with a

length overall __NOTOC__ Length overall (LOA, o/a, o.a. or oa) is the maximum length of a vessel's hull measured parallel to the waterline. This length is important while docking the ship. It is the most commonly used way of expressing the size of a ship, an ...

of and a

length 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 ...

of , 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 vessels were powered by a steam

triple expansion engine A steam engine is a heat engine that performs mechanical work using steam as its working fluid. The steam engine uses the force produced by steam pressure to push a piston back and forth inside a cylinder. This pushing force can be tr ...

driving one shaft creating .Johnston et al., p. 472 They had a maximum speed of and were armed with one

QF 12-pounder 12 cwt naval gun The QF 12-pounder 12-cwt gun (abbreviated as Q.F. 12-pdr. (12-cwt.)Gun ...

mounted forward."Cwt" is the abbreviation for

hundredweight The hundredweight (abbreviation: cwt), formerly also known as the centum weight or quintal, is a British imperial and US customary unit of weight or mass. Its value differs between the US and British imperial systems. The two values are distingu ...

, 12 cwt referring to the weight of the gun. QF stands for

quick-firing gun A quick-firing or rapid-firing gun is an artillery piece, typically a gun or howitzer, which has several characteristics which taken together mean the weapon can fire at a fast rate. Quick-firing was introduced worldwide in the 1880s and 1890s and ...

. A design flaw was later identified where the

wireless operator A radio operator (also, formerly, wireless operator in British and Commonwealth English) is a person who is responsible for the operations of a radio system. The profession of radio operator has become largely obsolete with the automation of ra ...

was located in a cabin below the

bridge A bridge is a structure built to span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or rail) without blocking the way underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, which is usually somethi ...

and could not communicate easily with the commander of the vessel. This was rectified with the installation of an interphone.Johnston et al., p. 687

Service history

Construction and World War I

As late as October 1916, a memorandum created by the Royal Navy argued that naval trawlers were ineffective against the German submarine threat. However, in November, the

British Admiralty The Admiralty was a department of the Government of the United Kingdom responsible for the command of the Royal Navy until 1964, historically under its titular head, the Lord High Admiral – one of the Great Officers of State. For much of it ...

demanded that Canada expand its

East Coast East Coast may refer to: Entertainment * East Coast hip hop, a subgenre of hip hop * East Coast (ASAP Ferg song), "East Coast" (ASAP Ferg song), 2017 * East Coast (Saves the Day song), "East Coast" (Saves the Day song), 2004 * East Coast FM, a ra ...

patrol fleet with auxiliary trawlers. The Canadians acquired several

fishing trawler A fishing trawler is a commercial fishing vessel designed to operate Trawling, fishing trawls. Trawling is a method of fishing that involves actively dragging or pulling a trawl through the water behind one or more trawlers. Trawls are fishing ...

s from the United States and converted them into auxiliary minesweeping vessels and ordered the twelve s of their own design from Canadian shipyards. In February 1917, the Admiralty initially ordered the construction of 36 naval trawlers from Canadian shipyards as part of a building programme intended to improve the state of seaward defence in Canadian waters. The trawlers were constructed at shipyards along the

Saint Lawrence River The St. Lawrence River (french: Fleuve Saint-Laurent, ) is a large river in the middle latitudes of North America. Its headwaters begin flowing from Lake Ontario in a (roughly) northeasterly direction, into the Gulf of St. Lawrence, connectin ...

and in the

Great Lakes The Great Lakes, also called the Great Lakes of North America, are a series of large interconnected freshwater lakes in the mid-east region of North America that connect to the Atlantic Ocean via the Saint Lawrence River. There are five lakes ...

. The crews of the vessels were sent inland from

Halifax, Nova Scotia Halifax is the capital and largest municipality of the Canadian province of Nova Scotia, and the largest municipality in Atlantic Canada. As of the 2021 Census, the municipal population was 439,819, with 348,634 people in its urban area. The ...

where they had trained. Twenty-two trawlers were constructed and sent to

Quebec City Quebec City ( or ; french: Ville de Québec), officially Québec (), is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Quebec. As of July 2021, the city had a population of 549,459, and the Communauté métrop ...

to be completed and commissioned before the Saint Lawrence River froze over during the winter at the end of 1917. Once completed and commissioned, the vessels were then sent on to

Sydney, Nova Scotia Sydney is a former city and urban community on the east coast of Cape Breton Island in Nova Scotia, Canada within the Cape Breton Regional Municipality. Sydney was founded in 1785 by the British, was incorporated as a city in 1904, and dissolv ...

to join the East Coast patrol fleet. However, none of the vessels were completed in time to take part in the 1917 shipping season. This was due to construction delays as the American war effort, which had begun to pick up its pace, began to recruit Canadian workers. This caused work shortages at the Canadian yards. The majority of the trawlers that had arrived at Quebec City were laid up for the winter there, most requiring further work. The ice on the Saint Lawrence River prevented the trawlers from clearing the river until May 1918. In December 1917, the British government sought to expand the shipbuilding contracts in Canada. Alongside a large merchant ship construction programme, the Admiralty ordered a second batch of trawlers from Canadian shipyards. Designated Lot B, they were intended to be delivered by Fall 1918, but a shortage of labour, equipment and material led to delays. The steel required to construct boilers and hulls was delivered as late as August 1918. Upon arrival, the trawlers were put to use in both minesweeping and patrol roles. In April 1918, four of the trawlers were used for port defence of Halifax and others were used to escort slow

convoy A convoy is a group of vehicles, typically motor vehicles or ships, traveling together for mutual support and protection. Often, a convoy is organized with armed defensive support and can help maintain cohesion within a unit. It may also be used ...

s through Canadian waters. In order to fill the manpower need for the trawlers, ratings from the

Newfoundland Newfoundland and Labrador (; french: Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador; frequently abbreviated as NL) is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region ...

division of the

Royal Navy Reserve The Royal Naval Reserve (RNR) is one of the two volunteer reserve forces of the Royal Navy in the United Kingdom. Together with the Royal Marines Reserve, they form the Maritime Reserve. The present RNR was formed by merging the original Ro ...

were sent to Canada. By mid-summer 35 of the 36 trawlers were active with the last, ''TR 20'', awaiting her crew at

Kingston, Ontario Kingston is a city in Ontario, Canada. It is located on the north-eastern end of Lake Ontario, at the beginning of the St. Lawrence River and at the mouth of the Cataraqui River (south end of the Rideau Canal). The city is midway between Toro ...

. In August 1918, the attacked and sank the tanker ''Luz Blanca'' near Halifax. ''TR 11'' and a

drifter A drifter is a vagrant who moves from place to place without a fixed home or employment. Drifter(s) or The Drifter(s) may also refer to: Films and television Films * ''The Drifter'' (1917 film), an American film directed by Fred Kelsey * ''Th ...

were the first vessels sent to respond to the sinking. Several other trawlers later joined in on the hunt for the submarine. However, the submarine escaped. Following the attack, the available trawler force was evenly dispersed among the major ports in Nova Scotia of Sydney and Halifax. However, many of the trawlers lacked armament or were defective and the actual numbers of available vessels was much reduced. Later that month, ''U-156'' captured the fishing trawler ''Triumph'' and set about sinking vessels of the East Coast fishing fleet, using ''Triumph'' to get near their unsuspecting victims. On 21 August, a Canadian patrol unit that included the trawlers ''TR 22'' and ''TR 32'' came upon the

U-boat U-boats were naval submarines operated by Germany, particularly in the First and Second World Wars. Although at times they were efficient fleet weapons against enemy naval warships, they were most effectively used in an economic warfare role ...

. However, due to signals by one of the senior commanders, the Canadian patrol unit allowed the submarine to escape. The trawlers remained in service until war's end when they were decommissioned and laid up.

Interwar and World War II

''TR 37'', ''TR 39'', ''TR 51'', ''TR 55'', ''TR 56'', ''TR 58'', ''TR 59'' and ''TR 60'' were all loaned to the

from November 1918 to August 1919.Colledge, p. 638 Following the war, many of the TR series were sold for commercial use in the fishing industry, to make up for losses during the war. 17 were sold to the Boston Deep Sea Fishing and Ice Company. One, ''TR 4'', renamed ''Cartagena'', was resold to the Brazilian Ministry of Marine. However, while being delivered to

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a b ...

, the vessel sank in rough weather after last being seen on 15 January 1928. Another, ''TR 14'', renamed , wrecked along the coast of the

Isle of Man ) , anthem = "O Land of Our Birth" , image = Isle of Man by Sentinel-2.jpg , image_map = Europe-Isle_of_Man.svg , mapsize = , map_alt = Location of the Isle of Man in Europe , map_caption = Location of the Isle of Man (green) in Europe ...

in 1931. In World War II, many of these vessels returned to naval service as auxiliary minesweepers in the Royal Navy. Two of them returned to Royal Canadian Navy service as the

examination vessel An examination vessel is a vessel used to inspect ships and boats entering a port during wartime. An examination vessel would typically be responsible for examining and verifying all merchant ships and small craft entering or departing a port. T ...

s ''Andrée Dupré'' and ''Macsin'', in service at Halifax during World War II.Macpherson and Barrie, pp. 219, 224

List of vessels

References

Notes

Citations

Sources

* * *

External links

* {{cite web , url= http://www.burysac.org.uk/reviews/cartagena , title=SS Cartagena, Liverpool Bay (ex-''TR-4'') , work=burysac.org.uk