Fundy-class minesweeper
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

The ''Fundy''-class minesweepers were a class of four minesweepers operated by 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 ...
during the
Second World War 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 ...
. All four ships entered service in 1938 and the class were discarded in 1945, sold for mercantile service. Three ended up sold to Chinese interests, while one remained active in Canada until 1987. The class derives its name from the lead ship 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 of Canada and two, including ''Fundy'', to the
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 ...
.


Design and description

By 1930 the s which had been re-designated as minesweepers in November 1922 were coming to the end of their effective service lives. In 1935, all three remaining minesweepers active in 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 ...
were laid up. In the naval estimates of the 1936 budget, provision was made to replace two of the Battle class with two new, modern minesweepers. In 1938 four hulls were
laid down Laying the keel or laying down is the formal recognition of the start of a ship's construction. It is often marked with a ceremony attended by dignitaries from the shipbuilding company and the ultimate owners of the ship. Keel laying is one o ...
in four shipyards across the country to be completed by the end of the year. The two minesweepers built on the
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 ...
would cost $318,000 per vessel and the two constructed on the
West Coast West Coast or west coast may refer to: Geography Australia * Western Australia *Regions of South Australia#Weather forecasting, West Coast of South Australia * West Coast, Tasmania **West Coast Range, mountain range in the region Canada * Britis ...
, $403,000 per vessel. At the outbreak of the
Second World War 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 ...
, the Royal Canadian Navy considered constructing more, but chose to build s instead upon learning of that design. The ''Bangor''s burned oil instead of coal and had much greater endurance. The vessels, based on the British ''Basset''-class trawlers, displaced . They were long, 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 . They had a complement of 3 officers and 35 ratings. The ''Fundy'' class was propelled by one
shaft Shaft may refer to: Rotating machine elements * Shaft (mechanical engineering), a rotating machine element used to transmit power * Line shaft, a power transmission system * Drive shaft, a shaft for transferring torque * Axle, a shaft around whi ...
driven by a
vertical triple expansion 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 ...
engine powered by steam from a one-cylinder boiler. This created between and gave the minesweepers a top speed of . The ships were capable of carrying between of coal. The ships were armed with either one QF Mk IV gun mounted forward on a raised platform, or with one QF 12-pounder 12 cwt naval gun.Mark IV = Mark 4. Britain used
Roman numeral Roman numerals are a numeral system that originated in ancient Rome and remained the usual way of writing numbers throughout Europe well into the Late Middle Ages. Numbers are written with combinations of letters from the Latin alphabet, eac ...
s to denote Marks (models) of ordnance until after World War II.
The minesweepers were armed with two
20 mm Oerlikon The Oerlikon 20 mm cannon is a series of autocannons, based on an original German Becker Type M2 20 mm cannon design that appeared very early in World War I. It was widely produced by Oerlikon Contraves and others, with various models emplo ...
anti-aircraft Anti-aircraft warfare, counter-air or air defence forces is the battlespace response to aerial warfare, defined by NATO as "all measures designed to nullify or reduce the effectiveness of hostile air action".AAP-6 It includes surface based, ...
cannon. They were later equipped with 25
depth charge A depth charge is an anti-submarine warfare (ASW) weapon. It is intended to destroy a submarine by being dropped into the water nearby and detonating, subjecting the target to a powerful and destructive Shock factor, hydraulic shock. Most depth ...
s.


Ships in class


Service history

The class was ordered from four different shipyards spread across Canada. ''Fundy'' was ordered from Collingwood Shipyards Ltd in Ontario and launched on 18 June 1938; ''Comox'' from Burrard Dry Dock in British Columbia, launched on 9 August 1938; ''Gaspé'' from Morton Engineering Co in Quebec, launched on 12 August 1938 and ''Nootka'' from
Yarrows Limited Yarrow Shipbuilders Limited (YSL), often styled as simply Yarrows, was a major shipbuilding firm based in the Scotstoun district of Glasgow on the River Clyde. It is now part of BAE Systems Surface Ships, owned by BAE Systems, which has also op ...
in British Columbia, launched on 26 September 1938. Initially ''Comox'' and ''Nootka'' were stationed on the
Pacific coast Pacific coast may be used to reference any coastline that borders the Pacific Ocean. Geography Americas Countries on the western side of the Americas have a Pacific coast as their western or southwestern border, except for Panama, where the Pac ...
, with ''Gaspé'' and ''Fundy'' on the East Coast. They continued this way even after the outbreak of the Second World War, until March 1940 when ''Comox'' and ''Nootka'' were transferred to the East Coast. During the war they spent most of their time performing minesweeping duties around Halifax. In July 1942, ''Fundy'' was used as to escort a convoy from Halifax to Boston, Massachusetts and another back to Halifax in the
Battle of the Atlantic The Battle of the Atlantic, the longest continuous military campaign in World War II, ran from 1939 to the defeat of Nazi Germany in 1945, covering a major part of the naval history of World War II. At its core was the Allied naval blockade ...
. On 1 April 1943, ''Nootka'' was renamed ''Nanoose'' in order to release her original name to a newly constructed
destroyer In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast, manoeuvrable, long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against powerful short range attackers. They were originally developed in ...
. In January 1945, ''Fundy'' and ''Comox'' rescued survivors from the merchant vessel ''Martin Van Buren'' which had been torpedoed. In July 1945, all four ships were
paid off Ship commissioning is the act or ceremony of placing a ship in active service and may be regarded as a particular application of the general concepts and practices of project commissioning. The term is most commonly applied to placing a warship in ...
to be sold into mercantile service. Three were sold to Chinese interests in 1946 and converted into
tugboat A tugboat or tug is a marine vessel that manoeuvres other vessels by pushing or pulling them, with direct contact or a tow line. These boats typically tug ships in circumstances where they cannot or should not move under their own power, su ...
s. ''Comox'' was renamed ''Sung Ming'', ''Gaspé'' renamed ''Sung Li'', and ''Nanoose'' renamed ''Sung Ling''. ''Fundy'' was sold to
Marine Industries Marine Industries Limited (MIL) was a Canadian ship building, hydro-electric and rail car manufacturing company, in Sorel-Tracy, Quebec, with a shipyard located on the Richelieu river about 1 km from the St. Lawrence River. It employed up to ...
in 1947 where she was converted for mercantile purposes. Her career ended in 1987 when the ship was broken up at La Malbaie, Quebec.


See also

* List of ships of the Royal Canadian Navy


References


Notes


Citations


References

* * * * * *


External links


Fundy class
– ''hazegray.org'' {{Fundy class minesweeper Mine warfare vessel classes