HMCS ''Beaver'' was an

armed yacht An armed yacht was a yacht that was armed with weapons and was typically in the service of a navy. The word "yacht" ("hunter"; Dutch "jacht"; German "jagd", literally meaning "to hunt") was originally applied to small, fast and agile naval vessels ...

that served in the

Royal Canadian Navy The Royal Canadian Navy (RCN; french: Marine royale canadienne, ''MRC'') is the 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 submar ...

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 opposi ...

. Originally named ''Aztec'', the yacht was requisitioned for service in 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

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 ...

under the same name. Returned to her owner in 1919, the yacht was laid up in 1931 following her owner's death. The vessel was purchased via a third party for service in the Royal Canadian Navy and after commissioning, ''Beaver'' was primarily used as a

training ship A training ship is a ship used to train students as sailors. The term is mostly used to describe ships employed by navies to train future officers. Essentially there are two types: those used for training at sea and old hulks used to house class ...

with limited time as a patrol vessel. Following the war she was sold in 1946 and

broken up Ship-breaking (also known as ship recycling, ship demolition, ship dismantling, or ship cracking) is a type of ship disposal involving the breaking up of ships for either a source of Interchangeable parts, parts, which can be sold for re-use, ...

for scrap in 1956.

Description

As initially constructed, the yacht had a gross register tonnage (GRT) of 848 and was powered by a

triple expansion steam 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 he ...

driving two

shafts ''Shafts'' was an English feminist magazine produced by Margaret Sibthorp from 1892 until 1899. Initially published weekly and priced at one penny, its themes included votes for women, women's education, and radical attitudes towards vivisection, ...

. This gave the vessel a maximum speed of . As an armed yacht in Canadian service, ''Beaver'' 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 , was

long 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 ...

with a beam of and a draught of . The vessel had a maximum speed of and was armed with one naval gun, an

ASDIC Sonar (sound navigation and ranging or sonic navigation and ranging) is a technique that uses sound propagation (usually underwater, as in submarine navigation) to navigate, measure distances ( ranging), communicate with or detect objects on ...

set and depth charges. ''Beaver'' 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 5 officers and 45 crew.

Service history

Construction and early career

''Aztec'' was constructed by Crescent Shipyard at

Elizabeth Elizabeth or Elisabeth may refer to: People * Elizabeth (given name), a female given name (including people with that name) * Elizabeth (biblical figure), mother of John the Baptist Ships * HMS ''Elizabeth'', several ships * ''Elisabeth'' (sch ...

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

with the

yard number __NOTOC__ M ...

99 and launched in 22 April 1902. Owned initially by Albert C. Burrage, the vessel was leased by the

during the First World War. The yacht was acquired by the United States Navy on 29 June 1917 and placed in commission on 30 June 1917. The yacht was overhauled and upon completion, was assigned to the 1st Naval District based at

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut Massachusett_writing_systems.html" ;"title="nowiki/> məhswatʃəwiːsət.html" ;"title="Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət">Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət'' En ...

and designated the flagship. ''Aztec''s duties comprised naval facilities inspections and escorting submarines from Boston to

New London New London may refer to: Places United States *New London, Alabama *New London, Connecticut *New London, Indiana *New London, Iowa *New London, Maryland *New London, Minnesota *New London, Missouri *New London, New Hampshire, a New England town ** ...

Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its capita ...

, and

troopship A troopship (also troop ship or troop transport or trooper) is a ship used to carry soldiers, either in peacetime or wartime. Troopships were often drafted from commercial shipping fleets, and were unable land troops directly on shore, typicall ...

s to Halifax,

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. Nova Scotia is Latin for "New Scotland". Most of the population are native Eng ...

. The vessel also patrolled the

Grand Banks The Grand Banks of Newfoundland are a series of underwater plateaus south-east of the island of Newfoundland on the North American continental shelf. The Grand Banks are one of the world's richest fishing grounds, supporting Atlantic cod, swordf ...

off Newfoundland. ''Aztec'' was decommissioned on 15 March 1919 and returned to A.C. Burrage on 7 August 1919. ''Aztec'' remained in Burrage's possession until his death in 1931. Following his death, the yacht was laid up at Boston and remained there until 1940.

Canadian service

After failing to acquire any British vessels at the outset of the Second World War for auxiliary purposes, the Royal Canadian Navy discreetly searched the American market for suitable ships. However, American law prevented the sale of ships for possible use in the war to any of the belligerents. The Canadian Navy requisitioned unsuitable Canadian yachts and had their respective owners go the United States and buy those ships the Navy wanted as replacements. Once the ships arrived in Canada, the navy then returned the original yachts and requisitioned the new ones. ''Aztec'' was one such ship and was acquired by the Royal Canadian Navy on 28 May 1940. Initially carrying the pennant number S10 and later Z10, she was commissioned as ''Beaver'' into the Royal Canadian Navy on 4 April 1941 at Halifax, Nova Scotia. After commissioning, the ship was assigned to the Halifax Local Defence Force. Deployed mainly as a

radar Radar is a detection system that uses radio waves to determine the distance ('' ranging''), angle, and radial velocity of objects relative to the site. It can be used to detect aircraft, ships, spacecraft, guided missiles, motor vehicles, we ...

, the vessel transferred briefly to the local force operating out of Saint John,

New Brunswick New Brunswick (french: Nouveau-Brunswick, , locally ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. It is the only province with both English and ...

and then Sydney Force, operating from Sydney, Nova Scotia as a local patrol vessel at the end of 1942. On 27 December 1942, ''Beaver'' underwent a refit at Halifax. Returning to service, the ship was ordered to Digby, Nova Scotia to become a training ship for the

defensively equipped merchant ship Defensively equipped merchant ship (DEMS) was an Admiralty Trade Division programme established in June 1939, to arm 5,500 British merchant ships with an adequate defence against enemy submarines and aircraft. The acronym DEMS was used to descri ...

(DEMS) gunners and, later, seamanship training. ''Beaver'' underwent another refit at Halifax from 9 February until 24 June 1944. The vessel served as a personnel transport between Halifax and St. John's, Newfoundland until serious defects sent the ship to the dockyard for repair. Due to the age and condition of the vessel, ''Beaver'' was not repaired and was paid off on 17 October 1944. On 13 July 1945, the vessel was declared surplus and on 25 August, was handed over to the War Assets Corporation for disposal. She was sold in 1946 to Wentworth N. MacDonald and in 1956 was scrapped. The ship was given the

battle honour A battle honour is an award of a right by a government or sovereign to a military unit to emblazon the name of a battle or operation on its flags ("colours"), uniforms or other accessories where ornamentation is possible. In European military t ...

"Atlantic 1942" for her service in during World War II.

References

Citations

Sources

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External links

HMCS ''Beaver'' – source: readyayeready.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Beaver (S10) Armed yachts of the Royal Canadian Navy Auxiliary ships of the Royal Canadian Navy 1902 ships Naval ships of the United States