HMCS Caribou (S12)
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HMCS ''Caribou'' was an armed yacht that served in the Royal Canadian Navy during the Second World War. Originally named ''Memory III'', the vessel was renamed ''Elfreda'' while in private use as a personal yacht. After her commissioning and renaming to ''Caribou'', she was used as a patrol and training vessel on the
East coast of Canada Atlantic Canada, also called the Atlantic provinces (french: provinces de l'Atlantique), is the region of Eastern Canada comprising the provinces located on the Atlantic coast, excluding Quebec. The four provinces are New Brunswick, Newfoundla ...
. Following the war the ship was sold for commercial use until her
registry Registry may refer to: Computing * Container registry, an operating-system-level virtualization registry * Domain name registry, a database of top-level internet domain names * Local Internet registry * Metadata registry, information system for re ...
was deleted in 1963.


Description

As built the yacht 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 . The vessel had a gross register tonnage (GRT) of 306 and was powered by a diesel engine driving two shafts. As an armed yacht, ''Caribou'' 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, and ...
with a beam of and a draught of . ''Caribou'' had a maximum speed of and was armed with one QF 12-pounder 12 cwt naval gun and
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. The vessel was equipped with an ASDIC set for anti-submarine warfare. In Canadian service the ship had a complement of 5 officers and 35 crew.


Service history


As a yacht

Constructed by Defoe Shipbuilding Co. at Bay City, Michigan with the yard number 126, the yacht was launched in 1928 as ''Memory III'' on behalf of A.E. Fitkin and registered in New York City. The vessel was sold to Sherburn M. Becker in 1930, retaining the name ''Memory III'' and remained registered in New York City. Becker sold the yacht in 1933 to H.B.H. Ripley of New York City, who renamed her ''Elfreda''.


In 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 Royal 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. ''Elfreda'' was one such ship and was acquired and renamed ''Marita II'' before being handed over to the Royal Canadian Navy in 1940. Renamed ''Caribou'' and commissioned at Halifax, Nova Scotia on 27 May 1940 with the
pennant number In the Royal Navy and other navies of Europe and the Commonwealth of Nations, ships are identified by pennant number (an internationalisation of ''pendant number'', which it was called before 1948). Historically, naval ships flew a flag that iden ...
S12, later Z25, the ship sailed to Quebec City, Quebec for conversion to an armed yacht. There the 12-pounder naval gun was installed forward. Upon her return to Halifax following the conversion, the vessel was employed as a
guard ship A guard ship is a warship assigned as a stationary guard in a port or harbour, as opposed to a coastal patrol boat, which serves its protective role at sea. Royal Navy In the Royal Navy of the eighteenth century, peacetime guard ships were usual ...
at the entrance to Bedford Basin. In August 1941, ''Caribou'' underwent a refit. After returning to service in November, she was used as a patrol vessel. On 19 November 1941 the ship had a serious
galley A galley is a type of ship that is propelled mainly by oars. The galley is characterized by its long, slender hull, shallow draft, and low freeboard (clearance between sea and gunwale). Virtually all types of galleys had sails that could be used ...
fire that sent her back to harbour until February 1942. In March 1942 the ship was re-assigned to the patrol force operating out of Saint John, New Brunswick. She and fellow armed yacht were the only warships patrolling the
Bay of Fundy The Bay of Fundy (french: Baie de Fundy) is a bay between the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, with a small portion touching the U.S. state of Maine. It is an arm of the Gulf of Maine. Its extremely high tidal range is the hi ...
and the approaches to Saint John until the arrival of motor launches in October. She remained with the force until 31 July 1942 when the vessel returned to Halifax for inspection and was found unfit. ''Caribou'' was then assigned to harbour duty as a training ship as part of . She remained in this capacity until September 1943 when she moved first to Saint John as a training ship. The ship finished the war as a training ship at
Digby Digby may refer to: Places Australia * Digby, Victoria, a town Canada * Digby (electoral district), a former federal electoral district in Nova Scotia (1867–1914) * Digby (provincial electoral district), a provincial electoral district i ...
, Nova Scotia. She was paid off on 20 July 1945 and put up for disposal on 4 September 1945 along with . The vessel sold for commercial use in 1946.


Postwar service

''Caribou'' was sold along with armed yachts ''Husky'' and to the Margaree Steamships Company. ''Caribou'' was sold in 1946 to Inter Caribbean Sg Co and registered in
Aruba Aruba ( , , ), officially the Country of Aruba ( nl, Land Aruba; pap, Pais Aruba) is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands physically located in the mid-south of the Caribbean Sea, about north of the Venezuela peninsula of ...
. The ship was renamed ''Inca Beatrix''. In 1951, the vessel was returned to the name ''Caribou'' and continued under that name until 1963 when her registry was deleted.


Notes


Citations


References

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External links


HMCS ''Caribou'' – source: readyayeready.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Caribou (S12) Armed yachts of the Royal Canadian Navy 1928 ships