HMCS ''Chignecto'' was a that served 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 ...

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 ...

. She only saw service on the west coast of Canada during the war. She was named for Chignecto Bay. The vessel's fate is unknown.

Design and description

A British design, the ''Bangor''-class minesweepers were smaller than the preceding s in British service, but larger than the in Canadian service.Chesneau, p. 64Macpherson and Barrie, p. 167 They came in two versions powered by different engines; those with a

diesel engine The diesel engine, named after Rudolf Diesel, is an internal combustion engine in which ignition of the fuel is caused by the elevated temperature of the air in the cylinder due to mechanical compression; thus, the diesel engine is a so-call ...

s and those with vertical triple-expansion steam engines. ''Chignecto'' was of the latter design and was larger than her diesel-engined cousins. ''Chignecto'' 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 ...

, had 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 minesweeper 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 . She had a complement of 6 officers and 77 enlisted. ''Chignecto'' had two vertical triple-expansion steam engines, each driving one shaft, using steam provided by two

Admiralty three-drum boiler Three-drum boilers are a class of water-tube boiler used to generate steam, typically to power ships. They are compact and of high evaporative power, factors that encourage this use. Other boiler designs may be more efficient, although bulkier, an ...

s. The engines produced a total of and gave a maximum speed of . The minesweeper could carry a maximum of of

fuel oil Fuel oil is any of various fractions obtained from the distillation of petroleum (crude oil). Such oils include distillates (the lighter fractions) and residues (the heavier fractions). Fuel oils include heavy fuel oil, marine fuel oil (MFO), bun ...

. ''Chignecto'' was originally armed with a single quick-firing (QF) /40 caliber Mk IV gun mounted forward that was later replaced with a 12-pounder () 12 cwt HA gun.Macpherson, p. 19 For anti-aircraft purposes, the minesweepers were equipped with one quick-firing (QF) 2-pounder Mark VIII and up to three single-mounted QF 20 mm Oerlikon guns. As a convoy escort, ''Chignecto'' was deployed with 40

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 launched from two depth charge throwers and four chutes.

Service history

''Chignecto'' was ordered 23 February 1940 as part of the 1939–1940 building programme. The minesweeper's keel was laid down on 9 November 1940 by

North Van Ship Repair North Van Ship Repair, later known as Pacific Dry Dock was a shipyard in the North Vancouver (city), city of North Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada which built many of the , Fort ships and Victory ships for Britain and Canada during World War ...

North Vancouver North Vancouver may refer to: *North Vancouver (city), a city in British Columbia, Canada * North Vancouver (district municipality), a district municipality in British Columbia, Canada * North Vancouver (electoral district), a federal electoral di ...

and the ship was launched on 12 December later that year. She was commissioned into the Royal Canadian Navy on 31 October 1941.Macpherson and Barrie, p. 169 Following her commissioning, ''Chignecto'' was assigned to Esquimalt Force for local patrol and minesweeping duties. She spent the entire war on the west coast alternating between service with Esquimalt Force and Prince Rupert Force. She was paid off from the Royal Canadian Navy on 3 November 1945. In 1946 ''Chignecto'' was sold to the Union Steamship Co. of British Columbia. She was to have been converted to a coastal merchant ship however the conversion was not proceeded with. The fate of the vessel is in dispute. The Miramar Ship Index claims the vessel was broken up in 1949. Macpherson and Barrie traced the ship to 1951 in a purchase order from a San Francisco firm. Colledge claims the ship was possibly resold in 1952.Colledge, p. 139

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