HMCS ''Cowichan'' ( hull number MCB 147) 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

Cold War The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because the ...

. The minesweeper entered service in 1953 and was transferred to the French Navy in 1954. Renamed ''La Malouine'', the ship was converted to a territorial patrol vessel in 1973 and remained in service until 1977. ''La Malouine'' was sunk as a target ship in 1985.

Design and description

The Bay class were designed and ordered as replacements for the Second World War-era minesweepers that the Royal Canadian Navy operated at the time. Similar to the , they were constructed of wood planking and aluminum framing.Macpherson and Barrie, p. 271Gardiner and Chumbley, p. 49 Displacing standard at at deep load, the minesweepers were

long Long may refer to: Measurement * Long, characteristic of something of great duration * Long, characteristic of something of great length * Longitude (abbreviation: long.), a geographic coordinate * Longa (music), note value in early music mensur ...

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 38 officers and ratings.Gardiner and Chumbley claim the complement was 40. The Bay-class minesweepers were powered by two GM 12-cylinder diesel engines driving two shafts creating . This gave the ships a maximum speed of and a range of at .Moore, p. 82 The ships were armed with one

40 mm Bofors Bofors 40 mm gun is a name or designation given to two models of 40 mm calibre anti-aircraft guns designed and developed by the Swedish company Bofors: *Bofors 40 mm L/60 gun - developed in the 1930s, widely used in World War II and into the 1990s ...

gun and were equipped with minesweeping gear.

Operational history

The ship's keel was laid down on 20 June 1951 by

Davie Shipbuilding Davie Shipbuilding is a historic shipbuilding company located in Lauzon, Quebec, Canada. The facility is now operating as Chantier Davie Canada Inc. and is the oldest continually operating shipbuilder in North America. History The Davie shipyard ...

at their yard in Lauzon, Quebec. Named for a

bay A bay is a recessed, coastal body of water that directly connects to a larger main body of water, such as an ocean, a lake, or another bay. A large bay is usually called a Gulf (geography), gulf, sea, sound (geography), sound, or bight (geogra ...

located in British Columbia, ''Cowichan'' was launched on 12 November 1951.Macpherson and Barrie, p. 273Colledge, p. 160 The ship was commissioned on 10 December 1953. ''Cowichan'' remained in service for only a few months with the

as the vessel was paid off on 31 March 1954. The minesweeper was transferred to the French Navy on 7 April 1954 and renamed ''La Malouine''. She served as a minesweeper until 1973 when the minesweeping gear was removed and ''La Malouine'' transferred to the Pacific Ocean for duty as an overseas territories patrol vessel.Moore, p. 171 ''La Malouine'' served until 1977. The ship was used as a target ship and sunk on 25 February 1985.

References

Notes

Citations

References

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Cowichan (MCB 147), HMCS Bay-class minesweepers Bay-class minesweepers of the French Navy Ships built in Lévis 1951 ships Cold War minesweepers of Canada Cold War minesweepers of France Minesweepers of the Royal Canadian Navy