HMCS ''Drummondville'' was a that served with 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 saw action primarily 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 ...

. Entering service in 1941, she was sold for mercantile service after the war. In 1963, as ''Fort Albany'', the ship was involved in a collision near Sorel, Quebec and sank. The ship was later raised 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 parts, which can be sold for re-use, or for the extraction ...

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 (2002), 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. ''Drummondville'' was of the latter design and was larger than her diesel-engined cousins. ''Drummondville'' 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 .Macpherson and Barrie (2002), p. 180 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. ''Drummondville'' 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 ...

. In general, ''Bangor''-class minesweepers were armed with either a single quick-firing (QF) 12-pounder () 12 cwt HA gun or a QF 20 cwt gun mounted forward. The ships were also fitted with a QF 2-pounder Mark VIII aft and were eventually fitted with single-mounted QF 20 mm Oerlikon guns on the

bridge A bridge is a structure built to span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or rail) without blocking the way underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, which is usually somethi ...

wings.Macpherson (1997), p. 46 Those ships assigned to convoy duty were armed with two

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 ...

launchers and four chutes to deploy their 40 depth charges. ''Drummondville'' was equipped with LL and SA minesweeping gear to counter magnetic and acoustic

naval mine A naval mine is a self-contained explosive device placed in water to damage or destroy surface ships or submarines. Unlike depth charges, mines are deposited and left to wait until they are triggered by the approach of, or contact with, any ...

Service history

''Drummondville'' was ordered as part of the 1940–41 building programme. The minesweeper's

keel The keel is the bottom-most longitudinal structural element on a vessel. On some sailboats, it may have a hydrodynamic and counterbalancing purpose, as well. As the laying down of the keel is the initial step in the construction of a ship, in Br ...

was laid on 10 January 1941 by Canadian Vickers Ltd at

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

. The ship was launched on 21 May 1941 and commissioned on 30 October 1941 at Montreal 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 ...

J253. The minesweeper arrived at

Halifax, Nova Scotia Halifax is the capital and largest municipality of the Canadian province of Nova Scotia, and the largest municipality in Atlantic Canada. As of the 2021 Census, the municipal population was 439,819, with 348,634 people in its urban area. The ...

on 11 November and served for the first three years of her career with the

Western Local Escort Force Western Local Escort Force (WLEF) referred to the organization of anti-submarine escorts for World War II trade convoys from North American port cities to the Western Ocean Meeting Point (WOMP or WESTOMP) near Newfoundland where ships of the Mi ...

, the Gulf Escort Force and the Halifax Local Defence Force. Her duties included escort of convoys through the

Gulf of St. Lawrence The Gulf of St. Lawrence () is the outlet of the North American Great Lakes via the St. Lawrence River into the Atlantic Ocean. The gulf is a semi-enclosed sea, covering an area of about and containing about of water, at an average depth of . ...

. On 6 July 1942, while escorting the convoy QS-15 composed of twelve merchant ships with from

Quebec City Quebec City ( or ; french: Ville de Québec), officially Québec (), is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Quebec. As of July 2021, the city had a population of 549,459, and the Communauté métrop ...

Sydney, Nova Scotia Sydney is a former city and urban community on the east coast of Cape Breton Island in Nova Scotia, Canada within the Cape Breton Regional Municipality. Sydney was founded in 1785 by the British, was incorporated as a city in 1904, and dissolv ...

, the convoy was attacked by the German

U-boat U-boats were naval submarines operated by Germany, particularly in the First and Second World Wars. Although at times they were efficient fleet weapons against enemy naval warships, they were most effectively used in an economic warfare role ...

.Sarty, pp. 100–101 The submarine managed to sink three merchant ships in an hour and a half.German, p. 117 ''Drummondville'' managed to severely damage the U-boat in turn and drive the submarine off. In January 1943 the Western Local Escort Force escorts were organized into groups. ''Drummondville'' was placed in 24.18.8 alongside

sister ship A sister ship is a ship of the same class or of virtually identical design to another ship. Such vessels share a nearly identical hull and superstructure layout, similar size, and roughly comparable features and equipment. They often share a ...

and

corvette A corvette is a small warship. It is traditionally the smallest class of vessel considered to be a proper (or " rated") warship. The warship class above the corvette is that of the frigate, while the class below was historically that of the slo ...

s and . She joined Newfoundland Force in February 1944. She was refitted at

Louisburg, Nova Scotia Louisbourg is an unincorporated community and former town in Cape Breton Regional Municipality, Nova Scotia. History The French military founded the Fortress of Louisbourg in 1713 and its fortified seaport on the southwest part of the harbour, ...

before being sent to

Bermuda ) , anthem = "God Save the King" , song_type = National song , song = " Hail to Bermuda" , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , mapsize2 = , map_caption2 = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = , e ...

in August for her working up. She continued working with Newfoundland Force until June 1945. From then until October 1945 she was occupied with general coastal duties. She was

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 ...

on 29 October 1945 and placed in strategic reserve at Sorel, Quebec.

Post war service

After the war she remained in strategic reserve until 1952 when her status was upgraded to reserve and sent to Sydney. The vessel was given the new pennant number 181. However, she was never recommissioned and was sold in September 1958 to Beauchemin Nav Ltd and registered in Halifax.Colledge, p. 117 The minesweeper was converted in 1960 to the merchant ship SS ''Fort Albany'' of and served as such until she was sunk in a collision near Sorel. On 8 December 1963, while carrying a load of

calcium Calcium is a chemical element with the symbol Ca and atomic number 20. As an alkaline earth metal, calcium is a reactive metal that forms a dark oxide-nitride layer when exposed to air. Its physical and chemical properties are most similar to ...

and steel bars, ''Fort Albany'' collided with the Norwegian freighter ''Procyon'' in thick fog and sank in the

St. Lawrence River The St. Lawrence River (french: Fleuve Saint-Laurent, ) is a large river in the middle latitudes of North America. Its headwaters begin flowing from Lake Ontario in a (roughly) northeasterly direction, into the Gulf of St. Lawrence, connecting ...

near Sorel. Four out of the ten crew died as the ship sank quickly. The hull was raised and broken up at Sorel in 1964.

References

Notes

Citations

Sources

* * * * * * *

External links

HMCS Drummondville at the Arnold Hague Convoy Database
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Drummondville (J267) Bangor-class minesweepers of the Royal Canadian Navy Ships built in Montreal 1941 ships World War II minesweepers of Canada