HMCS ''Fundy'' (

hull number Hull number is a serial identification number given to a boat or ship. For the military, a lower number implies an older vessel. For civilian use, the HIN is used to trace the boat's history. The precise usage varies by country and type. United ...

MCB 145) was a that was constructed for 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 Cold War. The minesweeper entered service in March 1954 and was transferred later that month to the

French Navy The French Navy (french: Marine nationale, lit=National Navy), informally , is the maritime arm of the French Armed Forces and one of the five military service branches of France. It is among the largest and most powerful naval forces in t ...

. Renamed ''La Dunkerquoise'', the ship was converted to a territorial patrol vessel in 1973 and remained in service until 1984. ''La Dunkerquoise'' was discarded in 1986.

Design and description

The Bay class were designed and ordered as replacements for 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 ...

-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 mens ...

with a beam 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 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-ca ...

s 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 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 down on 19 June 1951 by

Saint John Shipbuilding Saint John Shipbuilding was a Canadian shipbuilding company located in Saint John, New Brunswick. The shipyard was active from 1923 to 2003. History Numerous shipyards were located on the shores of Courtney Bay in the east end of Saint John H ...

at their yard in 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 ...

. Named for a bay located between New Brunswick and

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 ...

, ''Fundy'' was launched on 9 December 1953. The ship was commissioned on 19 March 1954.Macpherson and Barrie, p. 274 ''Fundy'' remained in Canadian service for only a few weeks as the vessel 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 31 March 1954. The minesweeper was transferred to the

the same day and renamed ''La Dunkerquoise''. The ship was commissioned into the French Navy on 21 May 1954. She served as a minesweeper until 1973 when the minesweeping gear was removed and ''La Dunkerquoise'' transferred to the Pacific Ocean for duty as an overseas territories patrol vessel.Moore, p. 171 The vessel remained in service until 1984 and was

on 15 October 1986.Colledge, p. 250 The ship was stricken in 1986.

References

Notes

Citations

References

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Fundy (MCB 145), HMCS Bay-class minesweepers Bay-class minesweepers of the French Navy Ships built in Saint John, New Brunswick 1953 ships Cold War minesweepers of Canada Cold War minesweepers of France Minesweepers of the Royal Canadian Navy