HMCS ''Gananoque'' ( pennant J259) was a 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

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 ...

. Named for the town of

Gananoque, Ontario Gananoque ( ) is a town in the Leeds and Grenville area of Ontario, Canada. The town had a population of 5,383 year-round residents in the 2021 Canadian Census, as well as summer residents sometimes referred to as "Islanders" because of the Thous ...

situated on the

Saint 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, connectin ...

, the minesweeper entered service in 1941 and participated in the Battle of the Atlantic and the Battle of the Saint Lawrence, mainly as a

convoy A convoy is a group of vehicles, typically motor vehicles or ships, traveling together for mutual support and protection. Often, a convoy is organized with armed defensive support and can help maintain cohesion within a unit. It may also be used ...

escort. Following the end of the war in 1945 ''Gananoque'' was decommissioned and placed in reserve. The vessel was reacquired in 1952, but never reentered service and was sold for scrap in 1959 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 Interchangeable parts, parts, which can be sold for re-use, ...

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-ca ...

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

, had a beam 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. ''Gananoque'' had two vertical triple-expansion steam engines, each driving one shaft, using steam provided by two Admiralty three-drum boilers. The engines produced a total of and gave a maximum speed of . The minesweeper could carry a maximum of of fuel oil. The minesweeper was armed with a single quick-firing (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 launchers and four chutes to deploy their 40 depth charges. ''Gananoque'' 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 ...

Operational history

Ordered as part of the 1940–41 building programme, the minesweeper's keel was laid down on 15 January 1941 by Dufferin Shipbuilding, Dufferin Shipbuilding Co. at their yard in Toronto, Ontario. ''Gananoque'' was Ship naming and launching, launched on 23 April 1941 and Ship commissioning, commissioned at Toronto on 8 November 1941.Macpherson and Barrie (2002), p. 181 The minesweeper sailed to Halifax, Nova Scotia, where ''Gananoque'' was assigned to Halifax Force, the local patrol and convoy escort force. The ship then transferred to St. John's Local Defence Force based at St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, St. John's, Newfoundland. During the Battle of the Saint Lawrence, ''Gananoque'' was assigned to the Gulf Escort Force, tasked with escorting convoys through the Gulf of St. Lawrence and the St. Lawrence River. With sister ship and two Fairmile B motor launches, ''Gananoque'' was escorting the Sydney, Nova Scotia, Sydney-Quebec City, Quebec convoy SQ 43 comprising three merchant vessels in October 1942 when they made contact with west of Cap-Chat, Quebec, Cap-Chat on the Gaspé Peninsula. ''Gananoque'' dropped depth charges on the submarine, doing some damage to the U-boat and forcing the submarine to break off its attack on the convoy. The minesweeper transferred to Sydney Force, the local patrol and escort force operating out of Sydney, Nova Scotia. In January 1943 ''Gananoque'' was assigned to the Western Local Escort Force as part of group 24.18.6 which also included the destroyer and the corvettes and as a convoy escort in the Battle of the Atlantic. In May, ''Gananoque'' underwent a refit at Quebec City, Quebec. In July, the minesweeper rejoined Halifax Force, transferring to Sydney Force in May 1944. In July 1944, the ship underwent a second refit, this time at Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, taking eight weeks to complete. In February 1945, the minesweeper joined Newfoundland Force based at St. John's and remained with the group until it was disbanded in June. ''Gananoque'' joined Atlantic Coast Command until being Ship decommissioning, paid off at Sydney on 13 October 1945. The vessel was taken to Shelburne, Nova Scotia and placed in reserve. The minesweeper lay in reserve until reacquired during the Korean War in 1952 and given the new Hull classification symbol (Canada), hull number 181. However, the ship was not recommissioned and ''Gananoque'' was sold for scrap to Marine Industries in February 1959 and broken up.Colledge, p. 254

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External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ganonoque, HMCS Bangor-class minesweepers of the Royal Canadian Navy Ships built in Toronto 1941 ships World War II minesweepers of Canada