HMCS ''Malpeque'' ( pennant J148) was a constructed for 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 ...

. Entering service in 1941, the minesweeper took part 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 ...

and the

invasion of Normandy Operation Overlord was the codename for the Battle of Normandy, the Allied operation that launched the successful invasion of German-occupied Western Europe during World War II. The operation was launched on 6 June 1944 (D-Day) with the Norm ...

. ''Malpeque'' was decommissioned in 1945 and placed in reserve. The vessel was reacquired during the

Korean War , date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...

, however the ship never re-entered service and was sold for scrap in 1959.

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. ''Malpeque'' was of the latter design and was larger than her diesel-engined cousins. ''Malpeque'' 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. ''Malpeque'' 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 ...

. ''Malpeque'' was armed with a single quick-firing (QF) /40 caliber Mk IV gun mounted forward. This was later replaced with a 12-pounder () 12 cwt HA gun.Macpherson (1997), p. 19 For anti-aircraft purposes, the minesweeper was equipped with one QF 2-pounder Mark VIII and two single-mounted QF 20 mm Oerlikon guns. The 2-pounder gun was later replaced with a powered twin 20 mm Oerlikon mount. As a convoy escort, ''Malpeque'' 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.

Operational history

The minesweeper was ordered as part of the 1939–40 building programme. 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 24 April 1940 by North Vancouver Ship Repairs Ltd. at their yard in North Vancouver,

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

. ''Malpeque'' was launched on 5 September 1940 and commissioned into the Royal Canadian Navy on 4 August 1941 at

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

.Macpherson and Barrie (2002), p. 172 After commissioning, the minesweeper transferred to the

East Coast of Canada Atlantic Canada, also called the Atlantic provinces (french: provinces de l'Atlantique), is the region of Eastern Canada comprising the provinces located on the Atlantic coast, excluding Quebec. The four provinces are New Brunswick, Newfoundla ...

, arriving 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 19 October 1941. ''Malpeque'' was initially assigned to Sydney Force, the local patrol and escort force operating out of

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 vessel transferred to Newfoundland Force, the patrol and escort force operating out of

St. John's, Newfoundland St. John's is the capital and largest city of the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador, located on the eastern tip of the Avalon Peninsula on the island of Newfoundland. The city spans and is the easternmost city in North America ...

. She remained with Newfoundland Force until 19 February 1944, when the minesweeper sailed for Europe as part of Canada's contribution to the

. ''Malpeque'' arrived in March 1944 and was assigned to the 31st Minesweeping Flotilla, an all-Canadian flotilla of minesweepers taking part in the D-Day invasions. During the invasion, ''Malpeque'' and her fellow minesweepers swept and marked channels through the German minefields leading into the invasion beaches. The 31st Minesweeping Flotilla swept channel 3 on 6 June, completing the task unmolested by the Germans. The minesweeper returned to Canada in April 1945 to undergo a refit at

Liverpool, Nova Scotia Liverpool is a Canadian community and former town located along the Atlantic Ocean of the Province of Nova Scotia's South Shore. It is situated within the Region of Queens Municipality which is the local governmental unit that comprises all ...

. After completion of the refit, ''Malpeque'' returned to European waters in June rejoining the 31st Minesweeping Flotilla. The flotilla spent the next few months sweeping the English Channel for mines. The ship remained in European waters until September when ''Malpeque'' returned to Canada and 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 9 October 1945. The minesweeper was then placed in reserve at Shelburne, Nova Scotia. In 1946, ''Malpeque'' was moved to the strategic reserve at Sorel, Quebec. During the

, the vessel was reacquired by the Royal Canadian Navy, given the new hull number FSE 186 and re-designated a coastal escort. However, the ship was never recommissioned and was laid up at Sydney until sold for scrap in February 1959 to

Marine Industries Marine Industries Limited (MIL) was a Canadian ship building, hydro-electric and rail car manufacturing company, in Sorel-Tracy, Quebec, with a shipyard located on the Richelieu river about 1 km from the St. Lawrence River. It employed up to ...

and broken up at Sorel.Colledge, p. 388

References

Notes

Citations

Sources

* * * * * * *

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Malpeque, HMCS Bangor-class minesweepers of the Royal Canadian Navy Ships built in North Vancouver 1940 ships