HMCS ''Miramichi'' (

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 163) 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. Entering service in 1957, the vessel was used as a

training ship A training ship is a ship used to train students as sailors. The term is mostly used to describe ships employed by navies to train future officers. Essentially there are two types: those used for training at sea and old hulks used to house class ...

on the

West Coast of Canada , settlement_type = Region of British Columbia , image_skyline = , nickname = "The Coast" , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Canada , subdivision_type1 = Province , subdivision_name1 = British ...

for the majority of her career. ''Miramichi'' was decommissioned in 1998 and the vessel's fate is unknown.

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

Ordered as a replacement for sister ship, which had been transferred 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 ...

in 1954, 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 2 February 1956 by

Victoria Machinery Depot Victoria Machinery Depot Ltd. was a historic metalworks and shipyard in Victoria, Canada. Establishment From the late 1850s, with the Fraser Canyon and Cariboo Gold Rushes, British Columbia was dependent upon Californian supplies and ships. To pr ...

at their yard in

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

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, ...

. Named for a bay located in

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 ...

, ''Miramichi'' was launched on 22 February 1957. The ship was commissioned on 29 October 1957.Macpherson and Barrie, p. 275 After commissioning, the minesweeper joined Training Group Pacific on the

. In 1972, the class was redesignated patrol escorts. The vessel remained a part of the unit until being

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 16 December 1998. Colledge claims the vessel was paid off in October 1998.Colledge, p. 414

References

Notes

Citations

References

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Miramichi (MCB 163), HMCS Bay-class minesweepers Ships built in Victoria, British Columbia 1957 ships Cold War minesweepers of Canada Minesweepers of the Royal Canadian Navy