HMCS ''Nipigon'' was a that served in the Royal Canadian Navy during the Second World War. She saw action 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 Battle of the St. Lawrence. She was named for Nipigon, Ontario. After the war she was sold to Turkey and renamed ''Bafra''. She served as such from 1957 until 1972.

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, p. 167 They came in two versions powered by different engines; those with a diesel engines and those with vertical triple-expansion steam engines. ''Nipigon'' was of the latter design and was larger than her diesel-engined cousins. ''Nipigon'' 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. ''Nipigon'' 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 ...

. ''Nipigon'' was armed with a single quick-firing (QF) /40 caliber Mk IV gun mounted forward. For anti-aircraft purposes, the minesweeper was equipped with one QF 2-pounder Mark VIII and two single-mounted QF 20 mm Oerlikon guns. As a convoy escort, ''Chedabucto'' 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 ...

Service history

''Nipigon'' was ordered as part of the 1939–1940 building programme. The minesweeper's keel was laid down on 4 July 1940 by Dufferin Shipbuilding Co. at Toronto and the ship was launched on 1 October later that year. She was commissioned into the Royal Canadian Navy on 11 August 1941 at Toronto 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 ...

J154.Macpherson and Barrie, p. 173 After commissioning, ''Nipigon'' was assigned to Sydney Force beginning in October 1941. She remained with this unit until 17 January 1942. She then spent periods of service 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 ...

(WLEF), Halifax Force and Newfoundland Force. In June 1943, when WLEF divided its escorts into groups, the ship was assigned to EG W-1 as a convoy escort. In early 1944, ''Nipigon'' underwent a refit, beginning at Lunenburg and completed at Liverpool. After completing workups, she was assigned to Halifax Force again until it was disbanded in 1945. She then performed various duties along the Atlantic coast until paid off at

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

on 13 October 1945. She was laid up at Shelburne, Nova Scotia. Following the war, ''Nipigon'' was placed in strategic reserve at Sorel, Quebec in 1946. She was reacquired by the Royal Canadian Navy in 1952 and refitted in preparation for active duty. The minesweeper was given the new pennant number 188, however she was never recommissioned. In 1953, ''Nipigon'' was re-rated as a coastal escort.Gardiner and Chumbley, p. 475 She was sold to the

Turkish Naval Forces The Turkish Naval Forces ( tr, ), or Turkish Navy ( tr, ) is the naval warfare service branch of the Turkish Armed Forces. The modern naval traditions and customs of the Turkish Navy can be traced back to 10 July 1920, when it was establis ...

on 29 November 1957 and renamed ''Bafra''. The vessel sailed to Turkey on 19 May 1958. She served until 1972 when her registry was deleted.Colledge, p. 444 The ship was broken up in Turkey in 1972.

References

Notes

Citations

Sources

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External links

Haze Gray and Underway

ReadyAyeReady.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nipigon (J154) Bangor-class minesweepers of the Royal Canadian Navy Ships built in Toronto 1940 ships World War II minesweepers of Canada