HMCS ''Sarnia'' was a that served in 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 ...

. She saw action in the Battle of the Atlantic and the

Battle of the St. Lawrence The Battle of the St. Lawrence involved marine and anti-submarine actions throughout the lower St. Lawrence River and the entire Gulf of Saint Lawrence, Strait of Belle Isle, Anticosti Island and Cabot Strait from May–October 1942, September ...

. She was named for

Sarnia Sarnia is a city in Lambton County, Ontario, Canada. It had a Canada 2021 Census, 2021 population of 72,047, and is the largest city on Lake Huron. Sarnia is located on the eastern bank of the junction between the Upper and Lower Great Lakes w ...

, Ontario. After the war she was refitted and transferred 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 ...

and renamed ''Büyükdere''. She served with them until 1972.

Design and description

A British design, the ''Bangor''-class minesweepers was 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. ''Sarnia'' was of the latter design and was larger than her diesel-engined cousins. ''Sarnia'' 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. ''Sarnia'' 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. ''Sarnia'' was armed with a single quick-firing (QF) 20 cwt gun mounted forward.Macpherson (1997), p. 70 The ship was also fitted with a QF 2-pounder Mark VIII aft and was 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. 58 Those ships assigned to convoy duty had two depth charge launchers and four chutes to deploy the 40 depth charges they carried. ''Sarnia'' was equipped with LL and SA minesweeping gear to clear both 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 ...

Service history

''Sarnia'' was ordered as part of the Royal Canadian Navy's 1941–42 shipbuilding programme. The minesweeper'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 18 September 1941 by Davie Shipbuilding and Repairing Co. Ltd. at

Lauzon, Quebec Lauzon is a former city in southern Quebec, Canada, located on the St. Lawrence River northeast of Lévis. Founded in 1867 as a village it became a town in 1910, Lauzon had a population of about 14,500 when it merged with Lévis in 1989. The th ...

.Macpherson and Barrie (2002), p. 193 The ship was launched on 21 January 1942 and commissioned into the Royal Canadian Navy at

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...

on 13 August 1942. After commissioning, ''Sarnia'' escorted a Quebec-Sydney convoy en route to Halifax. She was then assigned to Newfoundland Force and remained with the unit until September 1944. That September she underwent a major refit at Lunenburg. In late 1943, the ship was involved in two sabotage events. The investigation pointed to three engine room crew members but there was not enough evidence to press charges. After returning to service and working up in Bermuda, ''Sarnia'' was assigned to Halifax Force and then Halifax Local Defence Force, remaining with this group until June 1945. On 15 April 1945, she rescued survivors from the torpedoed , which had been waiting for ''Sarnia'' in the Halifax Approaches. ''Sarnia'' unsuccessfully depth charged ''Esquimalt''s attacker, , after making contact with the submarine. After June she performed miscellaneous duties along the east coast until

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 28 October 1945 at Sydney and laid up at Shelburne.

Cold War service

Following the war, ''Sarnia'' was placed in strategic reserve at Sorel, Quebec. She was reacquired by the Royal Canadian Navy in 1951 and refitted. Her pennant number was changed to 190. ''Sarnia'' was the first ''Bangor''-class minesweeper to finish her refit and was towed to Sydney, Nova Scotia and placed back in reserve. She was not recommissioned and was instead transferred to Turkey on 29 March 1958 and renamed ''Büyükdere''. She served until 1972 when her registry was deleted. The ship was

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, ...

in Turkey in 1972.

References

Notes

Citations

Sources

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External links

Haze Gray and Underway

ReadyAyeReady.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sarnia (J309) Bangor-class minesweepers of the Royal Canadian Navy Ships built in Lévis 1942 ships World War II minesweepers of Canada