HMS ''Guysborough'' was a VTE-engined of the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...

. Before commissioning she was transferred to 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 ...

on loan. 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

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 ...

. She was

torpedo A modern torpedo is an underwater ranged weapon launched above or below the water surface, self-propelled towards a target, and with an explosive warhead designed to detonate either on contact with or in proximity to the target. Historically, su ...

ed by the in 1945 while returning to the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

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

. British ''Bangor''-class minesweepers were armed with a single 12-pounder () 12 cwt HA gun mounted forward. For anti-aircraft purposes, the minesweepers were equipped with one QF 2-pounder Mark VIII and two single-mounted QF 20 mm Oerlikon guns.Macpherson, p. 38 The 2-pounder gun was later replaced with a twin 20 mm Oerlikon mount. As a convoy escort, ''Guysborough'' 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.

Service history

''Guysborough'' was ordered on 28 November 1940. 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 28 May 1941 by North Van Ship Repairs Ltd. at North Vancouver and the ship was launched on 21 July later that year. ''Guysborough'' was loaned to the Royal Canadian Navy and commissioned on 22 April 1942.Macpherson and Barrie, p. 178 After commissioning, ''Guysborough'' was assigned to Esquimalt Force. She remained with the unit until March 1943 when she transferred to the east coast, arriving at the end of April. She saw brief 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 ...

before joining the Halifax Local Defence Force. In mid-September 1943, ''Guysborough'' sailed to

Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

where she underwent a refit that took six weeks to complete. In February 1944, she was sent to the United Kingdom as part of Canada's contribution to the invasion of Normandy. Upon arrival she was assigned to the British 14th Minesweeping Flotilla and swept Channel 2 in the American sector of the invasion route of mines during the night of 5–6 June. The 14th Minesweeping Flotilla resumed minesweeping activities an hour after the assault began on 6 June. They swept

Baie de la Seine The Baie de Seine (Bay of the Seine River) is a bay in northern France. Geography It is a wide, rectangular inlet of the English Channel, approximately 100 kilometres (east-west) by 45 kilometres, bounded in the west by the Cotentin Peninsula, i ...

until 13 June. The 14th flotilla continued minesweeping activities in the invasion area until 21 June.Schull, p. 322 She remained in UK waters until December when she returned to Canada to undergo another refit, this time at Lunenburg. In March, following completion of the refit, ''Guysborough'' was ordered back to the United Kingdom. While en route, she was torpedoed.Darlington and McKee, pp. 214–216

Sinking

At 18:50 on 17 March 1945 ''Guysborough'' was hit by a G7es torpedo fired by off

Ushant Ushant (; br, Eusa, ; french: Ouessant, ) is a French island at the southwestern end of the English Channel which marks the westernmost point of metropolitan France. It belongs to Brittany and, in medieval terms, Léon. In lower tiers of governm ...

.Colledge, p. 279 The minesweeper had been sailing alone from

Horta Horta may refer to: People * Horta (surname), a list of people Places * Horta, Africa, an ancient city and former bishopric in Africa Proconsularis, now in Tunisia and a Latin Catholic titular see * Horta, Azores, Portugal, a municipality an ...

Plymouth Plymouth () is a port city and unitary authority in South West England. It is located on the south coast of Devon, approximately south-west of Exeter and south-west of London. It is bordered by Cornwall to the west and south-west. Plymouth ...

when she was hit.Schull, p. 393 The torpedo struck the stern, which caused significant damage and a slight list to port, but the ship refused to sink. However, no casualties were suffered. ''U-868'' fired a coup de grâce which struck amidships on the starboard side of the ship at 19:35. Two members of the crew died in the explosion and several injured. The vessel settled slowly and sank after 35 minutes. Of the remaining crew, 49 died while awaiting rescue. 40 survivors were rescued by 19 hours after the ship had been attacked with another picked up by while searching for the submarine.

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* * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Guysborough (J152) Bangor-class minesweepers of the Royal Navy Ships built in North Vancouver 1941 ships World War II minesweepers of the United Kingdom Ships sunk by German submarines in World War II Maritime incidents in March 1945 World War II shipwrecks in the Atlantic Ocean Shipwrecks in the Bay of Biscay Bangor-class minesweepers of the Royal Canadian Navy