HMCS ''Armentières'' was one of twelve
naval trawler
Naval trawlers are vessels built along the lines of a fishing trawler but fitted out for naval purposes; they were widely used during the World War I, First and World War II, Second World Wars. Some, known in the Royal Navy as "Admiralty trawlers ...
s used by the
Royal Canadian Navy
The Royal Canadian Navy (RCN; , ''MRC'') is the Navy, naval force of Canada. The navy is one of three environmental commands within the Canadian Armed Forces. As of February 2024, the RCN operates 12 s, 12 s, 4 s, 4 s, 8 s, and several auxiliary ...
(RCN). ''Armentières'' entered service in 1918 near the end of the
First World War
World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
on the Atlantic coast of Canada. Following the war, the ship was transferred to the
Department of Marine and Fisheries for a short period before reverting to RCN service in 1923 on the Pacific coast of Canada. The ship sank in 1925, was raised and re-entered service, remaining with the fleet through the
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
as an
examination vessel
An examination vessel is a vessel used to inspect ships and boats entering a port during wartime.
An examination vessel would typically be responsible for examining and verifying all merchant ships and small craft entering or departing a port. T ...
at
Prince Rupert, British Columbia
Prince Rupert is a port city in the province of British Columbia, Canada. It is located on Kaien Island near the Alaskan panhandle. It is the land, air, and water transportation hub of British Columbia's North Coast, and has a population of 12, ...
. After the end of the war, the vessel entered mercantile service becoming ''A.G. Garrish'' in 1947, later renamed ''Arctic Rover'' in 1958, ''Laforce'' in 1962 and ''Polaris'' in 1973. The ship's registry was deleted in 1991.
Design and description
The RCN's Battle-class trawlers formed part of the Canadian naval response to
Admiralty
Admiralty most often refers to:
*Admiralty, Hong Kong
* Admiralty (United Kingdom), military department in command of the Royal Navy from 1707 to 1964
*The rank of admiral
*Admiralty law
Admiralty can also refer to:
Buildings
* Admiralty, Tra ...
warnings to Canada about the growing German
U-boat
U-boats are Submarine#Military, naval submarines operated by Germany, including during the World War I, First and Second World Wars. The term is an Anglicization#Loanwords, anglicized form of the German word , a shortening of (), though the G ...
threat to merchant shipping in the western Atlantic.
[Tucker, p. 253] Intended to augment anti-submarine patrols off Canada's east coast, these ships were modelled on contemporary British
North Sea
The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Denmark, Norway, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, and France. A sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian Se ...
trawlers, since the standard types of Canadian fishing vessels were considered unsuitable for patrol work.
Twelve vessels were ordered on 2 February 1917 from two shipyards,
Polson Iron Works of
Toronto
Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...
and
Canadian Vickers
Canadian Vickers Limited was an aircraft and shipbuilding company that operated in Canada from 1911 until 1944. A subsidiary of Vickers Limited, it built its own aircraft designs as well as others under licence. Canadair absorbed the Canadian Vi ...
of
Montreal
Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...
.
[Johnston et al., p. 417] Those vessels built at Canadian Vickers
displaced and were
long overall with a
beam of and a
draught of .
[Macpherson and Barrie, p. 27] The vessels were propelled by a steam-powered
triple expansion
A steam engine is a heat engine that performs mechanical work using steam as its working fluid. The steam engine uses the force produced by steam pressure to push a piston back and forth inside a cylinder. This pushing force can be trans ...
engine driving one shaft creating giving the vessels a maximum speed of .
[Maginley and Collin, p. 67]
All twelve trawlers were equipped with a QF 12-pounder 12 cwt naval gun mounted forward.[ This was considered to be the smallest gun that stood a chance of putting a surfaced U-boat out of action, and they also carried a small number of ]depth charge
A depth charge is an anti-submarine warfare (ASW) weapon designed to destroy submarine
A submarine (often shortened to sub) is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. (It differs from a submersible, which has more limited ...
s.[Tucker, p. 257] The trawlers were named after battles of the Western Front during the First World War that Canadians had been involved in. They cost between $155,000 and $160,000 per vessel.[
]
Service history
Named after the Battle of Armentières
The Battle of Armentières (also Battle of Lille) was fought by German and Franco-British forces in northern France in October 1914, during reciprocal attempts by the armies to envelop the northern flank of their opponent, which has been called ...
, the trawler was built by Canadian Vickers at Montreal and launched on 11 August 1917.[ Intended for use during the 1917 shipping season, the construction of the vessels was delayed by the entry of the United States into the war. With higher wages found south of the border, a shortage of skilled labour developed in the shipyards, coupled with a shortage of construction material. The six vessels ordered from Canadian Vickers were delayed further by difficulty in providing engines for the trawlers. The hulls had been finished during Summer 1917. However, the engines did not arrive until the fall.][Johnston et al., p. 484] The ship was commissioned on 5 June 1918.[
''Armentières'' sailed to the east coast where for the 1918 shipping season, all the Battle-class trawlers were assigned to patrol and escort duties based 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 ...
. Following the sinking of the merchant vessel ''Luz Blanca'' off Halifax, Nova Scotia
Halifax is the capital and most populous municipality of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Nova Scotia, and the most populous municipality in Atlantic Canada. As of 2024, it is estimated that the population of the H ...
, ''Armentières'', and were tasked with hunting for the German submarine , which had been operating off the coast of Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada, located on its east coast. It is one of the three Maritime Canada, Maritime provinces and Population of Canada by province and territory, most populous province in Atlan ...
. The Battle class was used for patrol and escort duties off the Atlantic coast of Canada until the end of the war.
Along with , and , ''Armentières'' accompanied on a trip to the west coast via the Panama Canal
The Panama Canal () is an artificial waterway in Panama that connects the Caribbean Sea with the Pacific Ocean. It cuts across the narrowest point of the Isthmus of Panama, and is a Channel (geography), conduit for maritime trade between th ...
in early 1919. Shortly after arriving at Esquimalt, British Columbia
The Township of Esquimalt () is a municipality at the southern tip of Vancouver Island, in British Columbia, Canada. It is bordered to the east by the provincial capital, Victoria, British Columbia, Victoria, to the south by the Strait of Jua ...
, ''Armentières'' was refitted to increase its utility as a training ship, with a captain's cabin built abaft the wheelhouse, and two cabins built below the upper deck. The ship 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 i ...
from RCN service on 28 October 1919 and was transferred to the Department of Marine and Fisheries. The vessel was returned to the RCN and was recommissioned in 1923.[ On 2 September 1925 the ship sank in Pipestem Inlet, near ]Barkley Sound
Barkley Sound, also known historically as Barclay Sound, is south of Ucluelet and north of Bamfield on the west coast of Vancouver Island
Vancouver Island is an island in the northeastern Pacific Ocean and part of the Canadian province of ...
. The vessel was salvaged on 26 October ''Armentières'' was recommissioned again in 1926.[ Frequently functioning as a training ship for the ]Royal Canadian Naval Volunteer Reserve
The Royal Canadian Naval Volunteer Reserve (RCNVR) was a naval reserve force of the Royal Canadian Navy from 1923 to 1946. It replaced the Royal Naval Canadian Volunteer Reserve (RNCVR).
Foundation
The RCNVR was created in 1923. The organizati ...
, ''Armentières'' also performed fisheries patrol duties, including the protection of migrating fur seal
Fur seals are any of nine species of pinnipeds belonging to the subfamily Arctocephalinae in the family Otariidae. They are much more closely related to sea lions than Earless seal, true seals, and share with them external ears (Pinna (anatomy ...
s against illegal hunting.[ This enforcement of the ]North Pacific Fur Seal Convention of 1911
The North Pacific Fur Seal Convention of 1911, formally known as the Convention between the United States and Other Powers Providing for the Preservation and Protection of Fur Seals, was a treaty signed on July 7, 1911, designed to manage the co ...
was often carried out in conjunction with sister ship
A sister ship is a ship of the same Ship class, class or of virtually identical design to another ship. Such vessels share a nearly identical hull and superstructure layout, similar size, and roughly comparable features and equipment. They o ...
s ''Thiepval'' and CGS ''Givenchy'', which at the time was serving with the Department of Marine and Fisheries. In the 1930s, ''Armentières'' also assisted with hydrographic survey
Hydrographic survey is the science of measurement and description of features which affect maritime navigation, marine construction, dredging, offshore wind farms, offshore oil exploration and drilling and related activities. Surveys may als ...
and oceanographic
Oceanography (), also known as oceanology, sea science, ocean science, and marine science, is the scientific study of the ocean, including its physics, chemistry, biology, and geology.
It is an Earth science, which covers a wide range of top ...
work.[
]
''Armentières'' continued her service throughout the interwar years, and by 1934 was the only Battle-class trawler still actively serving with the RCN, although others would return to naval service in 1939. During much of the Second World War, ''Armentières'' served as an examination vessel
An examination vessel is a vessel used to inspect ships and boats entering a port during wartime.
An examination vessel would typically be responsible for examining and verifying all merchant ships and small craft entering or departing a port. T ...
and minesweeper
A minesweeper is a small warship designed to remove or detonate naval mines. Using various mechanisms intended to counter the threat posed by naval mines, minesweepers keep waterways clear for safe shipping.
History
The earliest known usage of ...
at Prince Rupert, British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...
. For minesweeping purposes, the aft part of the ship was trimmed.[
Following the end of the war ''Armentières'' was paid off on 8 February 1946.][ Subsequently, sold as surplus, ''Armentières'' was purchased by the Coastal Towing Company of ]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 cit ...
on 8 February 1946, who renamed her ''A.G. Garrish'', installed a new Yarrow boiler
Yarrow boilers are an important class of high-pressure water-tube boilers. They were developed by
Yarrow Shipbuilders, Yarrow & Co. (London), Shipbuilders and Engineers and were widely used on ships, particularly warships.
The Yarrow boiler desi ...
, and made changes to adapt the ship for towing log raft
Timber rafting is a method of transporting felled tree trunks by tying them together to make rafts, which are then drifted or pulled downriver, or across a lake or other body of water. It is arguably, after log driving, the second cheapest mea ...
s and scow
A scow is a smaller type of barge. Some scows are rigged as sailboat, sailing scows. In the 19th and early 20th centuries, scows carried cargo in coastal waters and inland waterways, having an advantage for navigating shallow water or small ha ...
s.[Colledge, p. 59] The vessel was sold to Andys Bay Industries in 1954, keeping the same name. In 1958, the ship was sold again, this time to Arctic Shipping Limited and renamed ''Arctic Rover''. It served partially in the Western Arctic Ocean of the Northwest Territories
The Northwest Territories is a federal Provinces and territories of Canada, territory of Canada. At a land area of approximately and a 2021 census population of 41,070, it is the second-largest and the most populous of Provinces and territorie ...
, Canada. In 1962, the vessel was purchased by Vancouver Tug Boat Company and renamed ''Laforce''. In 1972, the vessel was sold twice and renamed ''Polaris'' in 1973. ''Polaris'' was sold in 1975 to West Indies Metal Corp and her registry was deleted in 1991.[
]
References
Notes
Citations
Sources
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External links
Battle-class trawlers
{{DEFAULTSORT:Armentieres
Battle-class trawlers
World War I naval ships of Canada
1917 ships
Maritime incidents in 1925
Auxiliary ships of the Royal Canadian Navy
Ships built in Montreal