HMCS Blairmore

History
Canada
Name	Blairmore
Namesake	Blairmore, Alberta
Builder	Port Arthur Shipbuilding Co, Port Arthur
Laid down	2 January 1942
Launched	14 May 1942
Commissioned	17 November 1942
Decommissioned	16 October 1945
Identification	Pennant number: J314
Honours and awards	Atlantic 1943-45, Normandy 1944 [1]
Fate	Transferred to Turkish Navy 1958
Turkey
Name	Beycoz
Acquired	29 March 1958
Fate	Discarded 1971
General characteristics
Class and type	Bangor-class minesweeper
Displacement	672 long tons (683 t)
Length	180 ft (54.9 m) oa
Beam	28 ft 6 in (8.7 m)
Draught	9 ft 9 in (3.0 m)
Propulsion	2 Admiralty 3-drum water tube boilers, 2 shafts, vertical triple-expansion reciprocating engines, 2,400 ihp (1,790 kW)
Speed	16.5 knots (31 km/h)
Complement	83
Armament	1 × 12-pounder (3 in (76 mm)) 12 cwt HA gun 1 x QF 2 pdr Mark VIII 2 × QF 20 mm Oerlikon guns 40 depth charges as escort

HMCS Blairmore (

Design and description

A British design, the Bangor-class minesweepers were smaller than the preceding Halcyon-class minesweepers in British service, but larger than the Fundy class in Canadian service.^[2][3] They came in two versions powered by different engines; those with a diesel engines and those with vertical triple-expansion steam engines.^[2] Blaimore was of the latter design and was larger than her diesel-engined cousins. The minesweeper was 180 feet (54.9 m) long overall, had a beam of 28 feet 6 inches (8.7 m) and a draught of 9 feet 9 inches (3.0 m).^[2][4] Blairmore had a displacement of 672 long tons (683 t). She had a complement of 6 officers and 77 enlisted.^[4]

Blairmore had two vertical triple-expansion steam engines, each driving one shaft, using steam provided by two

Upon arrival in March, Blairmore was assigned to the 31st Minesweeping Flotilla.[8] During the invasion, Blairmore and her fellow minesweepers swept and marked channels through the German minefields leading into the invasion beaches in the American sector.^[9] The 31st Minesweeping Flotilla swept channel 3 on 6 June, completing the task unmolested by the Germans.^[10] The minesweepers spent the following months clearing the shipping lanes between the United Kingdom and mainland Europe. On 8 October 1944, the 31st Minesweeping Flotilla was sweeping for mines off Le Havre, France when sister ship Mulgrave suffered an explosion. The minesweeper had hit a mine and after damage control efforts saved the ship, Blairmore took the vessel in tow and brought her to Le Havre.^[11] In April 1945, the ship sailed to Canada for a refit at Halifax and returned to Plymouth in July. The minesweeper remained in European waters attached to Plymouth Command until 21 September 1945.^[7]

After returning to Canada, the minesweeper was

Citations

Sources

• Blackman, Raymond V.B., ed. (1953). Jane's Fighting Ships 1953–54. London: Sampson Low, Marston & Co. Ltd.
  OCLC 913556389
  .
• Chesneau, Roger, ed. (1980). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1922–1946. Greenwich, UK: Conway Maritime Press.
  ISBN 0-85177-146-7
  .
• ISBN 978-1-86176-281-8
  .
• Douglas, W.A.B.; Sarty, Roger; Whitby, Michael (2007). A Blue Water Navy: The Official Operational History of the Royal Canadian Navy in the Second World War, 1943–1945 Volume II, Part II. St. Catharines, Ontario: Vanwell Publishing.
  ISBN 978-1-55125-069-4
  .
• Macpherson, Ken (1997). Minesweepers of the Royal Canadian Navy 1938–1945. St. Catharines, Ontario: Vanwell Publishing Limited.
  ISBN 0-920277-55-1
  .
• Macpherson, Ken; Barrie, Ron (2002). The Ships of Canada's Naval Forces 1910–2002 (Third ed.). St. Catharines, Ontario: Vanwell Publishing.
  ISBN 1-55125-072-1
  .
• Schull, Joseph (1961). The Far Distant Ships: An Official Account of Canadian Naval Operations in the Second World War. Ottawa: Queen's Printer.
  OCLC 19974782
  .

• "Bangor Class". Canadian Navy of Yesterday and Today. Hazegray.org.
• "HMCS Blairmore (J 314)". Uboat.net.