HMCS Caribou
| History | |
|---|---|
| Name |
|
| Builder | Defoe Shipbuilding Company, Bay City, Michigan |
| Yard number | 126 |
| Launched | 1928 |
| Fate | Acquired by Royal Canadian Navy 1940 |
 Canada | |
| Name | Caribou |
| Acquired | 1940 |
| Commissioned | 27 May 1940 |
| Decommissioned | 20 July 1945 |
| Identification | Pennant number: S12/Z25 |
| Fate | Sold for commercial use 1946 |
| History | |
| Name |
|
| In service | 1946 |
| Fate | Deleted 1963 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type | Armed yacht |
| Displacement | 306 long tons (311 t) |
| Length | 142 ft (43 m) |
| Beam | 23 ft (7.0 m) |
| Draught | 9 ft (2.7 m) |
| Propulsion | 2 shafts, diesel engine |
| Speed | 11 knots (20 km/h; 13 mph) |
| Complement | 40 |
| Armament | 1 × QF 12-pounder 12 cwt naval gun |
HMCS Caribou was an
Description
As built the yacht was 129 feet (39.2 m)
Service history
As a yacht
Constructed by Defoe Shipbuilding Co. at
In Canadian service
After failing to acquire any British vessels at the outset of the
Renamed Caribou and commissioned at Halifax, Nova Scotia on 27 May 1940 with the pennant number S12, later Z25, the ship sailed to Quebec City, Quebec for conversion to an armed yacht. There the 12-pounder naval gun was installed forward. Upon her return to Halifax following the conversion, the vessel was employed as a guard ship at the entrance to Bedford Basin. In August 1941, Caribou underwent a refit. After returning to service in November, she was used as a patrol vessel. On 19 November 1941 the ship had a serious galley fire that sent her back to harbour until February 1942. In March 1942 the ship was re-assigned to the patrol force operating out of Saint John, New Brunswick. She and fellow armed yacht HMCS Husky were the only warships patrolling the Bay of Fundy and the approaches to Saint John until the arrival of motor launches in October.[5] She remained with the force until 31 July 1942 when the vessel returned to Halifax for inspection and was found unfit.[2]
Caribou was then assigned to harbour duty as a training ship as part of
Postwar service
Caribou was sold along with armed yachts Husky and Reindeer to the Margaree Steamships Company.[6] Caribou was sold in 1946 to Inter Caribbean Sg Co and registered in Aruba. The ship was renamed Inca Beatrix. In 1951, the vessel was returned to the name Caribou and continued under that name until 1963 when her registry was deleted.[1]
Notes
- ^ "QF" is the abbreviation for quick-firing gun. "Cwt" is the abbreviation for hundredweight, 12 cwt referring to the weight of the gun.
Citations
- ^ a b c d e Miramar Ship Index.
- ^ a b c d e Macpherson & Barrie 2002, p. 205.
- ^ a b Tucker 1952, p. 526.
- ^ Macpherson & Barrie 2002, p. 204.
- ^ Tucker 1952, p. 156.
- ^ "Southern Belle". The Crowsnest. Vol. 13, no. 3. Ottawa, Ontario: Queen's Printer. January 1961. p. 9.
References
- Macpherson, Ken & Barrie, Ron (2002). The Ships of Canada's Naval Forces 1910–2002. St. Catharines, Ontario: Vanwell Publishing. ISBN 1-55125-072-1.
- "Memory III (2227670)". Miramar Ship Index. Retrieved 31 January 2017.
- Tucker, Gilbert Norman (1952). The Naval Service of Canada, Its Official History – Volume 2: Activities on Shore During the Second World War. Ottawa, Ontario: King's Printer. OCLC 4346983.