HMCS Georgian

History
Canada
Name	Georgian
Builder	Dufferin Shipbuilding Co., Toronto
Laid down	10 October 1940
Launched	28 January 1941
Commissioned	23 September 1941
Decommissioned	23 October 1945
Identification	Pennant number: J144
Honours and; awards	Atlantic 1941-42, 1944, Normandy 1944, Gulf of St. Lawrence 1942
Fate	Broken up 1946
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 x QF 3 in (76 mm) 20 cwt gun; 1 x QF 2 pdr Mark VIII; 2 × QF 20 mm Oerlikon guns; 40 depth charges as escort;

HMCS Georgian (

invasion of Normandy

. Following the war the ship was discarded and sold for scrap.

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.^[3]^[4] They came in two versions powered by different engines; those with a diesel engines and those with vertical triple-expansion steam engines.^[3] Georgian was of the latter design and was larger than her diesel-engined cousins. Georgian 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).^[3]^[5] The minesweeper had a displacement of 672 long tons (683 t). She had a complement of 6 officers and 77 enlisted.^[5]

Georgian 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 2,400 indicated horsepower (1,800 kW) and gave a maximum speed of 16.5 knots (30.6 km/h; 19.0 mph). The minesweeper could carry a maximum of 150 long tons (152 t) of fuel oil.^[3]

The minesweeper was armed initially with a single

QF 2-pounder Mark VIII aft and was eventually fitted with single-mounted QF 20 mm Oerlikon guns on the bridge wings.^[7] Georgian had her 2-pounder gun replaced with a powered twin 20 mm mount in preparation for duties associated with the invasion of Normandy.^[6] Those ships assigned to convoy duty were armed with two depth charge launchers and four chutes to deploy their 40 depth charges.^[3]^[6]

Operational history

The minesweeper was ordered as part of the 1939–1940 construction programme.

launched on 28 January 1941 and commissioned into the Royal Canadian Navy on 23 September 1941 at Toronto.^[8]

Following

Argentia, Newfoundland and St. John's and had been separated from her escorts. The entire crew of the submarine was lost.^[10] The German U-boat U-517 encountered Georgian on 21 September 1942 in the Gulf of St. Lawrence. Georgian left the screen of the Sydney – Quebec convoy SQ 38 on 21 September 1942 and went ahead to Gaspé, Quebec to refuel. Upon returning to the convoy, she came up on the submarine from behind. U-517 was depth charged and thought to be sunk by Georgian. However, the submarine survived and carried out repairs the next night near Sept-Îles, Quebec.^[11]

In February 1944, Georgian was sent to Europe as part of Canada's contribution the

Baie de la Seine an hour after the assault began.^[14]

The minesweeper returned to Canada in January 1945 to undergo a refit at

paid off on 23 October 1945 at Sydney.^[8]^[15] The vessel was laid up at Shelburne, Nova Scotia to await disposal.^[8] The ship was sold and broken up for scrap in 1946.^[16]^[17]

References

Notes

^ "Cwt" is the abbreviation for hundredweight, 20 cwt referring to the weight of the gun.

Citations

^ "Battle Honours". Britain's Navy. Retrieved 25 January 2019.
^ "Royal Canadian Warships that Participated in the Battle of the Gulf of St. Lawrence". Veterans Affairs Canada. Archived from the original on 27 September 2013. Retrieved 13 October 2018.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f Chesneau, p. 64
^ Macpherson and Barrie (2002), p. 167
^ ^a ^b Macpherson and Barrie (2002), p. 180
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Macpherson (1997), p. 19
^ Macpherson (1997), p. 46
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e Macpherson and Barrie (2002), p. 171
^ Douglas et al., No Higher Purpose, p. 387
^ Schull, p. 113
^ Sarty, pp. 184–190
^ Schull, p. 233
^ Schull, p. 267
^ Schull, pp. 284–285
^ Douglas et al., A Blue Water Navy, p. 337
^ Colledge, p. 260
^ "Georgian (6111832)". Miramar Ship Index. Retrieved 1 November 2016.