HMCS Vegreville
History | |
---|---|
Canada | |
Name | Vegreville |
Namesake | Vegreville, Alberta |
Builder | Canadian Vickers Ltd., Montreal |
Laid down | 2 June 1941 |
Launched | 7 October 1941 |
Commissioned | 10 December 1941 |
Decommissioned | 6 June 1945 |
Identification | Pennant number:J257 |
Honours and awards | Atlantic 1944, Normandy 1944,[1] Gulf of St. Lawrence 1942[2] |
Fate | Scrapped 1947 |
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 |
|
HMCS Vegreville was a
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] Vegreville was of the latter design and was larger than her diesel-engined cousins. Vegreville 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]
Vegreville had two vertical triple-expansion steam engines, each driving one shaft, using steam provided by two
In general, Bangor-class minesweepers were armed with either a single
Service history
Vegreville was ordered as part of the 1940–41 shipbuilding programme. The minesweeper's
After commissioning, Vegreville was assigned to the Western Local Escort Force as a convoy escort. In June 1942 she was reassigned to the Gulf Escort Force and moved again in September to Newfoundland Force.[7]
In January 1944, Vegreville was ordered to the United Kingdom as part of Canada's contribution to the invasion of Normandy. In the lead up to the invasion, she moved between the
In September 1944, Vegreville returned to Canada and underwent a refit at Sydney. Following its completion, the ship was ordered back to the UK, arriving in February 1945.[7] She joined the 31st Minesweeping Flotilla after returning to the UK. In April 1945, the 31st Minesweeping Flotilla joined the last large-scale combined operation in the European theatre in an attack on German naval bases in France that had been left untouched by Allied war effort to that point. Departing Plymouth on 12 April, the 31st Minesweeping Flotilla began operations in the mouth of the Gironde estuary on 14 April. They completed their duties on 16 April, unmolested by the Germans. While returning to Plymouth, the flotilla encountered a German trawler and captured it.[12] On 23 April 1945 she suffered severe damage to her port engine in the English Channel off France and was forced to return to port. Once there she was declared a total constructive loss and beyond economical repair. She was paid off on 6 June 1945 and laid up at Falmouth.[7] The ship remained there until taken to Hayle in May 1947 to be broken up.[13]
See also
- List of ships of the Canadian Navy
References
Notes
- ^ "Cwt" is the abbreviation for hundredweight, 20 cwt referring to the weight of the gun.
Citations
- ^ "Battle Honours". Britain's Navy. Retrieved 18 September 2013.
- ^ "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 6 August 2016.
- ^ a b c d e f Chesneau, p. 64
- ^ Macpherson and Barrie (2002), p. 167
- ^ a b c Macpherson and Barrie (2002), p. 180
- ^ a b c Macpherson (1997), p. 41
- ^ a b c d e f Macpherson and Barrie (2002), p. 184
- ^ a b Schull, p. 267
- ^ Schull, pp. 271–72
- ^ Schull, pp. 284–85
- ^ Schull, p. 322
- ^ Schull, pp. 395–96
- ^ Colledge, p. 659
Sources
- 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.
- German, Tony (1990). The Sea is at Our Gates: The History of the Canadian Navy. Toronto: McClelland and Stewart Inc. ISBN 0-7710-3269-2.
- 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.
- Macpherson, Ken (1997). Minesweepers of the Royal Canadian Navy 1938–1945. St. Catharines, Ontario: Vanwell Publishing. ISBN 0-920277-55-1.
- 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.