HMCS Vison

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History
NameAvalon
OwnerOgden L. Mills
BuilderPusey & Jones, Wilmington, Delaware
Launched15 October 1928
Completed1931
FateSold to Royal Canadian Navy, 1940
Canada
NameVison
Acquired1940
Commissioned5 October 1940
Decommissioned4 August 1945
Honours and
awards		Gulf of St. Lawrence, 1942
FateSold
General characteristics in Canadian service
TypeArmed yacht
Displacement422 long tons (429 t)
Length181 ft (55.2 m)
Beam24 ft (7.3 m)
Draught13 ft (4.0 m)
Speed10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph)
Complement5 officers, 35 ratings
Armament1 × QF 12-pounder 12 cwt naval gun

HMCS Vison was an

Secretary of the United States Treasury. During its service during World War II, Vison participated in the Battle of the Atlantic and the Battle of the St. Lawrence escorting convoys and defending them against German U-boats
.

Description

Constructed as a

ASDIC.[4]

Service history

Avalon was constructed by

yard number 1047. The yacht was launched on 15 October 1928. The vessel was completed in 1931.[1][2][a] In 1939, the vessel was for sale by a Mr. Smith of the Greyhound Bus Company and was laid up at Gulfport, Mississippi.[5]

To augment the local sea defences of East Coast ports during the Battle of the Atlantic, the Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) sought large, steel-hulled yachts to requisition. However, a significant lack of capable vessels were owned by Canadians. Canada turned to its southern neighbour for suitable ships, finding several that met the navy's requirements. However, US neutrality laws prevented their sale to belligerents in the war. In order to circumvent these laws, the RCN requisitioned the yachts of prominent Canadian yachtsmen and then sent them to the US to purchase the yachts that had been identified by the navy without the US government knowing they were working for the navy. The money to acquire the vessels was provided by the Canadian government through bank loans.[6]

The yacht Avalon was among those identified by the RCN as suitable for their needs. Frederick H. M. Jones, a member of the Nova Scotia militia and general manager of the Eastern Trust Company was sent to acquire the vessel. After being purchased by Jones, it took a month for Avalon to travel from Gulfport to Shelburne, Nova Scotia via Miami, Florida and the US East Coast. At Shelburne a Canadian crew took over and made the passage to Halifax, Nova Scotia.[7]

The yacht left Halifax on 23 June 1940 and sailed to

Pictou, Nova Scotia where the vessel underwent conversion to an armed yacht.[2] Conversion to an armed yacht involved removing most of the luxurious finery and installing naval hardware.[3] Vison was the last of the Canadian armed yachts to commission in World War II, entering service on 5 October 1940 at Pictou.[8][b]

Vison was assigned to Gaspé Force to take part in the Battle of the St. Lawrence after commissioning but in November returned to Halifax for the winter freeze up of the St. Lawrence River and the Gulf of St. Lawrence. In December the yacht was ordered south to Trinidad and Bermuda for the winter months and returned to Halifax on 13 May 1941. With the reopening of the St. Lawrence River, Vison was once again assigned to Gaspé Force in July and remained with the unit until December. That winter, Vison sailed to Trinidad again for the winter months via Halifax.[2]

Upon Vison's return to Canada in April 1942, the yacht was assigned to the Halifax Local Defence Force and then Sydney Force, operating out of

paid off on 4 August 1945 and put up for sale.[2] For service in the Battle of the St. Lawrence, Vison was awarded the battle honour "Gulf of St. Lawrence, 1942."[11]

The armed yacht was one of 15 discarded vessels sold to Wentworth MacDonald, an entrepreneur from Sydney, Nova Scotia. Vison was acquired by MacDonald in January 1946. However, there are no records the vessel saw use in the postwar period and McKee believes the vessel may have rotted alongside a pier at Sydney.[12]

Notes

  1. ^ Macpherson & Barrie state the vessel was launched in 1931,[2] but the Miramar Ship Index says that was then vessel was completed.[1]
  2. ^ Macpherson & Barrie state that Vison returned to Halifax on 2 October and was commissioned there.[2]

Citations

  1. ^ a b c Miramar Ship Index.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Macpherson & Barrie 2002, p. 212.
  3. ^ a b McKee 1983, p. 90.
  4. ^ Tucker 1952, p. 526.
  5. ^ McKee 1983, p. 80.
  6. ^ McKee 1983, pp. 53, 63–64.
  7. ^ McKee 1983, pp. 63, 80.
  8. ^ McKee 1983, p. 104.
  9. ^ Hadley 1985, pp. 134–135.
  10. ^ McKee 1983, p. 145.
  11. ^ "Royal Canadian Warships that Participated in the Battle of the Gulf of St. Lawrence". Veteran's Affairs Canada. Archived from the original on 30 November 2020. Retrieved 10 July 2020.
  12. ^ McKee 1983, pp. 157, 163.

Sources

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