HMCS Ypres
 Ypres in 1924
| |
| History | |
|---|---|
 Canada | |
| Name | Ypres |
| Namesake | Third battles of Ypres |
| Ordered | 2 February 1917 |
| Builder | Polson Iron Works Limited, Toronto |
| Launched | 16 July 1917 |
| Commissioned | 10 November 1917 |
| Decommissioned | 1920 |
| Recommissioned | 1 May 1923 |
| Decommissioned | November 1932 |
| Recommissioned | 1938 |
| Fate | Rammed and sunk by HMS Revenge at Halifax, Nova Scotia, 12 May 1940 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type | Battle-class naval trawler |
| Displacement | 320 long tons (330 t) |
| Length | 130 ft (40 m) |
| Beam | 23 ft 5 in (7.14 m) |
| Draught | 13 ft 5 in (4.09 m) |
| Propulsion | 1 x triple expansion , 480 ihp (360 kW) |
| Speed | 10 knots (12 mph; 19 km/h) |
| Armament | 1 × QF 12-pounder 12 cwt naval gun |
HMCS Ypres was one of twelve
Design and description
The RCN's Battle-class trawlers formed part of the Canadian naval response to
Twelve vessels were ordered on 2 February 1917 from two shipyards,
All twelve trawlers were equipped with a QF 12-pounder 12 cwt naval gun mounted forward.[4][a] This was considered to be the smallest gun that stood a chance of putting a surfaced U-boat out of action, and they also carried a small number of depth charges.[1][6] The trawlers were named after battles of the Western Front during the First World War that Canadians had been involved in. They cost between $155,000 and $160,000 per vessel.[3][b][c]
Service history
Ypres was constructed by Polson Iron Works at Toronto and was
The ship remained in Canadian service following the end of the war until being
Sinking
The battleship was departing to escort two troop transports sailing for the United Kingdom when a request was made for the boom to be opened for her at 1830. Revenge began making her way towards the gate, which opened at 1826. However, before arriving at the gate, the battleship stopped inside the harbour, closer to the gate. The two troop transports had not joined up with the battleship on time and the officer in charge of gate operations did not inform the gate vessels of the change in departure time. When the ships finally did sail, the gate vessels had little time to get the gate open fully. Gate Vessel 1 reported the gate being open at 2055 and at 2056, Revenge rammed the gate vessel, rolling the trawler almost onto her side and flooding Gate Vessel 1 through her upper deck openings. The trawler, attached to the boom, bounced off the side of the battleship, which dragged the trawler and boom for roughly 500 yards (460 m) before the battleship came to a halt. Gate Vessel 1 was abandoned as the ship settled onto the boom and sank at roughly 2125.[13] There was no loss of life in the collision, with Revenge collecting thirteen members of the crew and Gate Vessel 2 (sister Festubert) collecting five more sailors, one of them a member of Revenge's crew who had jumped overboard to save a Canadian.[7][13] Revenge and her convoy sailed once ascertaining that there had been no deaths. Another Battle-class trawler, Arleux, assumed Ypres' position as Gate Vessel 1.[13] After this incident, the crews of other gate vessels would pretend to make elaborate preparations for a collision every time Revenge visited Halifax.[14]
References
Notes
- ^ "Cwt" is the abbreviation for hundredweight, 20 cwt referring to the weight of the gun.
- ^ Adjusted for inflation to 2025 dollars, $2,736,011 to $2,824,270
- ^ Tucker places the cost at $191,000 (adjusted for inflation to 2025 dollars, $3,371,472)[6]
Citations
- ^ a b Tucker, p. 253
- ^ Tucker, pp. 254, 257
- ^ a b c Johnston et al., p. 417
- ^ a b Macpherson and Barrie, p. 27
- ^ Maginley and Collin, p. 67
- ^ a b Tucker, p. 257
- ^ a b c d e f Macpherson and Barrie, p. 31
- ^ Johnston et al., pp. 481–484
- ^ Johnston et al., p. 484
- ^ Johnston et al., p. 543
- ^ Johnston et al., pp. 800–801, 891
- ^ Johnston et al., pp. 848, 940
- ^ a b c Darlington and Mckee, pp. 15–17
- ^ "On the Rocks: Shipwrecks of Nova Scotia – HMCS Ypres, 1940". Maritime Museum of the Atlantic. Archived from the original on 17 February 2018. Retrieved 17 February 2018.
Sources
- Darlington, Robert A. & McKee, Fraser (1996). The Canadian Naval Chronicle 1939–1945: The Successes and Losses of the Canadian Navy in World War II. St. Catharines, Ontario: Vanwell Publishing. ISBN 1-55125-032-2.
- Johnston, William; Rawling, William G.P.; Gimblett, Richard H. & MacFarlane, John (2010). The Seabound Coast: The Official History of the Royal Canadian Navy, 1867–1939. Vol. 1. Toronto: Dundurn Press. ISBN 978-1-55488-908-2.
- 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.
- Maginley, Charles D. & Collin, Bernard (2001). The Ships of Canada's Marine Service. St. Catharines, Ontario: Vanwell Publishing Limited. ISBN 1-55125-070-5.
- Tucker, Gilbert Norman (1962). The Naval Service of Canada, Its Official History – Volume 1: Origins and Early Years. Ottawa: King's Printer. OCLC 840569671.
