HMCS Fundy (J88)

HMCS Fundy was a Fundy-class minesweeper that served in the Royal Canadian Navy from 1938 to 1945. The minesweeper was the first warship built for Canada since 1918.[3] She saw service in the Atlantic Ocean during the Second World War. The vessel was named for the Bay of Fundy. After the war she had an extensive civilian career.

For other ships with the same name, see HMCS Fundy.
Fundy underway
History
Canada
Name: Fundy
Namesake: Bay of Fundy
Ordered: 23 August 1937
Builder: Collingwood Shipyards Ltd., Collingwood, Ontario
Laid down: 24 January 1938
Launched: 18 June 1938
Commissioned: 1 September 1938
Decommissioned: 27 July 1945
Identification: pennant number: J88
Honours and
awards:		 Atantic 1939-45[1]
Fate: Sold to Marine Industries Ltd 1947, scrapped 1987
General characteristics
Class and type: Fundy-class minesweeper
Displacement: 460 long tons (470 t; 520 short tons)
Length: 163 ft (49.7 m)
Beam: 27.5 ft (8.4 m)
Draught: 14.5 ft (4.4 m)
Speed: 12 knots (22.2 km/h)
Complement: 38
Armament: 1 × QF 4 in (102 mm) Mk IV gun[2]

Design and description

In 1936, new minesweepers were ordered for the Royal Canadian Navy.[4] Based on the British Basset class,[5][6] those built on the east coast would cost $318,000 per vessel.[7] At the outbreak of the Second World War, the Royal Canadian Navy considered constructing more, but chose to build Bangor-class minesweepers instead upon learning of that design due to their oil-burning engines.[5][8][9]

The Fundy class, named after the lead ship, displaced 460 long tons (470 t; 520 short tons). They were 163 ft (49.7 m) long, with a beam of 27.5 ft (8.4 m) and a draught of 14.5 ft (4.4 m). They had a complement of 3 officers and 35 ratings.[10]

The Fundy class was propelled by one shaft driven by vertical triple expansion engine powered by steam from a one-cylinder boiler.[6] This created between 850–950 indicated horsepower (630–710 kW) and gave the minesweepers a top speed of 12 knots (22 km/h; 14 mph).[6][10] The ships were capable of carrying between 180–196 long tons (183–199 t) of coal.[6]

The ships were armed with one QF 4-inch (102 mm) Mk IV gun mounted forward on a raised platform.[2][6][note 1][note 2] The minesweepers were armed with two 20 mm Oerlikon anti-aircraft cannon.[2] They were later equipped with 25 depth charges.[6]

Service history

Fundy was ordered on 23 August 1937[11] as the lead ship of her class of four minesweepers built in Canada. The ship's keel was laid down on 24 January 1938 by Collingwood Shipyards Ltd. at Collingwood, Ontario. The warship was launched on 18 June later that year. Fundy was commissioned into the Royal Canadian Navy on 1 September 1938 at Collingwood.[10]

After commissioning, Fundy was one of two of the Fundy-class minesweepers assigned to the East Coast of Canada. She was stationed at Halifax, Nova Scotia when the war broke out. At the onset of war, Fundy and sister ship Gaspe were the only warships available to patrol the entrance to Halifax's harbour.[12] Fundy saw continuous service in the Second World War as a minesweeper and harbour defence vessel for Halifax Harbour. In July 1942 she escorted a convoy to Boston and one back to Halifax. Along with her sister ship HMCS Comox, Fundy rescued 66 survivors of the torpedoed Liberty ship SS Martin Van Buren on 15 January 1945. Fundy was decommissioned on 27 July 1945 and laid up.[10]

Commercial service

Fundy was sold in 1947 to Marine Industries Limited and converted for mercantile service with a gross register tonnage of 419 tons.[10][13] The ship was refitted with a diesel engine giving the vessel a maximum speed of 12 knots (22 km/h; 14 mph). The ship was initially renamed Aigle Marin in 1967, owned by Les Chargeurs Unis Inc. The merchant vessel was sold to Niquelay Incorporated and renamed Anne R.D. in 1977. The vessel was broken up at La Malbaie, Quebec in July 1987.[13] Her bell is preserved at the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic in Halifax.

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References

Notes
  1. Macpherson and Barrie state that the ships were equipped with one QF 12-pounder 12 cwt naval gun.
  2. Mark IV = Mark 4. Britain used Roman numerals to denote Marks (models) of ordnance until after World War II.

Citations
  1. Arbuckle, p.41
  2. Macpherson, p. 14
  3. Macpherson, p. 16
  4. Johnston et al., p. 979
  5. Macpherson and Barrie, p. 167
  6. Chesneau, p. 65
  7. Johnston et al., p. 1075
  8. Pritchard, pp. 21–22
  9. Tucker, p. 29
  10. Macpherson and Barrie, p. 32
  11. "HMCS Fundy (J88)". uboat.net. Retrieved 30 May 2014.
  12. Tucker, p. 114
  13. "Fundy (6808167)". Miramar Ship Index. Retrieved 13 August 2016.

Sources
  • Arbuckle, J.Graeme (1987). Badges of the Royal Canadian Navy. Halifax, Nova Scotia: Nimbus Publishing Ltd. ISBN 0-920852-49-1.
  • Chesneau, Roger, ed. (1980). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1922–1946. Greenwich, UK: Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 0-85177-146-7.
  • Colledge, J. J.; Warlow, Ben (2006) [1969]. Ships of the Royal Navy: The Complete Record of all Fighting Ships of the Royal Navy (Rev. ed.). London: Chatham Publishing. ISBN 978-1-86176-281-8.
  • 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. 1. Toronto: Dundurn Press. ISBN 978-1-55488-908-2.
  • Macpherson, Ken (1990). Minesweepers of the Royal Canadian Navy 1938–45. St. Catharines, Ontario: Vanwell Publishing Limited. ISBN 0-920277-55-1.
  • 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.
  • Pritchard, James (2011). A Bridge of Ships: Canadian Shipbuilding during the Second World War. Montreal, Quebec and Kingston, Ontario: McGill-Queen's University Press. ISBN 978-0-7735-3824-5.
  • Tucker, Gilbert Norman (1952). The Naval Service of Canada, Its Official History – Volume 2: Activities on Shore During the Second World War. Ottawa: King's Printer. OCLC 4346983.
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