HMCS Miramichi (MCB 150)

HMCS Miramichi (hull number MCB 150) was a Bay-class minesweeper that served in the Royal Canadian Navy and the French Navy. She was named Miramichi Bay, located at the mouth of the Miramichi River in New Brunswick. Entering service in 1954, the vessel served in the Royal Canadian Navy for only a few months before transferring to the French Navy. Renamed La Lorientaise, the ship was used as a minesweeper before converting to a patrol vessel in 1973. The ship was discarded in 1986.

For other ships with the same name, see HMCS Miramichi.
History
Canada
Name: Miramichi
Namesake: Miramichi Bay
Builder: Saint John Dry Dock and Shipbuilding Ltd., Saint John
Laid down: 13 June 1952
Launched: 4 May 1954
Commissioned: 30 July 1954
Decommissioned: 1 October 1954
Identification: pennant number: MCB 150
Motto: Loyal à la mort[1]
Fate: Sold to France, 1954
Notes: Colours: Red and gold[1]
Badge: On a field of birch bark proper, a pile barry wavy of ten argent and azure and overall an equilateral triangle, apex to the chief gules, charged with a porcupine or.[1]
France
Name: La Lorientaise
Acquired: 9 October 1954
Commissioned: 13 November 1954
Decommissioned: 1984[note 1][2]
Stricken: 1986
Identification: P 652
Fate: broken up Papeete, Tahiti
General characteristics
Class and type: Bay-class minesweeper
Displacement:
  • 390 long tons (400 t)
  • 412 long tons (419 t) (deep load)
Length: 152 ft (46 m)
Beam: 28 ft (8.5 m)
Draught: 8 ft (2.4 m)
Propulsion: 2 shafts, 2 GM 12-cylinder diesels, 2,400 bhp (1,800 kW)
Speed: 16 knots (30 km/h; 18 mph)
Complement: 38
Armament: 1 × Bofors 40 mm gun

Design and description

The Bay class were designed and ordered as replacements for the Second World War-era minesweepers that the Royal Canadian Navy operated at the time. Similar to the Ton-class minesweeper, they were constructed of wood planking and aluminum framing.[3][4]

Displacing 390 long tons (400 t) standard at 412 long tons (419 t) at deep load, the minesweepers were 152 ft (46 m) long with a beam of 28 ft (8.5 m) and a draught of 8 ft (2.4 m).[3][4] They had a complement of 38 officers and ratings.[3][note 2]

The Bay-class minesweepers were powered by two GM 12-cylinder diesel engines driving two shafts creating 2,400 brake horsepower (1,800 kW). This gave the ships a maximum speed of 16 knots (30 km/h; 18 mph) and a range of 3,290 nautical miles (6,090 km; 3,790 mi) at 12 knots (22 km/h; 14 mph).[4][5] The ships were armed with one 40 mm Bofors gun and were equipped with minesweeping gear.[3][4]

Service history

Miramichi was laid down on 13 June 1952 by Saint John Dry Dock and Shipbuilding Co. at Saint John, New Brunswick and was launched on 4 May 1954. The vessel was commissioned into the Royal Canadian Navy on 30 July 1954 at Saint John.[6]

After commissioning, Miramichi spent the next two months in service before being paid off on 1 October 1954. She was transferred to France under the NATO Mutual Aid Agreement on 9 October 1954.[6][7] The ship commissioned into the French Navy on 13 November 1954.[8] The vessel was eventually replaced in the Royal Canadian Navy by Miramichi (MCB 163) of the same class.[6] Renamed La Lorientaise the ship served as a minesweeper until 1973 when she had air conditioning installed for use as an overseas territories patrol vessel in the Pacific.[8] She served until 1984.[3][note 3] The vessel was stricken in 1986 and broken up at Papeete, Tahiti.[2]

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References

Notes
  1. Colledge states that the ship was decommissioned 25 October 1986
  2. Gardiner and Chumbley claim the complement was 40.
  3. Colledge states that the ship was decommissioned on 25 October 1986.

Citations
  1. Arbuckle, p. 68
  2. Colledge, p. 414
  3. Macpherson & Barrie, p. 271
  4. Gardiner & Chumbley, p. 49
  5. Moore, p. 82
  6. Macpherson & Barrie, p. 275
  7. Milner, p. 220
  8. Moore, p. 171

Sources
  • Arbuckle, J. Graeme (1987). Badges of the Canadian Navy. Halifax, Nova Scotia: Nimbus Publishing. ISBN 0-920852-49-1.
  • 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.
  • Gardiner, Robert; Chumbley, Stephen; Budzbon, Przemysław, eds. (1995). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1947–1995. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 1-55750-132-7.
  • 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.
  • Milner, Marc (2010). Canada's Navy: The First Century (Second ed.). Toronto: University of Toronto Press. ISBN 978-0-8020-9604-3.
  • Moore, John, ed. (1981). Jane's Fighting Ships 1981–82. New York: Jane's Publishing Incorporated. ISBN 0-531-03977-3.


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