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HMCS Algoma

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HMCS Algoma
History
Canada
NameAlgoma
NamesakeAlgoma District, Ontario
Ordered1 February 1940
BuilderPort Arthur Shipbuilding Co. Port Arthur, Ontario
Laid down18 June 1940
Launched17 December 1940
Commissioned11 July 1941
Decommissioned6 July 1945
IdentificationPennant number: K127
Honours and
awards
Atlantic 1941–44, English Channel 1945
FateSold to Venezuelan Navy
Venezuela
NameConstitución
Acquiredbought from Royal Canadian Navy
Commissioned1946
Out of service1962
FateScrapped 1962
General characteristics
Class and typeFlower-class corvette (original)
Displacement950 long tons (970 t)
Length205 ft 1 in (62.51 m) o/a
Beam33 ft 1 in (10.08 m)
Draught13 ft 5 in (4.09 m)
Installed power2,750 ihp (2,050 kW)
Propulsion
Speed16 knots (30 km/h; 18 mph)
Range3,450 nmi (6,390 km; 3,970 mi) at 12 kn (22 km/h; 14 mph)
Complement47
Sensors and
processing systems
  • 1 × SW1C or 2C radar
  • 1 × Type 123A or Type 127DV sonar
Armament

HMCS Algoma was a Flower-class corvette that served with the Royal Canadian Navy in the Second World War. Named for the Algoma District of Ontario, it served primarily in the Battle of the Atlantic. After the war it was sold to the Venezuelan Navy and renamed Constitución.

Designed as a convoy escort, the vessel was laid down on 18 June 1940, launched on 17 December and commissioned on 11 July 1941. The ship took part in three major convoy battles and Operation Torch escort duties and was decommissioned in 1945. She served with the Venezuelan Navy from 1946 until 1962.

Discover more about HMCS Algoma related topics

Flower-class corvette

Flower-class corvette

The Flower-class corvette was a British class of 294 corvettes used during World War II by the Allied navies particularly as anti-submarine convoy escorts in the Battle of the Atlantic. Royal Navy ships of this class were named after flowers.

Corvette

Corvette

A corvette is a small warship. It is traditionally the smallest class of vessel considered to be a proper warship. The warship class above the corvette is that of the frigate, while the class below was historically that of the sloop-of-war.

Royal Canadian Navy

Royal Canadian Navy

The Royal Canadian Navy is the naval force of Canada. The RCN is one of three environmental commands within the Canadian Armed Forces. As of 2021, the RCN operates 12 frigates, four attack submarines, 12 coastal defence vessels, eight patrol class training vessels, two offshore patrol vessels, and several auxiliary vessels. The RCN consists of 8,570 Regular Force and 4,111 Primary Reserve sailors, supported by 3,800 civilians. Vice-Admiral Angus Topshee is the current commander of the Royal Canadian Navy and chief of the Naval Staff.

Algoma District

Algoma District

Algoma District is a district and census division in Northeastern Ontario in the Canadian province of Ontario.

Ontario

Ontario

Ontario is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. Located in Central Canada, it is Canada's most populous province, with 38.3 percent of the country's population, and is the second-largest province by total area. Ontario is Canada's fourth-largest jurisdiction in total area when the territories of the Northwest Territories and Nunavut are included. It is home to the nation's capital city, Ottawa, and the nation's most populous city, Toronto, which is Ontario's provincial capital.

Battle of the Atlantic

Battle of the Atlantic

The Battle of the Atlantic, the longest continuous military campaign in World War II, ran from 1939 to the defeat of Nazi Germany in 1945, covering a major part of the naval history of World War II. At its core was the Allied naval blockade of Germany, announced the day after the declaration of war, and Germany's subsequent counter-blockade. The campaign peaked from mid-1940 through to the end of 1943.

Bolivarian Navy of Venezuela

Bolivarian Navy of Venezuela

The Bolivarian Navy of Venezuela, commonly known as the Venezuelan Navy, is the naval branch of the National Bolivarian Armed Forces of Venezuela.

Convoy

Convoy

A convoy is a group of vehicles, typically motor vehicles or ships, traveling together for mutual support and protection. Often, a convoy is organized with armed defensive support and can help maintain cohesion within a unit. It may also be used in a non-military sense, for example when driving through remote areas.

Keel laying

Keel laying

Laying the keel or laying down is the formal recognition of the start of a ship's construction. It is often marked with a ceremony attended by dignitaries from the shipbuilding company and the ultimate owners of the ship.

Ceremonial ship launching

Ceremonial ship launching

Ceremonial ship launching involves the performance of ceremonies associated with the process of transferring a vessel to the water. It is a nautical tradition in many cultures, dating back thousands of years, to accompany the physical process with ceremonies which have been observed as public celebration and a solemn blessing, usually but not always, in association with the launch itself.

Ship commissioning

Ship commissioning

Ship commissioning is the act or ceremony of placing a ship in active service and may be regarded as a particular application of the general concepts and practices of project commissioning. The term is most commonly applied to placing a warship in active duty with its country's military forces. The ceremonies involved are often rooted in centuries-old naval tradition.

Operation Torch

Operation Torch

Operation Torch was an Allied invasion of French North Africa during the Second World War. Torch was a compromise operation that met the British objective of securing victory in North Africa while allowing American armed forces the opportunity to engage in the fight against Nazi Germany on a limited scale. It was the first mass involvement of US troops in the European–North African Theatre, and saw the first major airborne assault carried out by the United States.

Design and description

Flower-class corvettes such as Algoma serving with the Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) in the Second World War were different from earlier and more traditional sail-driven corvettes.[1][2] The Flower-class corvettes originated from a need that arose in 1938 to expand the Royal Navy following the Munich Crisis.[3] A design request went out for a small escort for coastal convoys.[4] Based on a traditional whaler-type design, the initial Canadian ships of the Flower class had a standard displacement of 950 long tons (970 t). They were 205 feet 1 inch (62.51 m) long overall with a beam of 33 feet 1 inch (10.08 m) and a maximum draught of 13 feet 5 inches (4.09 m). The initial 1939–1940 corvettes were powered by a four-cylinder vertical triple expansion engine powered by steam from two Scotch boilers turning one three-bladed propeller rated at 2,800 indicated horsepower (2,100 kW). The Scotch boilers were replaced with water-tube boilers in later 1939–1940 and 1940–1941 Programme ships. The corvettes had a maximum speed of 16 knots (30 km/h; 18 mph). This gave them a range of 3,450 nautical miles (6,390 km; 3,970 mi) at 12 knots (22 km/h; 14 mph).[5] The vessels were extremely wet.[6]

The Canadian Flower-class vessels were initially armed with a Mk IX BL 4-inch (102 mm) gun forward on a CP 1 mounting and carried 100 rounds per gun. The corvettes were also armed with a QF Vickers 2-pounder (40 mm, 1.6 in) gun on a bandstand aft, two single-mounted .303 Vickers machine guns or Browning 0.5-calibre machine guns for anti-aircraft defence and two twin-mounted .303 Lewis machine guns, usually sited on bridge wings.[3][5][7] For anti-submarine warfare, they mounted two depth charge throwers and initially carried 25 depth charges. The corvettes were designed with a Type 123 ASDIC sonar set installed. The Flower-class ships had a complement of 47 officers and ratings.[3] The Royal Canadian Navy initially ordered 54 corvettes in 1940 and these were fitted with Mark II Oropesa minesweeping gear used for destroying contact mines.[8] Part of the depth charge rails were made portable so the minesweeping gear could be utilised.[9]

Modifications

In Canadian service the vessels were altered due to experience with the design's deficiencies. The galley was moved further back in the ship and the mess and sleeping quarters combined. A wireless direction finding set was installed, and enlarged bilge keels were installed to reduce rolling.[10] After the first 35–40 corvettes had been constructed, the foremast was shifted aft of the bridge and the mainmast was eliminated. Corvettes were first fitted with basic SW-1 and SW-2 CQ surface warning radar, notable for their fishbone-like antenna and reputation for failure in poor weather or in the dark. The compass house was moved further aft and the open-type bridge was situated in front of it. The ASDIC hut was moved in front and to a lower position on the bridge. The improved Type 271 radar was placed aft, with some units receiving Type 291 radar for air search. The minesweeping gear, a feature of the first 54 corvettes, was removed.[11] Most Canadian Flower-class corvettes had their forecastles extended which improved crew accommodation and seakeeping. Furthermore, the sheer and flare of the bow was increased, which led to an enlarged bridge. This allowed for the installation of Oerlikon 20 mm (0.8 in) cannon, replacing the Browning and Vickers machine guns.[12] Some of the corvettes were rearmed with Hedgehog anti-submarine mortars.[13] The complements of the ships grew throughout the war rising from the initial 47 to as many as 104.[12]

Discover more about Design and description related topics

Flower-class corvette

Flower-class corvette

The Flower-class corvette was a British class of 294 corvettes used during World War II by the Allied navies particularly as anti-submarine convoy escorts in the Battle of the Atlantic. Royal Navy ships of this class were named after flowers.

Corvette

Corvette

A corvette is a small warship. It is traditionally the smallest class of vessel considered to be a proper warship. The warship class above the corvette is that of the frigate, while the class below was historically that of the sloop-of-war.

Royal Canadian Navy

Royal Canadian Navy

The Royal Canadian Navy is the naval force of Canada. The RCN is one of three environmental commands within the Canadian Armed Forces. As of 2021, the RCN operates 12 frigates, four attack submarines, 12 coastal defence vessels, eight patrol class training vessels, two offshore patrol vessels, and several auxiliary vessels. The RCN consists of 8,570 Regular Force and 4,111 Primary Reserve sailors, supported by 3,800 civilians. Vice-Admiral Angus Topshee is the current commander of the Royal Canadian Navy and chief of the Naval Staff.

Royal Navy

Royal Navy

The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against France. The modern Royal Navy traces its origins to the early 16th century; the oldest of the UK's armed services, it is consequently known as the Senior Service.

Convoy

Convoy

A convoy is a group of vehicles, typically motor vehicles or ships, traveling together for mutual support and protection. Often, a convoy is organized with armed defensive support and can help maintain cohesion within a unit. It may also be used in a non-military sense, for example when driving through remote areas.

Displacement (ship)

Displacement (ship)

The displacement or displacement tonnage of a ship is its weight. As the term indicates, it is measured indirectly, using Archimedes' principle, by first calculating the volume of water displaced by the ship, then converting that value into weight. Traditionally, various measurement rules have been in use, giving various measures in long tons. Today, tonnes are more commonly used.

Long ton

Long ton

The long ton, also known as the imperial ton or displacement ton, is the name for the unit called the "ton" in the avoirdupois system of weights or Imperial system of measurements. It was standardised in the 13th century. It is used in the United Kingdom and several other Commonwealth of Nations countries alongside the mass-based metric tonne defined in 1799, as well as in the United States for bulk commodities.

Length overall

Length overall

Length overall is the maximum length of a vessel's hull measured parallel to the waterline. This length is important while docking the ship. It is the most commonly used way of expressing the size of a ship, and is also used for calculating the cost of a marina berth.

Beam (nautical)

Beam (nautical)

The beam of a ship is its width at its widest point. The maximum beam (BMAX) is the distance between planes passing through the outer extremities of the ship, beam of the hull (BH) only includes permanently fixed parts of the hull, and beam at waterline (BWL) is the maximum width where the hull intersects the surface of the water.

Draft (hull)

Draft (hull)

The draft or draught of a ship's hull is the vertical distance between the waterline and the bottom of the hull (keel). The draught of the vessel is the maximum depth of any part of the vessel, including appendages such as rudders, propellers and drop keels if deployed. Draft determines the minimum depth of water a ship or boat can safely navigate. The related term air draft is the maximum height of any part of the vessel above the water.

Propeller

Propeller

A propeller is a device with a rotating hub and radiating blades that are set at a pitch to form a helical spiral which, when rotated, exerts linear thrust upon a working fluid such as water or air. Propellers are used to pump fluid through a pipe or duct, or to create thrust to propel a boat through water or an aircraft through air. The blades are shaped so that their rotational motion through the fluid causes a pressure difference between the two surfaces of the blade by Bernoulli's principle which exerts force on the fluid. Most marine propellers are screw propellers with helical blades rotating on a propeller shaft with an approximately horizontal axis.

Knot (unit)

Knot (unit)

The knot is a unit of speed equal to one nautical mile per hour, exactly 1.852 km/h. The ISO standard symbol for the knot is kn. The same symbol is preferred by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), while kt is also common, especially in aviation, where it is the form recommended by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO). The knot is a non-SI unit. The knot is used in meteorology, and in maritime and air navigation. A vessel travelling at 1 knot along a meridian travels approximately one minute of geographic latitude in one hour.

Construction and career

Canadian service

Algoma was ordered 1 February 1940[14] as part of the 1939–1940 Flower class building program. She was laid down on 18 June 1940 by Port Arthur Shipbuilding Co. in Port Arthur, Ontario, and launched on 17 December 1940. The vessel was commissioned on 11 July 1941 in Montreal, Quebec, and arrived in Halifax, Nova Scotia, on 18 July 1940 to begin her career.[15] In the Battle of the Atlantic, escort ships for convoys of merchant ships were organised into groups, with Algoma initially joining the groups 4.1.12 and 4.1.14 before reorganisation into Mid-Ocean Escort Force (MOEF) Escort Group A3 (EG A3).[16] On 21 February 1942, the convoy ON 67 was located by German U-boats which was being escorted by the convoy escort group A6, of which Algoma was a member of at the time. In the battle from 21–24 February eight ships were sunk.[17] On 11 May, the convoy ONS 92, escorted by A3 was spotted by U-boats. The convoy lost six merchant vessels before contact was lost due to bad weather.[18] Algoma then went in for refit at Liverpool, Nova Scotia in July, which took six weeks to complete. Upon returning to active service, the corvette joined the Western Local Escort Force. She was then assigned to Operation Torch duties in October and left for the United Kingdom with convoy SC 107.[15] On 1 November the convoy was intercepted by the German wolfpack "Hecht" and until the end of the battle on 6 November, 13 merchant ships were sunk.[19]

Algoma was then placed under command of the Royal Navy, escorting convoys to the Mediterranean Sea. In February 1943, the ship was based at Bône, Algeria before returning to Atlantic waters, based at St. John's, Newfoundland. The convoy escorted by Algoma on the return journey, ON 179, suffered no losses even though it was pursued by U-boats.[20] After a brief stint with the Western Support force in May 1943 and a return to WLEF, the corvette joined Quebec Force in June, the unit dedicated to escort and patrol around Quebec until November. Algoma did one quick tour with MOEF group C4 before arriving at Liverpool, Nova Scotia, for a major refit. Algoma returned to service in May 1944, joining MOEF group C5. She performed three round-trips with convoys before joining EG 41 at Plymouth, United Kingdom, under the command of the Royal Navy's Plymouth Command. She spent the rest of the war patrolling the English Channel.[15] For service in the war, Algoma was given the battle honours "Atlantic 1941–44" and "English Channel 1945".[21]

Venezuelan service

ARV Constitución in 1948
ARV Constitución in 1948

Algoma was paid off on 6 July 1945 at Sydney, Nova Scotia, for disposal. The Venezuelan Navy bought her in 1945 and renamed her ARV Constitución. She was discarded in 1962.[15]

Discover more about Construction and career related topics

Keel laying

Keel laying

Laying the keel or laying down is the formal recognition of the start of a ship's construction. It is often marked with a ceremony attended by dignitaries from the shipbuilding company and the ultimate owners of the ship.

Port Arthur, Ontario

Port Arthur, Ontario

Port Arthur was a city in Northern Ontario, Canada, located on Lake Superior. In January 1970, it amalgamated with Fort William and the townships of Neebing and McIntyre to form the city of Thunder Bay.

Ceremonial ship launching

Ceremonial ship launching

Ceremonial ship launching involves the performance of ceremonies associated with the process of transferring a vessel to the water. It is a nautical tradition in many cultures, dating back thousands of years, to accompany the physical process with ceremonies which have been observed as public celebration and a solemn blessing, usually but not always, in association with the launch itself.

Halifax, Nova Scotia

Halifax, Nova Scotia

Halifax is the capital and largest municipality of the Canadian province of Nova Scotia, and the largest municipality in Atlantic Canada. Halifax is one of Canada's fastest growing municipalities, and as of 2022, it is estimated that the CMA population of Halifax was 480,582, with 348,634 people in its urban area. The regional municipality consists of four former municipalities that were amalgamated in 1996: Halifax, Dartmouth, Bedford, and Halifax County.

Battle of the Atlantic

Battle of the Atlantic

The Battle of the Atlantic, the longest continuous military campaign in World War II, ran from 1939 to the defeat of Nazi Germany in 1945, covering a major part of the naval history of World War II. At its core was the Allied naval blockade of Germany, announced the day after the declaration of war, and Germany's subsequent counter-blockade. The campaign peaked from mid-1940 through to the end of 1943.

Convoy

Convoy

A convoy is a group of vehicles, typically motor vehicles or ships, traveling together for mutual support and protection. Often, a convoy is organized with armed defensive support and can help maintain cohesion within a unit. It may also be used in a non-military sense, for example when driving through remote areas.

Mid-Ocean Escort Force

Mid-Ocean Escort Force

Mid-Ocean Escort Force (MOEF) referred to the organisation of anti-submarine escorts for World War II trade convoys between Canada and Newfoundland, and the British Isles. The allocation of United States, British, and Canadian escorts to these convoys reflected preferences of the United States upon their declaration of war, and the organisation persisted through the winter of 1942–43 despite withdrawal of United States ships from the escort groups. By the summer of 1943, United States Atlantic escorts were focused on the faster CU convoys and the UG convoys between Chesapeake Bay and the Mediterranean Sea; and only British and Canadian escorts remained on the HX, SC and ON convoys.

ON convoys

ON convoys

The ON convoys were a series of North Atlantic trade convoys running Outbound from the British Isles to North America during the Battle of the Atlantic.

Liverpool, Nova Scotia

Liverpool, Nova Scotia

Liverpool is a Canadian community and former town located along the Atlantic Ocean of the Province of Nova Scotia's South Shore. It is situated within the Region of Queens Municipality which is the local governmental unit that comprises all of Queens County, Nova Scotia.

Operation Torch

Operation Torch

Operation Torch was an Allied invasion of French North Africa during the Second World War. Torch was a compromise operation that met the British objective of securing victory in North Africa while allowing American armed forces the opportunity to engage in the fight against Nazi Germany on a limited scale. It was the first mass involvement of US troops in the European–North African Theatre, and saw the first major airborne assault carried out by the United States.

Royal Navy

Royal Navy

The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against France. The modern Royal Navy traces its origins to the early 16th century; the oldest of the UK's armed services, it is consequently known as the Senior Service.

Mediterranean Sea

Mediterranean Sea

The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the east by the Levant in Western Asia. The Mediterranean has played a central role in the history of Western civilization. Geological evidence indicates that around 5.9 million years ago the Mediterranean was cut off from the Atlantic and was partly or completely desiccated over a period of some 600,000 years during the Messinian salinity crisis before being refilled by the Zanclean flood about 5.3 million years ago.

Source: "HMCS Algoma", Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, (2023, January 28th), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMCS_Algoma.

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Citations
  1. ^ Fitzsimons 1978, pp. 1137–1142.
  2. ^ Jane's Fighting Ships of World War II, p. 68.
  3. ^ a b c Preston & Raven 1973, p. 1.
  4. ^ McKay & Harland 1993, p. 8.
  5. ^ a b Lynch 1981, p. 66.
  6. ^ McKay & Harland 1993, p. 11.
  7. ^ McKay & Harland 1993, p. 14.
  8. ^ McKay & Harland 1993, p. 12.
  9. ^ Preston & Raven 1973, pp. 3–4.
  10. ^ Preston & Raven 1973, p. 4.
  11. ^ Lynch 1981, p. 12.
  12. ^ a b Lynch 1981, pp. 10, 12.
  13. ^ Macpherson & Barrie 2002, p. 103.
  14. ^ Helgason.
  15. ^ a b c d Macpherson & Barrie 2002, p. 105.
  16. ^ Rohwer 2005, pp. 104, 113, 124.
  17. ^ Rohwer 2005, p. 146.
  18. ^ Rohwer 2005, p. 165.
  19. ^ Rohwer 2005, p. 204.
  20. ^ Rohwer 2005, pp. 245–246.
  21. ^ "HMCS Algoma". Government of Canada. 8 August 2017. Retrieved 16 November 2021.
References
  • Fitzsimons, Bernard, ed. (1978). The Illustrated Encyclopedia of 20th Century Weapons & Warfare. Vol. 11. London: Phoebus. OCLC 8842839.
  • Helgason, Guðmundur. "HMCS Algoma (K 127)". German U-boats of WWII – uboat.net. Retrieved 10 November 2021.
  • Jane's Fighting Ships of World War II. New Jersey: Random House. 1996. ISBN 0-517-67963-9.
  • Lynch, Thomas G (1981). Canada's Flowers, History of the Corvettes of Canada. Halifax, Nova Scotia: Nimbus Publishing. ISBN 0-920852-15-7.
  • 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.
  • McKay, John & Harland, John (1993). Anatomy of the Ship: The Flower Class Corvette Agassiz. St. Catharines, Ontario: Vanwell Publishing. ISBN 1-55068-084-6.
  • Preston, Anthony & Raven, Alan (1973). Flower Class Corvettes. Signal. London: Bivouac Books. ISBN 0-85680-004-X.
  • Rohwer, Jürgen (2005). Chronology of the War at Sea 1939–1945: The Naval History of World War Two (Revised & Expanded ed.). Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 1-59114-119-2.
External links
  • Hague, Arnold. "HMCS Algoma". Convoy Web. Don Kindell.
  • Hazegray. "Flower Class". Canadian Navy of Yesterday and Today. Retrieved 27 July 2013.
  • "HMCS Algoma". Ready, Aye, Ready. Retrieved 27 July 2013.

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