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HMCS Dunvegan

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HMCS Dunvegan
History
Canada
NameDunvegan
Ordered22 January 1940
BuilderMarine Industries Ltd. Sorel, Quebec
Laid down30 August 1940
Launched11 December 1940
Commissioned9 September 1941
Decommissioned3 July 1945
IdentificationPennant number: K177
Honours and
awards
Atlantic 1941–44[1]
FateSold to Venezuelan navy
Venezuela
NameARV Independencia
AcquiredPurchased from Royal Canadian Navy
Commissioned1946
Out of service1953
FateBroken up 1953
General characteristics
Class and typeFlower-class corvette
Displacement950 long tons (970 t; 1,060 short tons)
Length205 ft (62.48 m)
Beam33 ft (10.06 m)
Draught11.5 ft (3.51 m)
PropulsionSingle shaft;

2 water tube boilers;

1 4-cyl. triple expansion steam engine, 2,750 hp (2,050 kW)
Speed16 knots (29.6 km/h)
Endurance3,450 nmi (6,390 km; 3,970 mi) at 12 kn (22 km/h; 14 mph)
Complement6 officers, 79 men
Sensors and
processing systems
  • Radar – SW1C or 2C (later)
  • Sonar – Type 123A, later Type 127DV
Armament

HMCS Dunvegan was a Flower-class corvette that served with the Royal Canadian Navy during the Second World War. She served primarily in the Battle of the Atlantic. After the war she was sold to the Venezuelan Navy. She was named for Dunvegan, Inverness County, Nova Scotia.[2]

Discover more about HMCS Dunvegan 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.

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.

Municipality of the County of Inverness

Municipality of the County of Inverness

The Municipality of the County of Inverness is a county municipality on Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia, Canada. It provides local government to about 17,000 residents of the historical county of the same name, except for the incorporated town of Port Hawkesbury and the Whycocomagh 2 Miꞌkmaq reserve, both of which are enclaves. Public services are provided in the areas of recreation, tourism, administration, finance, and public works.

Background

Flower-class corvettes like Dunvegan serving with the Royal Canadian Navy during the Second World War were different to earlier and more traditional sail-driven corvettes.[3][4][5] The "corvette" designation was created by the French as a class of small warships; the Royal Navy borrowed the term for a period but discontinued its use in 1877.[6] During the hurried preparations for war in the late 1930s, Winston Churchill reactivated the corvette class, needing a name for smaller ships used in an escort capacity, in this case based on a whaling ship design.[7] The generic name "flower" was used to designate the class of these ships, which – in the Royal Navy – were named after flowering plants.[8]

Corvettes commissioned by the Royal Canadian Navy during the Second World War were named after communities for the most part, to better represent the people who took part in building them. This idea was put forth by Admiral Percy W. Nelles. Sponsors were commonly associated with the community for which the ship was named. Royal Navy corvettes were designed as open sea escorts, while Canadian corvettes were developed for coastal auxiliary roles which was exemplified by their minesweeping gear. Eventually the Canadian corvettes would be modified to allow them to perform better on the open seas.[9]

Discover more about Background 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.

Winston Churchill

Winston Churchill

Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill was a British statesman, soldier, and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from 1940 to 1945 during the Second World War, and again from 1951 to 1955. Apart from two years between 1922 and 1924, he was a Member of Parliament (MP) from 1900 to 1964 and represented a total of five constituencies. Ideologically an economic liberal and imperialist, he was for most of his career a member of the Conservative Party, which he led from 1940 to 1955. He was a member of the Liberal Party from 1904 to 1924.

Percy W. Nelles

Percy W. Nelles

Admiral Percy Walker Nelles, was a flag officer in the Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) and the Chief of the Naval Staff from 1 January 1934 to 15 January 1944. He oversaw the massive wartime expansion of the RCN and the transformation of Canada into a major player in the Battle of the Atlantic. During his tenure U-boats raided the Gulf of St. Lawrence, Canadian Northwest Atlantic command was created, and the RCN provided up to 40% of all escort forces in the North Atlantic. His handling of the RCN's war effort had its opponents however, and he was removed from his post as Chief of the Naval Staff in January 1944. He was sent to London as Overseas Naval Attaché, coordinating RCN operations for Operation Overlord. He retired in January 1945 as a full admiral.

Construction

Dunvegan was ordered 22 January 1940 as part of the 1939–1940 Flower-class building program. She was laid down on 30 August 1940 by Marine Industries Ltd. at Sorel and launched 11 December of that year.[10] Dunvegan was commissioned 9 September 1941 at Sorel. She went in for her first refit in December 1941 for repairs which took until January 1942. A second refit took place in October 1943 where, in Baltimore, her fo'c'sle was extended. The refit took until December 1943 to complete.[2]

War service

After workups, Dunvegan joined Sydney Force. In November 1941 she transferred to Newfoundland Command where she was placed in unit N16 as an ocean escort for a short period. After returning from one of her first convoys, she was sent on to Halifax for repairs. Dunvegan returned to service with N12 of Newfoundland Command before joining Mid-Ocean Escort Force (MOEF) group C-2 in March 1942.[2]

In June 1942 she joined Western Local Escort Force (WLEF) and in June 1943, assigned to escort group W-8. She served with that group until a major refit took her off duty. After workups in Bermuda, she returned to service with WLEF as a member of escort group W-6 which she served with until the end of the war. On 7 May 1945, Dunvegan was detached from convoy SC 175 to help HMCS Rockcliffe escort the captured German submarine U-889 back to port.[2]

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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.

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.

Western Local Escort Force

Western Local Escort Force

Western Local Escort Force (WLEF) referred to the organization of anti-submarine escorts for World War II trade convoys from North American port cities to the Western Ocean Meeting Point near Newfoundland where ships of the Mid-Ocean Escort Force (MOEF) assumed responsibility for safely delivering the convoys to the British Isles.

Bermuda

Bermuda

Bermuda is a British Overseas Territory in the North Atlantic Ocean. The Bermuda archipelago consists of 181 islands with a total land area of 54 km2 (21 sq mi). The closest land outside the territory is in the US state of North Carolina, approximately 1,035 km (643 mi) to the northwest.

SC convoys

SC convoys

The SC convoys were a series of North Atlantic convoys that ran during the battle of the Atlantic during World War II.

German submarine U-889

German submarine U-889

German submarine U-889 was a Type IXC/40 U-boat of Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine during World War II.

Postwar service

Independencia in Venezuelan Navy service
Independencia in Venezuelan Navy service

Dunvegan was paid off on 3 July 1945 at Sorel. In 1946 she was sold to Venezuela and renamed ARV Independencia. She served with the Venezuelan Navy into the 1950s until she was broken up in 1953.[2]

Source: "HMCS Dunvegan", Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, (2023, January 25th), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMCS_Dunvegan.

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References
  1. ^ "Battle Honours". Britain's Navy. Retrieved 10 August 2013.
  2. ^ a b c d e Macpherson, Ken; Burgess, John (1981). The ships of Canada's naval forces 1910–1981 : a complete pictorial history of Canadian warships. Toronto: Collins. pp. 75, 231. ISBN 0-00216-856-1.
  3. ^ Ossian, Robert. "Complete List of Sailing Vessels". The Pirate King. Retrieved 13 April 2011.
  4. ^ Fitzsimons, Bernard, ed. (1978). The Illustrated Encyclopedia of 20th Century Weapons & Warfare. Vol. 11. London: Phoebus. pp. 1137–1142.
  5. ^ Jane's Fighting Ships of World War II. New Jersey: Random House. 1996. p. 68. ISBN 0-517-67963-9.
  6. ^ Blake, Nicholas; Lawrence, Richard (2005). The Illustrated Companion to Nelson's Navy. Stackpole Books. pp. 39–63. ISBN 0-8117-3275-4.
  7. ^ Chesneau, Roger; Gardiner, Robert (June 1980). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1922-1946. Naval Institute Press. p. 62. ISBN 0-87021-913-8.
  8. ^ Milner, Marc (1985). North Atlantic Run. Naval Institute Press. pp. 117–119, 142–145, 158, 175–176, 226, 235, 285–291. ISBN 0-87021-450-0.
  9. ^ Macpherson, Ken; Milner, Marc (1993). Corvettes of the Royal Canadian Navy 1939–1945. St. Catharines: Vanwell Publishing. ISBN 1-55125-052-7.
  10. ^ "HMCS Dunvegan (K 177)". Uboat.net. Retrieved 10 August 2013.
External links
  • Hazegray. "Flower Class". Canadian Navy of Yesterday and Today. Retrieved 10 August 2013.
  • Ready, Aye, Ready. "HMCS Dunvegan". Retrieved 10 August 2013.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)

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