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HMCS Transcona

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History
Canada
NameTranscona
NamesakeTranscona, Manitoba
BuilderMarine Industries Ltd. Sorel, Quebec
Laid down18 December 1940
Launched26 April 1941
Commissioned25 November 1942
Decommissioned31 July 1945
IdentificationPennant number: J271
Honours and
awards		Atlantic 1943-45[1]
FateScrapped, 1961
General characteristics
Class and type Bangor-class minesweeper
Displacement592 long tons (601 t)
Length162 ft (49.4 m)
Beam28 ft (8.5 m)
Draught8.25 ft (2.51 m)
Propulsion2 shafts, 9-cylinder diesel, 2,000 bhp (1,500 kW)
Speed16 knots (30 km/h)
Complement83
Armament

HMCS Transcona was a Bangor-class minesweeper built for the Royal Canadian Navy during the Second World War. She was launched on 26 April 1941. After the war, she was transferred to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police under the name French. The vessel served until 1961 before being sold for scrap and broken up later that year.[2]

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Bangor-class minesweeper

Bangor-class minesweeper

The Bangor-class minesweepers were a class of warships operated by the Royal Navy (RN), Royal Canadian Navy (RCN), Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN), and Royal Indian Navy (RIN) during the Second World War.

Minesweeper

Minesweeper

A minesweeper is a small warship designed to remove or detonate naval mines. Using various mechanisms intended to counter the threat posed by naval mines, minesweepers keep waterways clear for safe shipping.

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.

World War II

World War II

World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a global conflict that lasted from 1939 to 1945. The vast majority of the world's countries, including all of the great powers, fought as part of two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis. Many participants threw their economic, industrial, and scientific capabilities behind this total war, blurring the distinction between civilian and military resources. Aircraft played a major role, enabling the strategic bombing of population centres and the delivery of the only two nuclear weapons ever used in war.

Royal Canadian Mounted Police

Royal Canadian Mounted Police

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police, commonly known in English as the Mounties is the federal and national police service of Canada. As police services are the constitutional responsibility of provinces and territories of Canada, the RCMP's primary responsibility is the enforcement of federal criminal law, and sworn members of the RCMP have jurisdiction as a peace officer in all provinces and territories of Canada. However, the service also provides police services under contract to eight of Canada's provinces, all three of Canada's territories, more than 150 municipalities, and 600 Indigenous communities. In addition to enforcing federal legislation and delivering local police services under contract, the RCMP is responsible for border integrity; overseeing Canadian peacekeeping missions involving police; managing the Canadian Firearms Program, which licenses and registers firearms and their owners; and the Canadian Police College, which provides police training to Canadian and international police services.

Ship breaking

Ship breaking

Ship-breaking is a type of ship disposal involving the breaking up of ships for either a source of parts, which can be sold for re-use, or for the extraction of raw materials, chiefly scrap. Modern ships have a lifespan of 25 to 30 years before corrosion, metal fatigue and a lack of parts render them uneconomical to operate. Ship-breaking allows the materials from the ship, especially steel, to be recycled and made into new products. This lowers the demand for mined iron ore and reduces energy use in the steelmaking process. Fixtures and other equipment on board the vessels can also be reused. While ship-breaking is sustainable, there are concerns about the use by poorer countries without stringent environmental legislation. It is also labour-intensive, and considered one of the world's most dangerous industries.

Design and description

The Bangor class was initially to be a scaled down minesweeper design of the Halcyon class in Royal Navy service.[3][4] However, due to the difficulty procuring diesel engines led to the small number of the diesel version being completed.[4] The ships displaced 592 long tons (601 t) standard and 690 long tons (700 t) fully loaded. They were 162 feet (49.4 m) long with a beam of 28 feet (8.5 m) and a draught of 8 feet 3 inches (2.51 m).[4][5] However, the size of the ship led to criticisms of their being too cramped for magnetic or acoustic minesweeping gear.[4] This may have been due to all the additions made during the war with the installation of ASDIC, radar and depth charges.[3]

The Bangor class came in two versions. Transcona was of the diesel-powered version, being equipped with a 9-cylinder diesel engine driving two shafts that produced 2,000 brake horsepower (1,500 kW). This gave the ship a maximum speed of 16.5 knots (30.6 km/h). The vessels carried 65 long tons (66 t) of oil.[4] The vessels had a complement of 6 officers and 77 ratings.[5]

The Canadian diesel-powered Bangors were armed with a single quick-firing (QF) 12-pounder 12 cwt gun mounted forward.[4][5][a] The ships were also fitted with a QF 2-pounder Mark VIII gun aft and were eventually fitted with single-mounted QF 20 mm Oerlikon guns on the bridge wings.[6] For those ships assigned to convoy duty, they were armed with two depth charge launchers and two chutes for the 40 depth charges they carried.[4][6]

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Halcyon-class minesweeper

Halcyon-class minesweeper

The Halcyon class was a class of 21 oil-fired minesweepers built for the British Royal Navy between 1933 and 1939. They were given traditional small ship names used historically by the Royal Navy and served during World War II.

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.

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.

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.

Depth charge

Depth charge

A depth charge is an anti-submarine warfare (ASW) weapon. It is intended to destroy a submarine by being dropped into the water nearby and detonating, subjecting the target to a powerful and destructive hydraulic shock. Most depth charges use high explosive charges and a fuze set to detonate the charge, typically at a specific depth. Depth charges can be dropped by ships, patrol aircraft, and helicopters.

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.

Quick-firing gun

Quick-firing gun

A quick-firing or rapid-firing gun is an artillery piece, typically a gun or howitzer, which has several characteristics which taken together mean the weapon can fire at a fast rate. Quick-firing was introduced worldwide in the 1880s and 1890s and had a marked impact on war both on land and at sea.

QF 12-pounder 12 cwt naval gun

QF 12-pounder 12 cwt naval gun

The QF 12-pounder 12-cwt gun (Quick-Firing) was a common, versatile 3-inch (76.2 mm) calibre naval gun introduced in 1894 and used until the middle of the 20th century. It was produced by Armstrong Whitworth, Elswick and used on Royal Navy warships, exported to allied countries, and used for land service. In British service "12-pounder" was the rounded value of the projectile weight, and "12 cwt (hundredweight)" was the weight of the barrel and breech, to differentiate it from other "12-pounder" guns.

Oerlikon 20 mm cannon

Oerlikon 20 mm cannon

The Oerlikon 20 mm cannon is a series of autocannons, based on an original German Becker Type M2 20 mm cannon design that appeared very early in World War I. It was widely produced by Oerlikon Contraves and others, with various models employed by both Allied and Axis forces during World War II. Many versions of the cannon are still used today.

Bridge (nautical)

Bridge (nautical)

The bridge, also known as the pilothouse or wheelhouse, is a room or platform of a ship from which the ship can be commanded. When a ship is under way, the bridge is manned by an officer of the watch aided usually by an able seaman acting as a lookout. During critical maneuvers the captain will be on the bridge, often supported by an officer of the watch, an able seaman on the wheel and sometimes a pilot, if required.

Service history

Transcona was ordered as part of the 1940–41 building programme. The minesweeper's keel was laid on 18 December 1940 by Marine Industries Ltd. at Sorel, Quebec. The ship was launched on 26 April 1941 and Transcona was commissioned at Sorel on 25 November 1942. She was the last Bangor to join the Royal Canadian Navy.[7]

After commissioning, Transcona escorted HMCS Provider to Halifax, Nova Scotia and remained at the shipyard there from 22 December 1942 to 6 March 1943 due to engine defects. Once those were repaired, the minesweeper performed her workups and was assigned to the Western Local Escort Force (WLEF) in April. In June, WLEF's escorts were divided into groups and Transcona was placed in W-2.[7]

She remained with that unit until May 1944 when the minesweeper was transferred to Halifax Force, a local escort force based out of Halifax, Nova Scotia. On 23 December, with sister ship Clayoquot and the frigate Kirkland Lake, Transcona sailed from Halifax on a pre-convoy escort submarine sweep of the swept channel near the Sambro Light Vessel. While the convoy was forming up, the German submarine U-806 fired a torpedo which hit Clayoquot, sinking the minesweeper. Transcona dropped four Carley floats for the survivors while searching for the submarine. Ten minutes after Clayoquot's sinking, a torpedo detonated close to Transcona. The submarine was not found and the corvette Fennel collected survivors.[8] From February to May 1945, Transcona was under refit at Lunenburg, Nova Scotia. She remained with this unit until June, after which the ship was deployed on various local tasks until her decommissioning. The minesweeper was paid off on 31 July 1945 at Sydney, Nova Scotia and laid up.[7]

On 1 September 1945, Transcona was transferred to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police Marine Division and renamed French.[7][b] The ship remained in service at Halifax until 1960.[9] The vessel was turned over to the Crown Assets Corporation, sold for scrap on 2 February 1961 and broken up at LaHave, Nova Scotia later that year.[10][11]

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Keel

Keel

The keel is the bottom-most longitudinal structural element on a vessel. On some sailboats, it may have a hydrodynamic and counterbalancing purpose, as well. The laying of the keel is often the initial step in the construction of a ship. In the British and American shipbuilding traditions, this event marks the beginning date of a ships construction.

Marine Industries

Marine Industries

Marine Industries Limited (MIL) was a Canadian ship building, hydro-electric and rail car manufacturing company, in Sorel-Tracy, Quebec, with a shipyard located on the Richelieu river about 1 km from the St. Lawrence River. It employed up to 8,500 people during the World War II support effort.

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.

HMCS Provider (1942)

HMCS Provider (1942)

HMCS Provider was a Fairmile depot ship constructed for the Royal Canadian Navy during World War II. Commissioned in December 1942, Provider served as a base ship in the Caribbean Sea, in Quebec and at Halifax, Nova Scotia. Following the war, the vessel was sold into commercial service and converted into a tanker in 1946. The ship re-entered service in 1947 and was renamed Maruba. The ship sailed under this name until 1956, when it was sold and renamed Olaya. Renamed Orgenos the same year, the tanker was acquired by the Peruvian Navy in 1960. In 1961, Orgenus was sold for scrap and broken up in Peru. The ship's registry was not deleted until 1992.

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.

Frigate

Frigate

A frigate is a type of warship. In different eras, the roles and capabilities of ships classified as frigates have varied somewhat.

Sambro Island Light

Sambro Island Light

Sambro Island Lighthouse is a landfall lighthouse located at the entrance to Halifax Harbour, Nova Scotia, on an island near the community of Sambro in the Halifax Regional Municipality. It is the oldest surviving lighthouse in North America and its construction is a National Historic Event.

German submarine U-806

German submarine U-806

German submarine U-806 was a Type IXC/40 U-boat built for Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine during World War II.

Carley float

Carley float

The Carley float was a form of invertible liferaft designed by American inventor Horace Carley (1838–1918). Supplied mainly to warships, it saw widespread use in a number of navies during peacetime and both World Wars until superseded by more modern rigid or inflatable designs. Carley was awarded a patent in 1903 after establishing the Carley Life Float Company of Philadelphia.

G7es torpedo

G7es torpedo

The G7es (T5) "Zaunkönig" ("wren") was a passive acoustic torpedo employed by German U-boats during World War II. It was called the GNAT by the British.

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.

Lunenburg, Nova Scotia

Lunenburg, Nova Scotia

Lunenburg is a port town on the South Shore of Nova Scotia, Canada. Founded in 1753, the town was one of the first British attempts to settle Protestants in Nova Scotia.

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

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Further Reading

HMCS Digby

HMCS Drummondville

HMCS Goderich

HMCS Burlington
References

Notes

  1. ^ "Cwt" is the abbreviation for hundredweight, 20 cwt referring to the weight of the gun.
  2. ^ Colledge has the ship transferred to the RCMP in 1950.

Citations

  1. ^ "Battle Honours". Britain's Navy. Retrieved 25 Jan 2019.
  2. ^ "HMCS Transcona". Naval Museum of Manitoba. Retrieved 5 August 2016.
  3. ^ a b Brown, p. 124
  4. ^ a b c d e f g Chesneau (1980), p. 61
  5. ^ a b c Macpherson and Barrie (2002), p. 185
  6. ^ a b Macpherson (1997), p. 58
  7. ^ a b c d Macpherson and Barrie (2002), p. 188
  8. ^ Darlington and McKee, pp. 197–99
  9. ^ Haycock, p. 172
  10. ^ Colledge, p. 640
  11. ^ "Transcona (6114228)". Miramar Ship Index. Retrieved 5 August 2016.

Sources

  • Brown, D.K. (2000). Nelson to Vanguard: Warship Design and Development 1923–1945. Chatham Publishing. ISBN 1861761368.
  • 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.
  • 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.
  • Haycock, John (2011). Vassilopoulos, Peter (ed.). The History of the RCMP Marine Services. Ottawa: Queen's Printer. ISBN 978-0-919317-47-5.
  • 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.
  • Macpherson, Ken (1997). Minesweepers of the Royal Canadian Navy 1938–1945. St. Catharines, Ontario: Vanwell Publishing. ISBN 0-920277-55-1.
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