HMCS Beacon Hill

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HMCS Beacon Hill (K407) HMCS Beacon Hill 1944.jpg
HMCS Beacon Hill (K407)
HMCS Beacon Hill
History
Naval Ensign of the United Kingdom.svgCanada
NameBeacon Hill
OrderedOctober 1941
Builder Yarrows, Esquimalt
Laid down16 July 1943
Launched6 November 1943
Commissioned16 May 1944
Decommissioned6 February 1946
Identification pennant number: K 407
Recommissioned21 December 1957
Decommissioned15 September 1967
Reclassified Prestonian-class frigate 1954
Identificationpennant number: FFE 303
MottoSemper Liber [1]
Honours and
awards		Atlantic 1944-45, English Channel 1944-45. [1] [2]
FateScrapped Sakai, Japan 1968
BadgeSable, upon a mount vert a cresset or, fired proper [1]
General characteristics
Class and type River-class frigate
Displacement
  • 1,445 long tons (1,468 t; 1,618 short tons)
  • 2,110 long tons (2,140 t; 2,360 short tons) (deep load)
Length
  • 283 ft (86.26 m) p/p
  • 301.25 ft (91.82 m)o/a
Beam36.5 ft (11.13 m)
Draught9 ft (2.74 m); 13 ft (3.96 m) (deep load)
Propulsion2 × Admiralty 3-drum boilers, 2 shafts, reciprocating vertical triple expansion, 5,500 ihp (4,100 kW)
Speed
  • 20 knots (37.0 km/h)
  • 20.5 knots (38.0 km/h) (turbine ships)
Range646 long tons (656 t; 724 short tons) oil fuel; 7,500 nautical miles (13,890 km) at 15 knots (27.8 km/h)
Complement157
Armament

HMCS Beacon Hill was a River-class frigate that served in the Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) as an ocean convoy escort during the Second World War. She fought primarily in the Battle of the Atlantic. In 1954 she was converted to a Prestonian-class frigate and served until 1957. She was named for Victoria, British Columbia, but because HMS Victorious was in service with the Royal Navy, the RCN, in an effort to avoid confusion, chose to honour the city by choosing another name associated with it. [3]

Contents

Beacon Hill was ordered in October 1941 as part of the 1942-43 River-class building programme. She was laid down 16 July 1943 by Yarrows Ltd. at Esquimalt, British Columbia and launched 6 November later that year. [4] Beacon Hill was commissioned 16 May 1944 at Esquimalt. [3] [4]

Background

The River-class frigate was designed by William Reed of Smith's Dock Company of South Bank-on-Tees. Originally called a "twin-screw corvette", its purpose was to improve on the convoy escort classes in service with the Royal Navy at the time, including the Flower-class corvette. The first orders were placed by the Royal Navy in 1940 and the vessels were named for rivers in the United Kingdom, giving name to the class. In Canada they were named after towns and cities though they kept the same designation. [5] The name "frigate" was suggested by Vice-Admiral Percy Nelles of the Royal Canadian Navy and was adopted later that year. [6]

Improvements over the corvette design included improved accommodation which was markedly better. The twin engines gave only three more knots of speed but extended the range of the ship to nearly double that of a corvette at 7,200 nautical miles (13,300 km) at 12 knots (22 km/h). [6] Among other lessons applied to the design was an armament package better designed to combat U-boats including a twin 4-inch mount forward and 12-pounder aft. [5] 15 Canadian frigates were initially fitted with a single 4-inch gun forward but with the exception of HMCS Valleyfield, they were all eventually upgraded to the double mount. [6] For underwater targets, the River-class frigate was equipped with a Hedgehog anti-submarine mortar and depth charge rails aft and four side-mounted throwers. [5]

River-class frigates were the first Royal Canadian Navy warships to carry the 147B Sword horizontal fan echo sonar transmitter in addition to the irregular ASDIC. This allowed the ship to maintain contact with targets even while firing unless a target was struck. Improved radar and direction-finding equipment improved the RCN's ability to find and track enemy submarines over the previous classes. [5]

Canada originally ordered the construction of 33 frigates in October 1941. [5] [6] The design was too big for the shipyards on the Great Lakes so all the frigates built in Canada were built in dockyards along the west coast or along the St. Lawrence River. [6] In all Canada ordered the construction of 60 frigates including ten for the Royal Navy that transferred two to the United States Navy. [5]

Service history

After working up in Bermuda, Beacon Hill was assigned to Mid-Ocean Escort Force (MOEF) EG 26, a Canadian support group that would assist any convoy under attack. During her time with EG 26, she was sporadically detached to Plymouth and Portsmouth commands. [3] EG 26 is among the escort groups deployed to counter snorkel-equipped U-boats in British coastal waters beginning in mid-December 1944. Deploying from Derry, the groups operated in overlapping patrols in the Shetland-Faroes narrows, off Hebrides, in the Irish Sea west of Ireland and in St. George's Channel. [7] In March 1945, EG 26 deployed from Portsmouth. From at least 14 March to 20 April, Beacon Hill was the Senior Officer's ship of the group. [8] She remained in European waters until May 1945, when she departed for Canada. Intended to be used in the ongoing Pacific campaign, Beacon Hill began her tropicalization refit at Liverpool, Nova Scotia in June. The refit ended in November 1945, and she sailed for Esquimalt. Beacon Hill was paid off at Esquimalt on 6 February 1946 and placed in reserve. [3]

Post-war service

Beacon Hill was recommissioned in March 1950 as a training ship for cadets. [9] In January 1952, Beacon Hill and Antigonish deployed on a training cruise to South America along the Pacific coast, making several port visits. In May, Sioux, Antigonish and Beacon Hill travelled to Juneau, Alaska and in August, to San Diego on training cruises. [10] She was paid off again in 1954 in preparation for her conversion to a Prestonian-class frigate. Beacon Hill was recommissioned into the RCN with the pennant number FFE 303 on 21 December 1957. [4] During service with the Fourth Canadian Escort Squadron she was fitted with a midship deckhouse to provide classroom and training facilities for officer candidates. [11] Beacon Hill was a member of the Fourth Canadian Escort Squadron based out of Esquimalt, British Columbia. In June 1960 the Fourth Canadian Escort Squadron performed a training tour of the Pacific, with stops at Yokohama, Japan, Midway Atoll and Pearl Harbor. They returned to Canada in August. [12] From January to March 1961, Sussexvale, New Glasgow and Beacon Hill performed a training cruise to the South Pacific, visiting Hawaii, Fiji, New Zealand, Australia and Samoa. [13] In the summer of 1966, she and Jonquiere undertook a 6 week training cruise with officer cadets and sea cadets with port visits in San Francisco, San Diego and Ketchikan.

She served until 15 September 1967 when she was paid off for the final time. She was sold for scrap and broken up at Sakai, Japan in 1968. [3]

Ship's bell

The Christening Bells Project at Canadian Forces Base Esquimalt Naval and Military Museum includes information from the ship's bell of HMCS Beacon Hill 1944–1967, which was used for baptism of babies on board ship 1950–1964. The bell is currently held by the CFB Esquimalt Naval & Military Museum, Esquimalt, British Columbia. [14]

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HMCS Fort Erie was a River-class frigate that served in the Royal Canadian Navy during the Second World War and as a Prestonian-class frigate from 1956-1965. She was named for Fort Erie, Ontario.

HMCS <i>Penetang</i>

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HMCS <i>New Glasgow</i>

HMCS New Glasgow was a River-class frigate that served in the Royal Canadian Navy during the Second World War and as a Prestonian-class frigate from 1955 to 1965. She was named for New Glasgow, Nova Scotia.

HMCS Lauzon was a River-class frigate that served with the Royal Canadian Navy during the Second World War and again as a Prestonian-class frigate from 1953-1963. During the war she served primarily as an ocean escort for convoys. She was named for Lauzon, Quebec.

HMCS <i>Inch Arran</i>

HMCS Inch Arran was a River-class frigate that served with the Royal Canadian Navy during the Second World War and again from 1954 to 1965, when she was converted into a Prestonian-class frigate. She was named after Inch Arran Point in Dalhousie, New Brunswick, Canada. This was due to the inability of two Allied warships to bear the same name. The RCN would then use landmarks or significant areas that were associated with the community instead.

HMCS <i>Swansea</i> Canadian River-class frigate

HMCS Swansea was a Canadian River-class frigate that was the most successful U-boat hunter in the Royal Canadian Navy during the Second World War, having a hand in the destruction of four of them. She saw service in the Battle of the Atlantic from 1943 to 1945. Following the war she was refit as a Prestonian-class frigate. She is named for Swansea, Ontario.

HMCS <i>La Hulloise</i>

HMCS La Hulloise was a River-class frigate that served with the Royal Canadian Navy during the Second World War and again as a training ship and Prestonian-class frigate from 1957–1965. She was named for Hull, Quebec, but due to possible confusion with USS Hull, her name was altered.

HMCS <i>Prestonian</i>

HMCS Prestonian was a River-class frigate that served with the Royal Canadian Navy during the Second World War and as a Prestonian-class frigate from 1953–1956. She saw action primarily as a convoy escort. She was named for Preston, Ontario, however due to possible confusion with HMS Preston, her name was altered. In 1956 she began service with the Royal Norwegian Navy as Troll.

HMCS Buckingham was a River-class frigate that served with the Royal Canadian Navy during the Second World War and as a Prestonian-class frigate from 1954–1965. She was named for Buckingham, Quebec. She is considered a significant part of Canadian naval history as used for some early trials of helicopter landings on smaller escort vessels. This led to the development of the future helicopter carrying destroyers.

HMCS <i>Jonquiere</i> River-class frigate

HMCS Jonquière was a River-class frigate that served with the Royal Canadian Navy during the Second World War and again from 1954–1966 as a Prestonian-class frigate. She was named for Jonquière, Quebec.

HMCS <i>Lanark</i>

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HMCS <i>New Waterford</i>

HMCS New Waterford was a River-class frigate that served with the Royal Canadian Navy during the Second World War and then again from 1958–1966 as a Prestonian-class frigate. She served primarily in the waters around the United Kingdom as a convoy support escort. She was named for New Waterford, Nova Scotia.

HMCS <i>Outremont</i>

HMCS Outremont was a River-class frigate that served with the Royal Canadian Navy during the Second World War and again from 1955–1965 as a Prestonian-class frigate. During the war she served primarily as a convoy escort. She was named for Outremont, Quebec.

HMCS Stettler was a River-class frigate that served with the Royal Canadian Navy during the Second World War. She served primarily as a convoy escort in the Battle of the Atlantic. She was named for Stettler, Alberta. After the war she was converted to a Prestonian-class frigate and served until 1966.

HMCS <i>Ste. Therese</i>

HMCS Ste. Therese was a River-class frigate that served with the Royal Canadian Navy during the Second World War. She served primarily as a convoy escort in the Battle of the Atlantic. She was named for Sainte-Thérèse-de-Gaspé, Quebec. After the war she was converted to a Prestonian-class frigate and served until 1967.

HMCS <i>Sussexvale</i> WWII-era Canadian frigate

HMCS Sussexvale was a River-class frigate that served with the Royal Canadian Navy during the Second World War. She served primarily as a convoy escort in the Battle of the Atlantic. She was named for Sussex, New Brunswick. Her name was altered to prevent confusion with other Allied warships named Sussex. After the war she was converted to a Prestonian-class frigate and served until 1966. She was the last frigate launched by the Royal Canadian Navy during the Second World War.

References

Notes

  1. 1 2 3 Arbuckle, J. Graeme (1987). Badges of the Canadian Navy. Halifax, Nova Scotia: Nimbus Publishing. p. 10. ISBN   0-920852-49-1.
  2. ↑ "Battle Honours". Britain's Navy. Retrieved 20 March 2014.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 Macpherson, Ken; Burgess, John (1981). The ships of Canada's naval forces 1910–1981 : a complete pictorial history of Canadian warships. Toronto: Collins. ISBN   0-00216-856-1.
  4. 1 2 3 "HMCS Beacon Hill (K 407)". uboat.net. Retrieved 20 March 2014.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Fact Sheet No. 21 – Canadian River Class Frigates" . Retrieved 3 April 2014.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 Macpherson, Ken (1989). Frigates of the Royal Canadian Navy 1943–1974. Lewiston, New York: Vanwell Publishing. pp. 6–7, 15. ISBN   0920277225.
  7. ↑ Rohwer, pp. 378–9
  8. ↑ Rohwer, p. 400
  9. ↑ "Spring Training Cruises Near Completion". The Crowsnest. Vol. 2, no. 6. Ottawa: King's Printer. April 1950. pp. 2–3.
  10. ↑ "R.C.N. News Review". The Crowsnest. Vol. 5, no. 3. Ottawa: Queen's Printer. January 1953. pp. 2–4.
  11. ↑ R.v.b. Blackman, ed. (1963). Jane's Fighting Ships, 1963–1964. Jane's fighting ships. p. 37.
  12. ↑ "Frigates Take Cadets to Japan". The Crowsnest. Vol. 12, no. 9. Ottawa: Queen's Printer. July 1960. p. 4.
  13. ↑ "Frigates to Make South Seas Cruise". The Crowsnest. Vol. 13, no. 2. Ottawa: Queen's Printer. December 1960. p. 2.
  14. ↑ "Christening Bells". CFB Esquimalt Naval and Military Museum. Archived from the original on 30 December 2009. Retrieved 20 March 2014.

Sources

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