HMCS Elk

Last updated
HMCS Elk.jpg
HMCS Elk
History
Name
  • Arcadia (1928–1940, 1945–1946)
  • Grand Manan III (1946–1968)
BuilderNewport News SB. Co., Newport News, Virginia
Launched3 April 1926
In serviceAugust 1926
Out of service1940
FateTransferred to Royal Canadian Navy 1940–1945, scrapped 1968
Naval Ensign of the United Kingdom.svgCanada
NameElk
Namesake Elk, a large deer species found in North America
Acquired1940
Commissioned10 September 1940
Decommissioned4 August 1945
Identification Pennant number: S05/Z27
Honours and
awards		Gulf of St. Lawrence 1942, 1944. [1]
FateSold for commercial use
General characteristics
Type Armed yacht
Displacement578 long tons (587  t)
Length188 ft (57 m)
Beam27 ft (8.2 m)
Draught11 ft (3.4 m)
Speed11 knots (20 km/h; 13 mph)
Complement40
Armament1 × 4 in (102 mm) gun

HMCS Elk was an armed yacht serving with the Royal Canadian Navy during the Second World War. Prior to Canadian service, the ship was named Arcadia. She was used initially as a patrol vessel, but later saw use as a training and guard ship for submarines on the East Coast of Canada. Following the war, Elk was sold for commercial use and returned to her original name. She was renamed Grand Manan III in 1946 and used as a short-haul passenger ferry before being broken up in 1968.

Contents

Design and description

Constructed as a yacht, the vessel had a gross register tonnage (GRT) of 578, was 174 feet (53.1 m) long between perpendiculars and had a beam of 28 feet (8.4 m). The vessel was powered by two diesel engines, each driving one shaft, giving the yacht a maximum speed of 15 knots (28 km/h; 17 mph). [2] In Canadian service as an armed yacht, Elk was 188 feet (57.3 m) long overall with a beam of 27 feet (8.2 m) and a draught of 11 feet (3.4 m). The vessel had a displacement of 578 long tons (587  t ) and a maximum speed of 11 knots (20 km/h; 13 mph). Elk was armed with one 4-inch (102 mm) gun, placed forward, and had a complement of 5 officers and 35 crew. [3]

Career

The yacht was built by the Newport News Shipbuilding Company at Newport News, Virginia with the yard number 304 and launched as Arcadia on 3 April 1926. [2] [3] Arcadia was completed in August 1926. Owned by Margaret S. Hardwick, the vessel was registered in Boston, Massachusetts. [2]

Canadian service

After failing to acquire any British vessels at the outset of the Second World War for auxiliary purposes, the Royal Canadian Navy discreetly searched the American market for suitable ships. However, American law prevented the sale of ships for possible use in the war to any of the belligerents. The Royal Canadian Navy, requisitioned unsuitable Canadian yachts and had their respective owners go the United States and buy those ships the navy wanted as replacements. Once the ships arrived in Canada, the navy then returned the original yachts and requisitioned the new ones. Arcadia was one such ship and was acquired by the Royal Canadian Navy in Spring 1940. [4]

Following the ship's arrival, the vessel was sent to Pictou, Nova Scotia where the 4-inch naval gun was installed. Commissioned on 10 September 1940 at Halifax, Nova Scotia they renamed her Elk, in common with the conventions where armed yachts took the names of animals native to Canada. The vessel was given the pennant number S05 initially, this later being changed to Z27. [3]

Elk was ordered to the America and West Indies Station after commissioning and arrived on 23 September. She remained there until 13 May 1941 when she returned to Canada for a refit. Following the refit, the ship was sent to Trinidad, arriving on the 2 December 1941, returning only the following May. Once back, Elk was assigned to Sydney Force based out of Sydney, Nova Scotia utilized as a convoy escort for convoys on the Sydney – Corner Brook run. [3] In September 1942 Elk and fellow armed yacht HMCS Husky were providing the main escort for ships travelling from Sydney to Halifax. [5]

At the beginning of 1943, Elk was sidelined, becoming one of the first vessels to undergo repairs at the new repair yard in Shelburne, Nova Scotia. [3] [6] Following completion of repairs, the armed yacht was ordered to Digby, Nova Scotia in May and alternating between Shelburne and Digby, employed as a training ship and escort for submarine HMS L23, also assigned for training purposes. Elk remained in such a role for the remainder of the war, being paid off on 4 August 1945. [3]

Postwar service

On 4 September 1945, Elk was put up for disposal and returned to her original name. [2] [7] The yacht was sold to Saint John Marine Tpts Ltd that year and converted to a cargo vessel. Registered in Saint John, New Brunswick, the vessel was renamed Grand Manan III and was placed in service as a short-haul passenger ferry. In 1966, Grand Manan III was sold to St. John Tug Boat Co Ltd. She remained as a passenger ferry until being sold in 1968 for breaking up. [2] [3] The vessel was taken to Baltimore, Maryland and broken up by Boston Metals Co. in September 1969. [2]

Related Research Articles

USS <i>Winchester</i> Patrol vessel of the United States Navy

USS Winchester (SP-156) was an armed yacht that served in the United States Navy as a patrol vessel from 1917 to 1919. Prior to and following World War I, Winchester was a private yacht, later renamed Renard. In World War II, Renard was requisitioned for use in the Royal Canadian Navy as a patrol vessel, keeping her name. She was returned to her owners in 1944.

HMCS Beaver was an armed yacht that served in the Royal Canadian Navy during the Second World War. Originally named Aztec, the yacht was requisitioned for service in the United States Navy during the First World War under the same name. Returned to her owner in 1919, the yacht was laid up in 1931 following her owner's death. The vessel was purchased via a third party for service in the Royal Canadian Navy and after commissioning, Beaver was primarily used as a training ship with limited time as a patrol vessel. Following the war she was sold in 1946 and broken up for scrap in 1956.

HMCS Caribou was an armed yacht that served in the Royal Canadian Navy during the Second World War. Originally named Memory III, the vessel was renamed Elfreda while in private use as a personal yacht. After her commissioning and renaming to Caribou, she was used as a patrol and training vessel on the East coast of Canada. Following the war the ship was sold for commercial use until her registry was deleted in 1963.

HMCS <i>Digby</i>

HMCS Digby was a Bangor-class minesweeper that served in the Royal Canadian Navy during the Second World War. She saw action in the Battle of the Atlantic and the Battle of the St. Lawrence. After the war she was supposed to be transferred to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police but that was cancelled and instead was recommissioned into the Royal Canadian Navy, serving until 1956.

HMCS <i>Raccoon</i>

HMCS Raccoon was an armed yacht that served in the Royal Canadian Navy during World War II. Purchased by the Royal Canadian Navy in 1940, the ship was originally known as the yacht Halonia. Used as a patrol vessel and convoy escort, the ship was sunk by the German submarine U-165 in the St. Lawrence River on 7 September 1942. Raccoon was escorting Convoy QS-33 at the time. The entire ship's crew was lost.

HMCS Reindeer was an armed yacht that served in the Royal Canadian Navy during the Second World War. She served mainly in local waters, escorting convoys until becoming a training ship at Halifax, Nova Scotia at the end of 1942. The ship remained as such until being paid off to reserve in 1945 and was sold. Constructed as Josephine in 1926 in the United States and renamed Mascotte, the yacht was acquired by the Royal Canadian Navy in 1940. Following the war, the vessel was sold.

HMCS Lachine was a Bangor-class minesweeper of the Royal Canadian Navy that served during the Second World War. Following the war a proposed transfer to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police as Starnes was cancelled, and the ship was instead sold for conversion to a salvage tug in 1945. The ship was broken up in the United Kingdom in 1955.

HMCS Melville was a Bangor-class minesweeper built for the Royal Canadian Navy in 1940. The first diesel-engined Bangor-class vessel, Melville served in the Battle of the Atlantic during the Second World War. After the war, she was transferred to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) under the same name and served until being broken up in 1961.

HMCS Noranda was a Canadian Bangor-class minesweeper built for the Royal Canadian Navy in 1940. She was launched on 13 June 1941 and escorted convoys for the rest of the war. After the war the minesweeper was refitted and was transferred to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police as Irvine. In 1962, the ship was sold and was turned into the yacht Miriana. Renamed Marijana and Viking L&R in 1969, the yacht sank in May 1971 off the coast of Jamaica.

HMCS Grandmère was a Bangor-class minesweeper constructed for the Royal Canadian Navy during the Second World War. Entering service in 1941, the minesweeper took part in the Battle of the Atlantic and the Battle of the St. Lawrence before being taken out of service in 1945. The ship was sold for mercantile service following the war, first as the yacht Elda and then the cargo ship Jacks Bay. The ship was sold for scrap in 1968.

HMCS Medicine Hat was a Bangor-class minesweeper that served with the Royal Canadian Navy during the Second World War. Entering service in 1941, the minesweeper was primarily used as a convoy escort in the Battle of the Atlantic and the Battle of the St. Lawrence. Following the war the vessel was laid up until reacquired during the Korean War. Never re-entering service with the Royal Canadian Navy, Medicine Hat was sold to the Turkish Navy in 1957. Renamed Biga, the minesweeper was discarded in 1963.

HMCS Kenora was a Bangor-class minesweeper that served with the Royal Canadian Navy during the Second World War. Entering service in 1942, the minesweeper took part in the Battle of the Atlantic as a convoy escort and in the invasion of Normandy. Following the war, the vessel was laid up until reacquired in 1952 during the Korean War. Never re-entering service with the Royal Canadian Navy, Kenora was sold to the Turkish Navy in 1957. Renamed Bandirma by the Turkish Navy, the vessel was discarded in 1972.

HMCS Westmount was a Bangor-class minesweeper that served with the Royal Canadian Navy during the Second World War. Entering service in 1942, the minesweeper spent the entire war on the Atlantic Canada coast. Following the war, the ship was laid up in reserve until reacquired in 1952 during the Korean War. Never re-entering service with the Royal Canadian Navy, the vessel was sold to the Turkish Navy in 1958. Renamed Bornova, the minesweeper was discarded in 1972.

HMCS Truro was a Bangor-class minesweeper that served with the Royal Canadian Navy during the Second World War. The minesweeper entered service in 1942 and took part in the Battle of the Atlantic and the Battle of the St. Lawrence. Following the war, the vessel was transferred to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and renamed Herchmer. In 1946, Herchmer was sold for mercantile conversion and reappeared as Gulf Mariner. The ship was abandoned in 1964 on the Fraser River shore after plans for conversion to a suction dredger failed. The abandoned hulk was broken up.

The Dun class of tankers comprised two ships, HMCS Dundalk and HMCS Dundurn, constructed for the Royal Canadian Navy during the Second World War. The two vessels were ordered by the Royal Canadian Navy to fill a need to transport fuel oil for convoy escorts in the Battle of the Atlantic. The two vessels began their careers in 1943 and remained in naval service until 1946. Following the end of the war, they were crewed by civilians as naval auxiliaries until the 1980s. Dundalk was wrecked in 1984 and Dundurn's ultimate fate is unknown.

HMCS <i>Preserver</i> (1941) World War II depot ship

HMCS Preserver was a depot ship of the Coastal Forces of the Royal Canadian Navy during World War II. Commissioned in July 1942, Preserver supported Canadian Fairmile B motor launches in Canadian and Newfoundland waters during the war.

HMCS Lynx was an armed yacht in service with the Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) during World War II. The vessel was built at Newport News Shipbuilding as the yacht Dolphin in 1922. The yacht was sold in 1929, becoming Ramona. In 1940, the RCN acquired the vessel as part of the effort to bolster its patrol forces, armed and renamed the vessel Lynx. However, the vessel suffered a series of mechanical issues and was taken out of service in 1943 and sold for commercial service. Renamed Elena and then Samana Queen the ship was used in the banana boat trade, taking on its final name Rican Star in 1952. The vessel was converted to a fishing trawler in 1959 before sinking on 25 May 1960 off Hummocky Island, Queensland.

HMCS Husky was an armed yacht used for patrol and training purposes during World War II by the Royal Canadian Navy. The ship was constructed as the yacht Wild Duck in 1930 in Bay City, Michigan. Having several owners through the 1930s, the vessel was renamed Xania II. Acquired by the Royal Canadian Navy in 1940 for patrol, escort and training duties in Atlantic Canada, the ship was taken out of service at the end of the war and sold into commercial service. The vessel was purchased by the Port of New Orleans, Louisiana for use as an inspection ship. In 1967 the ship was sold again, renamed Aquarius No. 2 and used as a diving tender based in Honduras. In 1979 the vessel was acquired by American interests who brought the ship back to New Orleans and converted it to a floating restaurant.

HMCS Vison was an armed yacht of the Royal Canadian Navy during World War II. The vessel was acquired in 1940 for use as a patrol boat and later, as a training ship. In 1946, following the end of the war, Vison was sold into private ownership. The vessel was constructed as Avalon in 1931 by Pusey & Jones of Wilmington, Delaware, United States on behalf of Ogden L. Mills, the Secretary of the United States Treasury. During its service during World War II, Vison participated in the Battle of the Atlantic and the Battle of the St. Lawrence escorting convoys and defending them against German U-boats.

HMCS Otter was an armed yacht in service with the Royal Canadian Navy during World War II. Launched in 1921, the vessel was constructed as Nourmahal for Vincent Astor of New York as a pleasure yacht. He sold the vessel in the late 1920s and it was renamed Conseco. The Royal Canadian Navy, finding a lack of suitable vessels in Canadian ownership to be taken into naval service, sent Canadian yacht owners south to the United States to find those vessels. Conseco was acquired and brought north to Halifax, Nova Scotia where the vessel was converted to an armed yacht in 1940. Renamed Otter the ship participated in the Battle of the Atlantic, escorting convoys and patrolling the Canadian coast. On 26 March 1941, Otter suffered a catastrophic fire aboard that sank the armed yacht. Two officers and seventeen ratings died in the incident.

References

Citations

  1. ↑ "Royal Canadian Warships that Participated in the Battle of the Gulf of St. Lawrence". Veterans Affairs Canada. Retrieved 4 February 2017.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Miramar Ship Index.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Macpherson & Barrie 2002, p. 206.
  4. ↑ Macpherson & Barrie 2002, p. 204.
  5. ↑ Tucker 1952, p. 165.
  6. ↑ Tucker 1952, p. 177.
  7. ↑ Tucker 1952, p. 526.

Sources

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.