HMCS Kentville

Last updated

History
Naval Ensign of the United Kingdom.svgCanada
NameKentville
Namesake Kentville, Nova Scotia
Builder Port Arthur Shipbuilding Co., Port Arthur
Laid down15 December 1941
Launched17 April 1942
Commissioned10 October 1942
Decommissioned28 October 1945
Identification Pennant number:J312
Recommissioned1954
Decommissioned30 September 1954
Identificationpennant number: 182
Honours and
awards		Atlantic 1944–45 [1] [lower-alpha 1]
FateTransferred to Turkish Navy, 1957
Flag of Turkey.svgTurkey
NameBartin
Acquired29 November 1957
Commissioned1957
Decommissioned1972
IdentificationP-130
FateRegistry deleted 1980
General characteristics
Class and type Bangor-class minesweeper
Displacement672 long tons (683 t)
Length180 ft (54.9 m) oa
Beam28 ft 6 in (8.7 m)
Draught9 ft 9 in (3.0 m)
Propulsion2 Admiralty 3-drum water tube boilers, 2 shafts, vertical triple-expansion reciprocating engines, 2,400 ihp (1,790 kW)
Speed16.5 knots (31 km/h)
Complement83
Armament

HMCS Kentville 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. She was named for Kentville, Nova Scotia. After the war she was recommissioned for a short period with the Royal Canadian Navy before being sold to Turkey in 1957 and renamed Bartin. She served with the Turkish Naval Forces until 1972.

Contents

Design and description

A British design, the Bangor-class minesweepers were smaller than the preceding Halcyon-class minesweepers in British service, but larger than the Fundy class in Canadian service. [2] [3] They came in two versions powered by different engines; those with a diesel engines and those with vertical triple-expansion steam engines. [2] Kentville was of the latter design and was larger than her diesel-engined cousins. Kentville was 180 feet (54.9 m) long overall, had a beam of 28 feet 6 inches (8.7 m) and a draught of 9 feet 9 inches (3.0 m). [2] [4] The minesweeper had a displacement of 672 long tons (683 t). She had a complement of 6 officers and 77 enlisted. [4]

Kentville had two vertical triple-expansion steam engines, each driving one shaft, using steam provided by two Admiralty three-drum boilers. The engines produced a total of 2,400 indicated horsepower (1,800 kW) and gave a maximum speed of 16.5 knots (30.6 km/h; 19.0 mph). The minesweeper could carry a maximum of 150 long tons (152 t) of fuel oil. [2]

Kentville was armed with a single quick-firing (QF) 12-pounder (3 in (76 mm)) 12 cwt HA gun mounted forward. [2] [5] [lower-alpha 2] The ships were also fitted with a QF 2-pounder Mark VIII aft and were eventually fitted with single-mounted QF 20 mm Oerlikon guns on the bridge wings. [6] Those ships assigned to convoy duty had two depth charge launchers and four chutes to deploy the 40 depth charges they carried. [2] [5]

Service history

Kentville was ordered as part of the 1941–42 programme of minesweeper production. The minesweeper's keel was laid down on 15 December 1941 by Port Arthur Shipbuilding Co at Port Arthur, Ontario. The ship was launched on 17 April 1942 and was commissioned into the Royal Canadian Navy on 10 October 1942 with pennant number J146 at Port Arthur. [7]

After escorting a coastal convoy en route to Halifax, Kentville was assigned to Halifax Force in January 1943 after working up. She spent the majority of her war service working out of Halifax. In May 1943 she was assigned to Sydney Force, working out of Sydney, Nova Scotia. Her duties involved escorting coastal convoys in Atlantic Canada. She remained with the group until November 1943, when she transferred back to Halifax. [7]

During the course of her duties, she rescued the freighter Imperial Monarch in distress from heavy weather and the tugboat Foundation Franklin . In May 1944, Kentville underwent a refit at Charlottetown, completing in July and working up in Bermuda until August. She returned to Halifax following workups and resumed her duties. [7]

Kentville saw enemy action in January 1945 when she defended her convoy against submarine attacks which sank two merchant ships. During the war her crew often took leave in her namesake town of Kentville. [8] On 14 January 1945 she picked up five survivors from the freighter Polarland, which had been sunk by U-1232. [9] In April 1945, Kentville was one of four ships sent to hunt down the U-boat that had sunk HMCS Esquimalt. The search was unsuccessful. [10] She was paid off at Sydney on 28 October 1945 and placed in reserve at Shelburne. [7]

Postwar service

In 1946, Kentville was moved to Sorel, Quebec to be placed in strategic reserve. She was briefly recommissioned in 1954 under pennant number 182. After being mothballed again later that year, she was transferred to Turkey in 1957 where she was renamed Bartin and served until 1972. [7] The ship was broken up in 1972. [11] Her registry was deleted in 1980. [12] Today her bell is preserved at the Kings County Museum in Kentville.[ citation needed ]

See also

Related Research Articles

HMCS Red Deer was a Bangor-class minesweeper that served in the Royal Canadian Navy during the Second World War. The minesweeper saw action in the Battle of the Atlantic and the Battle of the St. Lawrence. She was named for Red Deer, Alberta. After the war the vessel was briefly reacquired by the Royal Canadian Navy, but was not recommissioned and was sold for scrap and broken up in 1959.

HMCS Stratford was a Bangor-class minesweeper that served in the Royal Canadian Navy during the Second World War. The minesweeper saw action in the Battle of the Atlantic and the Battle of the St. Lawrence. In March 1945 Stratford collided with another ship and was rendered unusable. The minesweeper was broken up in 1946. She was named after the city of Stratford, Ontario.

HMCS <i>Nootka</i> (J35)

HMCS Nootka was a Fundy-class minesweeper that served in the Royal Canadian Navy from 1938–1945. She saw service during the Second World War as a local minesweeper working out of Halifax, Nova Scotia. She was named for Nootka Sound. In 1943 she was renamed HMCS Nanoose to allow the unit name Nootka to be used by the destroyer HMCS Nootka. Following the war the ship was sold for mercantile use, becoming the tugboat Sung Ling. The ship's registry was deleted in 1993.

HMCS Chignecto was a Bangor-class minesweeper that served in the Royal Canadian Navy during the Second World War. She only saw service on the west coast of Canada during the war. She was named for Chignecto Bay. The vessel's fate is unknown.

HMCS <i>Esquimalt</i>

HMCS Esquimalt was a Bangor-class minesweeper that served in the Royal Canadian Navy during the Second World War. She saw service in the Battle of the Atlantic and in the Battle of the St. Lawrence. She was sunk in 1945, the last Canadian warship to suffer that fate. She was named for Esquimalt, British Columbia.

HMCS <i>Sarnia</i>

HMCS Sarnia 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. She was named for Sarnia, Ontario. After the war she was refitted and transferred to the Turkish Naval Forces and renamed Büyükdere. She served with them until 1972.

HMCS <i>Drummondville</i>

HMCS Drummondville was a Bangor-class minesweeper that served with the Royal Canadian Navy during the Second World War. She saw action primarily in the Battle of the Atlantic. Entering service in 1941, she was sold for mercantile service after the war. In 1963, as Fort Albany, the ship was involved in a collision near Sorel, Quebec and sank. The ship was later raised and broken up.

HMCS Brockville was a Bangor-class minesweeper that served with the Royal Canadian Navy during the Second World War. She was used as a convoy escort 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 Macleod. After five years service with them, the ship was reacquired the Royal Canadian Navy and recommissioned. She remained in service until 1958.

HMCS Courtenay was a Bangor-class minesweeper constructed for the Royal Canadian Navy during the Second World War. Entering service in 1942, Courtenay spent the entire war on the West Coast of Canada. The vessel was decommissioned in 1945 and sold for mercantile service in 1946. The fate of the vessel is uncertain.

HMCS <i>Goderich</i>

HMCS Goderich was a Bangor-class minesweeper constructed for the Royal Canadian Navy during the Second World War. Entering service in 1941, Goderich spent the entire war as a local convoy escort based out of Halifax, Nova Scotia. The vessel was decommissioned in 1945 and placed in reserve. Reacquired during the Korean War, the vessel was modernized but never re-entered service and was sold for scrap and broken up in 1959.

HMCS Bellechasse was a Bangor-class minesweeper constructed for the Royal Canadian Navy during the Second World War. The minesweeper entered service in 1941 and spent the entire war on the West Coast of Canada. Sold in 1946 for mercantile conversion, the conversion was not carried out and Bellechasse was broken up for scrap instead.

HMCS <i>Burlington</i>

HMCS Burlington was a Bangor-class minesweeper constructed for the Royal Canadian Navy during the Second World War. The minesweeper entered service in 1941 and took part in the Battle of the Atlantic and the Battle of the St. Lawrence as a convoy escort. The ship was decommissioned in 1945 and sold in 1946. The vessel was broken up for scrap in 1946.

HMCS Outarde was a Bangor-class minesweeper constructed for the Royal Canadian Navy during the Second World War. Entering service in 1941, the ship spent the entire war on the West Coast of Canada. Following the end of the war, the vessel was sold in 1946 for mercantile conversion and renamed Psing Hsin. In 1950 the vessel was sold again and renamed Content and remained in service until broken up for scrap in 1951.

HMCS Bayfield was a Bangor-class minesweeper initially constructed for the Royal Navy during the Second World War. Transferred to the Royal Canadian Navy in 1942, the minesweeper saw service on both the West and East Coasts of Canada as a convoy escort and patrol vessel. In 1944, Bayfield sailed for European waters and took part in the invasion of Normandy. She remained in European waters for the rest of the war and was returned to the United Kingdom in September 1945. The minesweeper was laid up until being discarded for scrap in 1948.

HMCS Canso was a Bangor-class minesweeper initially constructed for the Royal Navy during the Second World War. Transferred to the Royal Canadian Navy in 1942, the minesweeper saw service on both the West and East Coasts of Canada as a convoy escort and patrol vessel. The vessel participated in the invasion of Normandy and spent the final years of the war in European waters. Canso was returned to the Royal Navy following the war and was broken up for scrap in 1948.

HMCS <i>Caraquet</i>

HMCS Caraquet was a Bangor-class minesweeper initially constructed for the Royal Navy during the Second World War. Transferred to the Royal Canadian Navy in 1942, the vessel served on both coasts of Canada and took part in the Battle of the Atlantic as a convoy escort and the invasion of Normandy. Following the war, the minesweeper was returned to the United Kingdom who then sold the ship to the Portuguese Navy in 1946. Renamed Almirante Lacerda, the vessel was used as a survey ship until 1975 when it was discarded.

HMCS Ingonish was a Bangor-class minesweeper initially constructed for the Royal Navy during the Second World War. Loaned to the Royal Canadian Navy in 1942, the vessel served on both coasts of Canada as a convoy escort and patrol vessel. Following the war, the minesweeper was returned to the Royal Navy and laid up. Ingonish was discarded in 1948.

HMCS Lockeport was a Bangor-class minesweeper initially constructed for the Royal Navy during the Second World War. Loaned to the Royal Canadian Navy in 1942, the minesweeper saw service on both coasts of Canada as a patrol vessel and convoy escort. Returned to the Royal Navy in 1945, Lockeport was discarded in 1948.

HMCS Kelowna was a Bangor-class minesweeper constructed for the Royal Canadian Navy during the Second World War. Entering service in 1942, the minesweeper spent the entire war on the West Coast of Canada, mainly as a patrol vessel. Following the war, Kelowna was sold for mercantile conversion. Renamed Hung Hsin and Condor, the final disposition of the vessel is disputed.

HMCS Swift Current was a Bangor-class minesweeper that served with the Royal Canadian Navy during the Second World War. Entering service in 1941, the warship used as a training ship and convoy escort and took part in the battles of the St. Lawrence and the Atlantic. Following the war the ship was laid up until reacquired during the Korean War. Never re-entering service with Canada, Swift Current was sold to the Turkish Navy in 1958. Renamed Bozcaada, the minesweeper was discarded in 1971.

References

Notes

  1. ↑ Kentville served in the Battle of the St. Lawrence, but did not earn a battle honour. [lower-alpha 3]
  2. ↑ "Cwt" is the abbreviation for hundredweight, 20 cwt referring to the weight of the gun.
  3. "Royal Canadian Warships – The Battle of the Gulf of St. Lawrence – Second World War". Veterans Affairs Canada. Archived from the original on 27 September 2013. Retrieved 28 July 2013.

Citations

  1. ↑ "Battle Honours". Britain's Navy. Retrieved 31 May 2014.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Chesneau, p. 64
  3. ↑ Macpherson and Barrie (2002), p. 167
  4. 1 2 Macpherson and Barrie (2002), p. 180
  5. 1 2 Macpherson (1997), p. 70
  6. ↑ Macpherson (1997), p. 58
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 Macpherson and Barrie (2002), p. 191
  8. ↑ Sanford, p. 43
  9. ↑ Helgason, Guðmundur. "HMCS Kentville (J312)". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net. Retrieved 6 August 2016.
  10. ↑ Fisher, Robert C. (2011). "Within Sight of Shore – The Sinking of HMCS Esquimalt". CFB Esquimalt Naval and Military Museum. Archived from the original on 23 November 2013. Retrieved 1 June 2014.
  11. ↑ "Kentville (6113193)" . Miramar Ship Index . Retrieved 6 August 2016.
  12. ↑ Colledge, p. 341

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.