![]() HMCS Orkney | |
History | |
---|---|
![]() | |
Name | Orkney |
Namesake | Orkney, Saskatchewan |
Ordered | June 1942 |
Builder | Yarrows, Esquimalt |
Laid down | 19 May 1943 |
Launched | 18 September 1943 |
Commissioned | 18 April 1944 |
Decommissioned | 22 January 1946 |
Identification | Pennant number:K448 |
Honours and awards | Gulf of St. Lawrence 1944, [1] North Sea 1945 [2] |
Fate | Sold, became Israeli immigrant ship Violetta 1947 |
![]() | |
Name | Mivtakh |
Namesake | "Reliance" |
Acquired | 1952 |
Commissioned | 1952 |
Decommissioned | 1958 |
Identification | Pennant number:K-28 |
Fate | Sold 1959 to Ceylon |
![]() | |
Name | Mahasena |
Namesake | Mahasena of Anuradhapura |
Acquired | 1958 |
Commissioned | 1959 |
Decommissioned | 1964 |
Fate | Sold 1964, broken up in Singapore |
General characteristics | |
Class and type | River-class frigate |
Displacement |
|
Length | |
Beam | 36.5 ft (11.13 m) |
Draught | 9 ft (2.74 m); 13 ft (3.96 m) (deep load) |
Propulsion | 2 x Admiralty 3-drum boilers, 2 shafts, reciprocating vertical triple expansion, 5,500 ihp (4,100 kW) |
Speed |
|
Range | 646 long tons (656 t; 724 short tons) oil fuel; 7,500 nautical miles (13,890 km) at 15 knots (27.8 km/h) |
Complement | 157 |
Armament |
|
HMCS Orkney was a River-class frigate that served with the Royal Canadian Navy as a convoy escort during the Second World War. She was named for Orkney, Saskatchewan. After the war she was purchased and used by the Israeli immigrant movement, then taken over by the nascent Israeli Navy and renamed Mivtah. She was sold by Israel to Ceylon who renamed her Mahasena.
Orkney was ordered in June 1942 as part of the 1942–1943 River-class program. [3] [4] She was laid down on 19 May 1943 by Yarrows Ltd. at Esquimalt and launched 18 September 1943. [4] She was commissioned into the Royal Canadian Navy on 18 April 1944 at Victoria, British Columbia. [3]
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 for 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. [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]
After working up in Bermuda, Orkney returned to Halifax, Nova Scotia and was assigned to escort group EG 16. She was later transferred to escort group EG 25 as Senior Officer's Ship based out of Derry. [3] She served with the unit until 13 February 1945 when she was involved in a collision with the merchant ship SS Blairnevis in the Irish Sea. [4] Orkney suffered severe damage, requiring her grounding to keep her afloat, while Blairnevis sank as a result of the collision. She was taken to Dunstaffnage, Scotland where repairs were affected until mid-April. She was worked up at Tobermory before returning to Canada in late May 1945 to undergo a tropicalization refit at Louisburg, Nova Scotia in preparation for service in the southern Pacific Ocean. The refit was completed 20 October and Orkney performed local duties until being paid off 22 January 1946. She was placed in reserve in Bedford Basin. [3]
In 1947, Orkney was sold for commercial use as an Israeli immigration ship. She was renamed Violetta and was used as such until she was taken over by the Israeli Navy in 1949. [3] She was renamed Mivtah (Hebrew : מִבְטָח, lit. safe haven) with the pennant number K-28. She served with the Israeli Navy until 1958 when she was sold to Ceylon. [7]
Ceylon purchased Mivtakh in 1958 but required that the Israeli Navy send personnel with her to teach the Sri Lanka Navy how to use her. [7] She was commissioned in 1959 under her new name Mahasena. She served until 1964, performing goodwill tours around Southeast Asia, when she was sold and broken up at Singapore. [3]
HMCS Penetang was a River-class frigate that served in the Royal Canadian Navy from 1944 to 1945 during the Second World War. She fought in the Battle of the Atlantic as a convoy escort. She was recommissioned and served as a Prestonian-class frigate from 1954 to 1956. She was named for Penetanguishene, Ontario.
SLNS Gajabahu was a River-class frigate of the Sri Lanka Navy. She has since been converted to a training ship for the Naval & Maritime Academy, Trincomalee. She was originally HMCS Hallowell of the Royal Canadian Navy, built during the Second World War and then saw service as INS Miznak of the Israeli Navy. The Royal Ceylon Navy purchased her in 1958 from Israel.
HMCS Charlottetown was a River-class frigate that served with the Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) during the Second World War. She was the second vessel of the name, HMCS Charlottetown having been a Flower-class corvette that had been sunk earlier in the war. They are unique for being the only two ships to have shared the same pennant number, K 244. She was named for Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island.
HMCS Glace Bay was a River-class frigate built for the Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) in 1943. Commissioned in 1944 she served in the Battle of the Atlantic until the end of the Second World War. After the war, she was sold to the Chilean Navy and renamed Esmeralda.
HMCS Capilano 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 is named for the Capilino River in North Vancouver, British Columbia. The navy intended to name the ship after North Vancouver; however, due to possible confusion with HMCS Vancouver, she was named after the lake.
HMCS Chebogue was a River-class frigate that served with the Royal Canadian Navy during the Second World War. She served primarily as an ocean convoy escort in the Battle of the Atlantic. She was named for Chebogue, Nova Scotia. During the war she was torpedoed and declared a constructive loss.
HMCS Joliette 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 Joliette, Quebec. After the war she was transferred to the Chilean Navy in 1946 and renamed Iquique. She served with the Chilean Navy until 1968.
HMCS LaSalle 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 and in the Battle of the St. Lawrence. She was named for LaSalle, Quebec.
HMCS Lévis 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 St. Lawrence and the Battle of the Atlantic. She was the second ship to bear the name of Lévis, the first being a Flower-class corvette that had been sunk earlier in the war. She was named for Lévis, Quebec.
HMCS Montreal was a River-class frigate that served with the Royal Canadian Navy during the Second World War. She served primarily as an ocean convoy escort in the Battle of the Atlantic. She was named for Montreal, Quebec.
HMCS Port Colborne 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 Port Colborne, Ontario.
HMCS Poundmaker was a River-class frigate that served with the Royal Canadian Navy during the Second World War. It saw action as a convoy escort during the Battle of the Atlantic. She was named for the Poundmaker Cree Nation of Saskatchewan. After the war she was sold to Peru and renamed Teniente Ferré in 1947.
HMCS Runnymede 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 York, Ontario, however due to possible confusion with HMCS West York, her name reflects a connection with that community.
HMCS Sea Cliff 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 Leamington, Ontario, but due to possible confusion with HMS Leamington, she was given a name associated with the town. Following the war, she was sold to the Chilean Navy and renamed Covadonga.
HMCS St. Pierre was a River-class frigate that served with the Royal Canadian Navy during the Second World War. She saw action as a convoy escort during the Battle of the Atlantic. She was named for Havre-Saint-Pierre, Quebec, whose name was shortened due to its length. After the war she was sold to Peru and renamed Teniente Palacios in 1947.
HMCS St. Catharines 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 St. Catharines, Ontario. After the war she was re-purposed as a weather ship for use by the Department of Transport of Canada.
HMCS Stone Town 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 St. Marys, Ontario, however there was already a ship by that name within the Commonwealth navies so they chose the nickname of the town for its representation. After the war she was re-purposed as a weather ship for use by the Department of Transport of Canada.
HMCS Strathadam 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 Strathadam, New Brunswick. After the war she was made part of the nascent Israeli Navy as the renamed Misgav.
HMCS Matane 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 Matane, Quebec.
HMCS Thetford Mines 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 Thetford Mines, Quebec.
Notes
References