HMCS Port Hope

History
Canada
Name	Port Hope
Namesake	Port Hope, Ontario
Builder	Davie Shipbuilding, Lauzon
Laid down	9 September 1941
Launched	14 December 1941
Commissioned	30 July 1942
Decommissioned	13 October 1945
Identification	Pennant number: J280
Honours and awards	Atlantic 1943-45,[1] Gulf of St. Lawrence 1942 [2]
Fate	Sold for scrap 1959
General characteristics
Class and type	Bangor-class minesweeper
Displacement	672 long tons (683 t)
Length	180 ft (54.9 m) oa
Beam	28 ft 6 in (8.7 m)
Draught	9 ft 9 in (3.0 m)
Propulsion	2 Admiralty 3-drum water tube boilers, 2 shafts, vertical triple-expansion reciprocating engines, 2,400 ihp (1,790 kW)
Speed	16.5 knots (31 km/h)
Complement	83
Armament	1 × QF 3 in (76 mm) 20 cwt gun 1 x QF 2 pdr Mark VIII 2 × QF 20 mm Oerlikon guns 40 depth charges as escort

HMCS Port Hope (pennant J280) was a Bangor-class minesweeper that served with the Royal Canadian Navy during the Second World War. The minesweeper entered service in 1942 and for the majority of the war, served as a patrol and escort ship along the coasts of the Maritimes and Newfoundland, participating in the Battle of the St. Lawrence. Following the war the vessel was laid up until reacquired by the Royal Canadian Navy during the Korean War. Port Hope never re-entered service and was sold for scrap and broken up in 1959.

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.^[3][4] They came in two versions powered by different engines; those with a diesel engines and those with vertical triple-expansion steam engines.^[3] Port Hope was of the latter design and was larger than her diesel-engined cousins. Port Hope 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).^[3][5] The minesweeper had a displacement of 672 long tons (683 t). She had a complement of 6 officers and 77 enlisted.^[5]

Port Hope 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.^[3]

Port Hope was armed with a single quick-firing (QF) 3-inch (76 mm) 20 cwt gun mounted forward.^[3][6][a] The ship was 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.^[7] Those ships assigned to convoy duty had two depth charge launchers and four chutes to deploy the 40 depth charges they carried.^[3][6] Port Hope was equipped with LL and SA minesweeping gear to clear both magnetic and acoustic naval mines.^[6]

Operational history

The minesweeper was ordered as part of the 1941–1942 construction programme.^[6] The ship's keel was laid down on 9 September 1941 by Davie Shipbuilding at their yard in Lauzon, Quebec. Named for a community in Ontario, Port Hope was launched on 14 December 1941. The ship was commissioned on 30 July 1942 at Toronto.^[8]

After work ups, the minesweeper joined Halifax Force, the local patrol and escort unit based in Halifax, Nova Scotia. In May 1943, Port Hope transferred to the Gaspé Force and took part in the Battle of the Saint Lawrence, remaining with the unit until November. That month, the ship returned to Halifax Force. In January 1944, the minesweeper was assigned to Newfoundland Force, the patrol and escort force operating out of St. John's, Newfoundland. In October 1944, Port Hope sailed to Saint John, New Brunswick to begin a refit that would be finished at Halifax. The vessel returned to service in April 1945, rejoining Halifax Force and remained with the unit until October.^[8]

On 13 October 1945, Port Hope was paid off at Sydney, Nova Scotia and laid up in strategic reserve at Sorel, Quebec. The ship was reacquired in 1952 by the Royal Canadian Navy during the height of the Korean War and given the new hull number FSE 183 and re-designated a coastal escort.^[8][9] However, the ship never re-entered service with the Royal Canadian Navy and remained laid up until 1959.^[8] Port Hope was sold to Marine Industries in February 1959 and broken up for scrap at Sorel.^[10][11]

References

Notes

1. "Cwt" is the abbreviation for hundredweight, 20 cwt referring to the weight of the gun.

Citations

1. "Battle Honours". Britain's Navy. Retrieved 25 January 2019.
2. "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 25 January 2019.
3. Chesneau, p. 64
4. Macpherson and Barrie (2002), p. 167
5. Macpherson and Barrie (2002), p. 180
6. Macpherson (1997), p. 70
7. Macpherson (1997), p. 58
8. Macpherson and Barrie (2002), p. 193
9. Blackman, p. 99
10. Colledge, p. 493
11. "Port Hope (6113991)". Miramar Ship Index. Retrieved 12 November 2016.

Sources

• Blackman, Raymond V.B., ed. (1953). Jane's Fighting Ships 1953–54. London: Sampson Low, Marston & Co. Ltd. OCLC 913556389.
• 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.
• Macpherson, Ken (1997). Minesweepers of the Royal Canadian Navy 1938–1945. St. Catharines, Ontario: Vanwell Publishing Limited. ISBN 0-920277-55-1.
• 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.

External links

• "Bangor Class". Canadian Navy of Yesterday and Today. Hazegray.org.