HMCS Comox (J64)
 | |
| History | |
|---|---|
 Canada
| |
| Name: | Comox |
| Namesake: | Comox Harbour |
| Ordered: | 23 August 1937 |
| Builder: | Burrard Dry Dock Co. Ltd., Vancouver |
| Yard number: | 117 |
| Laid down: | 5 February 1938 |
| Launched: | 9 August 1938 |
| Commissioned: | 23 November 1938 |
| Decommissioned: | 27 July 1945 |
| Identification: | pennant number: J64 |
| Fate: | Sold for mercantile service 1946. |
| Renamed: | Sung Ming |
| Owner: | Ming Sung Industrial Co Ltd |
| Acquired: | 1946 |
| Identification: | IMO:5344841 |
| Fate: | Deleted 1993 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type: | Fundy-class minesweeper |
| Displacement: | 460 long tons (470 t; 520 short tons) |
| Length: | 163 ft (49.7 m) |
| Beam: | 27.5 ft (8.4 m) |
| Draught: | 14.5 ft (4.4 m) |
| Speed: | 12.5 knots (23.2 km/h) |
| Complement: | 38 |
| Armament: | 1 × 12-pounder |
HMCS Comox was a Fundy-class minesweeper that served in the Royal Canadian Navy from 1938–1945. She served during the Second World War as a local patrol craft for Esquimalt, British Columbia before transferring to Halifax, Nova Scotia performing general minesweeping duties. After the war she sold for mercantile service and converted to a tugboat named Sung Ming. The ship was deleted in 1993.
Design and description
The vessels, based on the British Basset-class trawlers but with extra strengthening for ice conditions,[1][2] displaced 460 long tons (470 t; 520 short tons). They were 163 ft (49.7 m) long, with a beam of 27.5 ft (8.4 m) and a draught of 14.5 ft (4.4 m). They had a complement of 38 officers and ratings.[3]
The Fundy class was powered by a one-cylinder vertical triple expansion engine driving one shaft creating 850–950 indicated horsepower (630–710 kW),[2] giving the vessels a top speed of 12 knots (22 km/h; 14 mph).[3] The ships were capable of carrying between 180 and 196 tons of coal.[2]
The ships were armed with one QF 4-inch (102 mm) Mk IV gun mounted forward on a raised platform.[4][2][note 1] They were later equipped with 25 depth charges.[2]
Service history
Comox was ordered on 23 August 1937.[5] She was laid down on 5 February 1938 by Burrard Dry Dock Co. Ltd. at Vancouver, British Columbia with the yard number 117 and launched on 9 August later that year.[6] She was commissioned into the Royal Canadian Navy on 23 November 1938.[3]
Comox was initially assigned to the west coast.[7] At the onset of the Second World War, she remained at Esquimalt carrying out local patrol duties. In March 1940, she and her sister ship HMCS Nootka were reassigned to the east coast. Arriving in April 1940 she spent the rest of the war performing minesweeping duties for Halifax Harbour.[3] Along with her sister ship, HMCS Fundy, she rescued survivors of the torpedoed Liberty ship SS Martin Van Buren on 15 January 1945.[5][3]
Comox was paid off on 27 July 1945. She was sold in 1946 for commercial service to Ming Sung Industrial Co Ltd and converted to the tugboat Sung Ming.[6][3] The ship was deleted in 1993.[6]
References
Notes
- ↑ Macpherson and Barrie on page 32 state that the ships were equipped with one QF 12-pounder 12 cwt naval gun.
Citations
- ↑ Macpherson and Barrie, p. 167
- 1 2 3 4 5 Chesneau, p. 65
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 Macpherson and Barrie, p. 32
- ↑ McClearn, Sandy (2006). "Canadian Navy Gun Systems". hazegray.org. Retrieved 27 May 2014.
- 1 2 "HMCS Comox (J64)". uboat.net. Retrieved 29 May 2014.
- 1 2 3 "Comox (5344841)". Miramar Ship Index. Retrieved 30 April 2016. (subscription required (help)).
- ↑ "Minesweepers", Canadian Naval Heritage Website
Sources
- Chesneau, Roger, ed. (1980). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1922–1946. Greenwich, UK: Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 0-85177-146-7.
- Macpherson, Ken; Barrie, Ron (2002). Warships of Canada's Naval Forces 1910-2002. St. Catharines: Vanwell Publishing Limtied. p. 32. ISBN 1-55125-072-1.
External links
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