HMCS Nipigon (J154)

For other ships of the same name, see HMCS Nipigon.
History
Canada
Name: Nipigon
Namesake: Township of Nipigon
Operator: Royal Canadian Navy
Builder: Dufferin Shipbuilding Co., Toronto
Laid down: 4 July 1940
Launched: 1 October 1940
Commissioned: 8 November 1941
Decommissioned: 13 October 1945
Identification: pennant number: J154; 188 (1952)
Honours and
awards:		 Atlantic 1941-45,[1] Gulf of St. Lawrence 1942, 1944[2]
Fate: Sold to Turkey, 1957
Turkey
Name: Bafra
Operator: Turkish Naval Forces
Acquired: 29 November 1957
Commissioned: 13 January 1958
Out of service: 1972
Identification: P-121
Fate: Registry deleted 1972
General characteristics
Class and type: Bangor-class minesweeper
Displacement: 672 tons
Length: 180 ft (55 m)
Beam: 28.5 ft (8.7 m)
Draught: 8.3 ft (2.5 m)
Propulsion: Single shaft, 2 Admiralty 3-drum boilers, 2 triple expansion steam engines, 2,400 ihp.
Speed: 16.5 knots (30.6 km/h; 19.0 mph)
Complement: 83
Armament:
  • 1 × QF 12-pounder (3 inch (76 mm)) gun
  • 1 × QF 2-pounder (40 mm) guns
  • 2 × QF 20 mm Oerlikon guns
  • 2 × Mk.II DC throwers, 4 × DC rails, 40 depth charges

HMCS Nipigon 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 Nipigon, Ontario. After the war she was sold to Turkey and renamed Bafra. She served as such from 1957 until 1972.

Nipigon was ordered as part of the 1939-1940 building programme.[3] She was laid down on 4 July 1940 by Dufferin Shipbuilding Co. at Toronto and was launched 1 October later that year.[4] She was commissioned into the Royal Canadian Navy on 11 August 1941 at Toronto with the pennant J154.[5]

War service

After commissioning, Nipigon was assigned to Sydney Force beginning in October 1941. She remained with this unit until 17 January 1942. She then spent periods of service with the Western Local Escort Force (WLEF), Halifax Force and Newfoundland Force. In June 1943, when WLEF divided its escorts into groups, the ship was assigned to EG W-1 as a convoy escort.[5]

In early 1944, Nipigon underwent a refit, beginning at Lunenburg and completed at Liverpool. After completing workups, she was assigned to Halifax Force again until it was disbanded in 1945. She then performed various duties along the Atlantic coast until paid off at Sydney on 13 October 1945.[5] She was laid up at Shelburne, Nova Scotia.

Postwar service

Following the war, Nipigon was placed in strategic reserve at Sorel, Quebec in 1946. She was reacquired by the Royal Canadian Navy in 1952 and refitted in preparation for active duty. She was given the new pennant number 188, however she was never recommissioned.[5] She was sold to the Turkish Naval Forces on 29 November 1957 and renamed Bafra.[5][4] She served until 1972 when her registry was deleted.[6]

See also

References

Notes
  1. ↑ "Battle Honours". Britain's Navy. Retrieved 18 September 2013.
  2. ↑ "Battle Honours 2". Veterans Affairs Canada. Retrieved 18 September 2013.
  3. ↑ McClearn, Sandy (2007). "Bangor Class". hazegray.org. Retrieved 31 May 2014.
  4. 1 2 "HMCS Nipigon (J154)". uboat.net. Retrieved 1 June 2014.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 Macpherson, Ken; Barrie, Ron (2002). The Ships of Canada's Naval Forces, 1910-2002 (3 ed.). St. Catharines: Vanwell Publishing Limited. p. 173. ISBN 1551250721.
  6. ↑ 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. OCLC 67375475.
Sources


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