HMCS Oriole
 HMCS Oriole in July 2011 | |
| History | |
|---|---|
  Canada
| |
| Name: | Oriole |
| Namesake: | Oriole, Oriolus aurum |
| Operator: | Royal Canadian Navy |
| Builder: | George Lawley & Son |
| Laid down: | Early 1921 |
| Launched: | 4 June 1921 |
| Commissioned: | 19 June 1952 |
| Homeport: | CFB Esquimalt. |
| Identification: | YAC 3 |
| Honours and awards: | Dunkirk, 1940[1] |
| Status: | in active service |
| Badge: |
 |
| General characteristics [2][3] | |
| Type: | Sail training ketch |
| Displacement: | 92 tonnes |
| Length: | 102 ft (31 m) |
| Beam: | 19 ft (5.8 m) |
| Height: | 94 ft (29 m) |
| Draught: | 9 ft (2.7 m) |
| Installed power: | Auxiliary engine 165 hp (123 kW) Cummins diesel, 1 shaft |
| Propulsion: | 15,700 sq ft (1,460 m2) of sail |
| Sail plan: | Marconi rig |
| Speed: | 8 knots (15 km/h) |
| Complement: | 1 senior officer, 2 senior petty officers (POs), 2 junior POs. 16 supernumary junior officers and POs. |
| Notes: | Current Commanding Officer: LCdr Mike Wills |
HMCS Oriole is the sail training vessel of the Royal Canadian Navy based at CFB Esquimalt in Victoria, British Columbia. She is a 31 metres (101 ft 8 in) sailing ketch, currently the oldest commissioned vessel in the Royal Canadian Navy, and also the longest serving commissioned ship.[3]
History
Oriole was originally laid down as Oriole IV, the successor in a line of vessels named Oriole that were in service as the flagships for the Royal Canadian Yacht Club of Toronto, Ontario. Work was stopped on her construction due to a strike, but the vessel was taken to Neponset, Massachusetts where she was completed. The ship was launched in June 1921.[3]
During the Second World War she was chartered by the Royal Canadian Navy as a training vessel. Following the war the ship was returned to the Navy League, she was again chartered by the Navy as a new recruit training vessel in 1950.[3] Oriole IV subsequently moved to Halifax, Nova Scotia, in 1951. She was officially commissioned HMCS Oriole 19 June 1952, and two years later the navy moved her to CFB Esquimalt to become a training vessel to the Naval Officer Training Centre. In 1956 she was purchased outright and attached to HMCS Venture at Esquimalt.[3]
Current status
Oriole provides sail training to junior officers and non-commissioned officers as part of their introduction to life at sea. She also provides a venue for teamwork exercises and adventure training available to all of the Canadian Forces. She participates in many events, races and public relation day sails in support of local charities.
Images
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Ship's badge of HMCS Oriole
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Ship's reference plaque
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Arriving in Portland, Oregon, for the 2013 Rose Festival
See also
References
Notes
Sources
- Arbuckle, J. Graeme (1987). Badges of the Canadian Navy. Halifax, Nova Scotia: Nimbus Publishing. ISBN 0-920852-49-1.
- Macpherson, Ken; Barrie, Ron (2002). The ships of Canada's naval forces 1910-2002 (3 ed.). St. Catharines, Ontario: Vanwell. ISBN 1-55125-072-1.
- Saunders, Stephen, ed. (2004). Jane's Fighting Ships 2004-05. Jane's Information Group. ISBN 0-7106-2623-1.
External links
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Media related to Oriole (ship, 1921) at Wikimedia Commons - Canadian Navy HMCS Oriole
- Lookout Newspaper
- ReadyAyeReady.com