Llewellyn-class minesweeper: Difference between revisions

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{{Infobox ship image

|Ship image=Royal Canadian Navy minesweepers Second World War.jpg

|Ship image=

|Ship image size=300px

|Ship caption= The view from HMCS ''Lloyd George'' of HMCS ''Llewellyn'' off [[Halifax, Nova Scotia]] in June 1943.

|Ship caption=

}}

{{Infobox ship class overview

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|Subclasses=

|Built range=

|In commission range=1942–1953

|Total ships planned=10

|Total ships on order=

|Total ships building=

|Total ships completed=10

|Total ships cancelled=

|Total ships active=

|Total ships laid up=

|Total ships lost=6

|Total ships retired=

|Total ships scrapped=

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|Ship sensors=

|Ship EW=

|Ship armament= 2 × twin {{convert|0.5|in|mm|abbr=on|21}} machine guns

|Ship armour=

|Ship notes= Equipped with "Double L" magnetic minesweeping gear

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|}

The '''''Llewellyn''-class minesweepers''' were a series of ten coastal [[minesweeper]]s constructed for the [[Royal Canadian Navy]] during the [[World War II|Second World War]]. Based on the Admiralty type {{sclass2-|MMS|minesweeper|2}}, the ''Llewellyn'' class were constructed of wood and used for the removal of [[Naval mine#Influence mines|magnetic influence mines]]. Two were built in [[Quebec]], with the eight constructed on the [[British Columbia Coast|Western Coast of Canada]]. Mostly used as [[guard ship]]s during the war, only three of the ten remained in Royal Canadian Navy service following the war, with the last two being discarded in 19591957. Following naval service, vessels of the class ended up in commercial service, with some becoming fishing vessels, cargo ships and one a floating restaurant. Six of the ten ships were lost in commercial service.

==Description==

Based on the Admiralty type {{sclass2-|MMS|minesweeper}}s, the ''Llewellyn'' class were built with wooden hulls for deployment against [[Naval mine#Influence mines|magnetic influence mines]] that would detect a steel hull passing nearby and detonate. The minesweepers had a [[Displacement (ship)|standard displacement]] of {{convert|228|LT|t}}.{{sfn|Macpherson|1997|p=102}} They were {{convert|119|ft|4|in|m|1|abbr=on}} [[Length overall|long overall]] and {{convert|105|ft|0|in|m|0|abbr=on}} [[Length between perpendiculars|between perpendiculars]] with a [[Beam (nautical)|beam]] of {{convert|22|ft|0|in|m|1|abbr=on}} and a [[Draft (hull)|draught]] of {{convert|8|ft|8|in|m|1|abbr=on}}.{{sfn|Lenton|Colledge|1968|p=534}}{{sfn|Macpherson|Barrie|2002|p=201}} The ''Llewellyn'' class were powered by a [[diesel engine]] driving one [[propeller]] shaft, rated at {{convert|500|bhp|lk=in|0}}.{{sfn|Lenton|Colledge|1968|p=534}} This gave the minesweepers a maximum speed of {{convert|12|kn|lk=in|0}}.{{sfn|Macpherson|Barrie|2002|p=201}}

The ''Llewellyn'' class were armed with four {{convert|0.5|in|mm|abbr=on|1}} machine guns placed in two twin mounts.{{sfn|Macpherson|Barrie|2002|p=201}} At some point, their armament was changed to one 0.5-inch machine gun placed amidships and twin {{convert|.303|in|mm|1|adj=on}} machine guns on the [[Bridge (nautical)|bridge]] wings.{{sfn|Macpherson|1997|p=102}} The minesweepers were equipped with the "Double L" magnetic minesweeping gear and had a [[Ship's company|complement]] of 23 composed of 3 officers and 20 crew.{{sfn|Macpherson|Barrie|2002|p=201}}

==Ships in class==

{| border="1" class="wikitable collapsible"

! colspan=7| ''Llewellyn'' class construction data{{sfn|Macpherson|1997|pp=103–106}}

|-

! scope="col"| Name

! scope="col"| [[Pennant number|Pennant]]

! scope="col"| Builder

! scope="col"| Launched

! scope="col"| Commissioned

! scope="col"| Decommissioned

! scope="col"| Fate

|-

| scope="row"| ''Llewellyn''

| J278/141

| rowspan="2" |[[Chantier Maritime de St. Laurent]], [[Île d'Orléans]], Quebec

| rowspan="2" |12 August 1942

| rowspan="2" |24 August 1942

| 31 October 1951

| Sold for commercial use, foundered 28 October 1960

|-

| scope="row"| ''Lloyd George''

| J279/142

| 16 July 1948

| Sold for commercial use 14 May 1951, abandoned 1961

|-

| scope="row"| ''Revelstoke''

| J373

| rowspan="2" |[[Star Shipyards]], [[New Westminster]], British Columbia

| 3 November 1943

| 4 July 1944

| 23 October 1953

| Sold 1957, caught fire and sank on 12 October 1979

|-

| scope="row"| ''Cranbrook''

| J372

| 5 June 1943

| 12 May 1944

| 3 November 1945

| Sold November 1947, registry disappeared 1950

|-

| scope="row"| ''Coquitlam''

| J364

| rowspan="2" |[[Newcastle Shipbuilding]], [[Nanaimo]], British Columbia

| 5 January 1944

| 25 July 1944

| 30 November 1945

| Sold October 1946, ran aground 17 June 1954

|-

| scope="row"| ''St. Joseph''

| J359

| 14 September 1943

| 24 May 1944

| 8 November 1945

| Sold for commercial use, registry deleted 1988

|-

| scope="row"| ''Rossland''

| J358

| rowspan="2" |[[Vancouver Shipyards]], [[Vancouver]], British Columbia

| rowspan="2" |14 August 1943

| 15 July 1944

| 1 November 1945

| Sold for commercial use 1946

|-

| scope="row"| ''Daerwood''

| J357

| 22 April 1944

| 28 November 1945

| Sold for commercial use 30 December 1946. Caught fire and sank, 13 October 1973

|-

| scope="row"| ''Lavallee''

| J371

| rowspan="2" |[[A.C. Benson Shipyard]], Vancouver, British Columbia

| 27 May 1943

| 21 June 1944

| 27 December 1945

| Sold 1947, burned and sank on 1 March 1967

|-

| scope="row"| ''Kalamalka''

| J395

| 29 December 1943

| 2 October 1944

| 16 November 1945

| Sold 1946, burned and sank on 18 March 1968

|}

==Service history==

The first two vessels of the class were constructed by Chantier Maritime de St. Laurent at [[IleÎle d'OrleansOrléans]], [[Quebec]]. ''Llewellyn'' and ''Lloyd George'' were both [[Ship commissioning|commissioned]] on 24 August 1942 at [[Quebec City]] and escorted a [[convoy]] from Quebec City to [[Sydney, Nova Scotia]] before arriving at [[Halifax, Nova Scotia]].{{sfn|Macpherson|Barrie|2002|pp=201–202}} Both vessels' names begin with a double "l", a reflection of their minesweeping gear. They would be the only two vessels that carriedbegan thetheir namenames as such, as the eight minesweepers constructed in [[British Columbia]] did not follow this pattern.{{sfn|Macpherson|Barrie|2002|p=201}}

During the Second World War, ''Llewellyn'' and ''Lloyd George'' operated out of Halifax performing sweeps of the approaches to [[Halifax Harbour]].{{sfn|Macpherson|Barrie|2002|p=201}} Following the war, ''Llewellyn'' became the [[guard ship]] for the Royal Canadian Navy [[reserve fleet]] at Halifax. Taken out of service on 14 June 1946. ''Llewellyn'' was recommissioned on 25 July 1949 as [[Ship's tender|tender]] at [[Saint John, New Brunswick]] associated with the [[Canadian Forces Naval Reserve|naval reserve]] division {{HMCS|Scotian}}, primarily used for [[Training ship|training]]. That summer, the ship made a tour of [[Newfoundland (island)|Newfoundland]], after it became the 10th province of Canada.<ref>{{cite magazine|title=Course in Geography |magazine=The Crowsnest |publisher=King's Printer |___location=Ottawa, Ontario |volume=1 |number=12 |date=October 1949 |pages=5}}</ref> ''Llewellyn'' was tender to {{HMCS|Brunswicker}} in 1951.<ref>{{cite magazine|title=HMCS Llewellyn |magazine=The Crowsnest |publisher=King's Printer |date=September 1951 |___location=Ottawa, Ontario |volume=3 |number=11 |pages=23}}</ref> The ship was [[Ship commissioning#Ship decommissioning|decommissioned]] again on 31 October 1951. Sold 1957 for commercial use. Renamed ''Llewellyn II'', the fishing vessel foundered off [[Cape Breton Island]] on 28 October 1960.{{sfn|Macpherson|1997|p=104}} Following war, ''Lloyd George'' was used as a bathythermograph [[survey vessel]] until 16 July 1948 when the ship was decommissioned. ''Lloyd George'' was sold on 14 May 1951 to become a floating restaurant at [[Bridgewater, Nova Scotia]]. The hulk was abandoned ten years later.{{sfn|Macpherson|1997|p=104}}

The British Columbia-built minesweepers all joined the fleet in 1944 and patrolled between [[Esquimalt, British Columbia|Esquimalt]] and [[Prince Rupert, British Columbia]], joining either escort force until the end of 1945. All eight were decommissioned and seven were sold to commercial interests.{{sfn|Macpherson|Barrie|2002|p=201}} The vast majority of them had eventful fates. ''Daerwood'' was sold for commercial use on 30 December 1946. The vessel caught fire and sank at [[Bridgetown, Barbados]] on 13 October 1973. ''Cranbrook'' was purchased by a Nanaimo towing firm in November 1947. In 1950 the vessel's registry disappeared from [[Lloyd's Registry]].{{sfn|Macpherson|1997|p=103}} ''Coquitlam'' was sold in October 1946 and renamed ''Wilcox''. The ship went [[Ship grounding|aground]] on 17 June 1954 on [[Anticosti Island]] and written off. ''Kalamalka'' was sold in 1946 for conversion to a fishing vessel. The ship burned and sank while fishing in [[Wallis Bay]], British Columbia on 18 March 1968. ''Lavallee'' was sold on 13 November 1947 to become fishing vessel of the same name. The ship burned and sank near [[Burgeo, Newfoundland and Labrador]] on 1 March 1967.{{sfn|Macpherson|1997|p=105}} ''Rossland'' was sold to Vancouver towing company in 1946 and renamed ''La Verne''. In 1971, the vessel was resold to a US buyer. ''St. Joseph'' was sold for commercial use and was a Mexican-flagged cargo vessel until the ship's registry was deleted in 1988.{{sfn|Macpherson|1997|p=106}}

''Revelstoke'' was the only British Columbia-built vessel to be kept following the war. ''Revelstoke'' sailed to Halifax and served as tender to [[CFB Halifax#Stadacona|HMCS ''Stadacona'']] and {{HMCS|Cabot}} before being decommissioned for the final time on 23 October 1953.{{sfn|Macpherson|1997|p=105}}<ref>{{cite magazine|title=HMCS Revelstoke |magazine=The Crowsnest |publisher=Queen's Printer |___location=Ottawa, Ontario |date=September 1952 |number=11 |volume=4 |pages=20}}</ref> The vessel was sold in 1957 and renamed ''Shirley Ann'' in 1959. ''Shirley Ann'' caught fire and sank off Newfoundland on 12 October 1979.{{sfn|Macpherson|1997|p=105}}

==Citations==

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==Sources==

* {{cite book |last=Lenton |first=H. T. |last2=Colledge |first2=J. J. |lastauthorampname-list-style=yamp |year=1968 |origyearorig-date=1964 |title=British & Dominion Warships of World War II |publisher=Doubleday and Company |___location=New York |isbn=0-71100-403-X |oclc=1366368 |ref=harv}}

* {{cite book |last=Macpherson |first=Ken |year=1997 |title=Minesweepers of the Royal Canadian Navy 1938–45 |publisher=Vanwell Publishing Limited |___location=St. Catharines, Ontario |isbn=0-920277-55-1 |ref=harv}}

* {{cite book |last=Macpherson |first=Ken |last2=Barrie |first2=Ron |lastauthorampname-list-style=yamp |year=2002 |title=The Ships of Canada's Naval Forces 1910–2002 |edition=Third |publisher=Vanwell Publishing |___location=St. Catharines, Ontario |isbn=1-55125-072-1 |ref=harv}}

[[Category:World War II minesweepers of Canada]]