Llewellyn-class minesweeper: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 05:15, 20 October 2020

Revision as of 09:34, 8 December 2020

Line 147:

The first two vessels of the class were constructed at [[Île d'Orléans]], [[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 began their names 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}}