HMCS Kamloops

HMCS Kamloops was a Flower-class corvette that served in the Royal Canadian Navy during the Second World War. She served primarily in the Battle of the Atlantic as an ocean escort. She was named for Kamloops, British Columbia.

HMCS Kamloops as a training ship, circa 1942.
History
Canada
NameKamloops
NamesakeKamloops, British Columbia
Ordered14 February 1940
BuilderVictoria Machinery Depot Co. Ltd., Victoria, British Columbia
Laid down29 April 1940
Launched7 August 1940
Commissioned17 March 1941
Decommissioned27 June 1945
IdentificationPennant number: K176
Honours and
awards		Atlantic 1941/43-45;[1] Gulf of St. Lawrence 1942[2]
FateSold on 19 October 1945 for scrapping
General characteristics
Class and typeFlower-class corvette (original)[3]
Displacement925 long tons (940 t; 1,036 short tons)
Length205 ft (62.48 m)o/a
Beam33 ft (10.06 m)
Draught11.5 ft (3.51 m)
Propulsion
  • single shaft
  • 2 × fire tube Scotch boilers
  • 1 × 4-cycle triple-expansion reciprocating steam engine
  • 2,750 ihp (2,050 kW)
Speed16 knots (29.6 km/h)
Range3,500 nautical miles (6,482 km) at 12 knots (22.2 km/h)
Complement85
Sensors and
processing systems
  • 1 × SW1C or 2C radar
  • 1 × Type 123A or Type 127DV sonar
Armament

Background
Main article: Flower-class corvette

Flower-class corvettes like Kamloops serving with the Royal Canadian Navy during the Second World War were different from earlier and more traditional sail-driven corvettes.[4][5][6] The "corvette" designation was created by the French as a class of small warships; the Royal Navy borrowed the term for a period but discontinued its use in 1877.[7] During the hurried preparations for war in the late 1930s, Winston Churchill reactivated the corvette class, needing a name for smaller ships used in an escort capacity, in this case based on a whaling ship design.[8] The generic name "flower" was used to designate the class of these ships, which – in the Royal Navy – were named after flowering plants.[9]

Corvettes commissioned by the Royal Canadian Navy during the Second World War were named after communities for the most part, to better represent the people who took part in building them. This idea was put forth by Admiral Percy W. Nelles. Sponsors were commonly associated with the community for which the ship was named. Royal Navy corvettes were designed as open sea escorts, while Canadian corvettes were developed for coastal auxiliary roles which was exemplified by their minesweeping gear. Eventually the Canadian corvettes would be modified to allow them to perform better on the open seas.[10]

Construction

Originally named Jasper for Jasper, Alberta, she was ordered on 14 February 1940 as part of the 1939-1940 Flower-class building program.[10] She was laid down on 29 April 1940 by Victoria Machinery Depot Co. Ltd. at Victoria, British Columbia and launched 7 August later that year.[11] Before commissioning, her name was changed to Kamloops due to a name conflict with Royal Navy vessel and she was commissioned as such into the Royal Canadian Navy on 17 March 1941 at Victoria.[10][12] Kamloops had two major refits during her career. The first took place at Liverpool, Nova Scotia beginning in February 1943 and took three months to complete. The second refit began mid-December 1943 and was completed in April 1944. The refit took place at Charlottetown during which her fo'c'sle was extended.[13]

War duty
HMCS Kamloops with diffused lighting camouflage fittings on struts around the funnel

Kamloops arrived in Halifax in June 1941. She was assigned to Halifax Force and spent the rest of the year as a local escort.[13] In September 1941, she took part in the Canadian Navy's secret trials of diffused lighting camouflage, a technology for concealing ships from submarines at night.[14] In January 1942 she began use as an anti-submarine training ship in Halifax and Pictou, which lasted until January 1943 before heading off for refit.[13]

After the refit, Kamloops joined Western Local Escort Force (WLEF) in March 1943 for a brief period before transferring Mid-Ocean Escort Force (MOEF) escort group C-2 in June. She remained with this group until the end of the war. During her service with C-2, Kamloops took part in the severe convoy battle for ONS 18/ON 202, which lost six merchant ships and three escorts.[13]

At the end of the war, Kamloops was paid off on 27 June 1945 at Sorel, Quebec. She was sold for scrap later that year on 19 October and broken up at Amherstburg, Ontario.[11][13][15]

References
  1. "Battle Honours". Britain's Navy. Retrieved 10 August 2013.
  2. "Royal Canadian Warships - The Battle of the Gulf of St. Lawrence - Second World War". Veterans Affairs Canada. Retrieved 10 August 2013.
  3. Lenton, H.T.; Colledge, J.J (1968). British and Dominion Warships of World War II. Doubleday & Company. pp. 201, 212.
  4. Ossian, Robert. "Complete List of Sailing Vessels". The Pirate King. Retrieved 13 April 2011.
  5. Fitzsimons, Bernard, ed. (1978). The Illustrated Encyclopedia of 20th Century Weapons & Warfare. Vol. 11. London: Phoebus. pp. 1137–1142.
  6. Jane's Fighting Ships of World War II. New Jersey: Random House. 1996. p. 68. ISBN 0-517-67963-9.
  7. Blake, Nicholas; Lawrence, Richard (2005). The Illustrated Companion to Nelson's Navy. Stackpole Books. pp. 39–63. ISBN 0-8117-3275-4.
  8. Chesneau, Roger; Gardiner, Robert (June 1980). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1922-1946. Naval Institute Press. p. 62. ISBN 0-87021-913-8.
  9. Milner, Marc (1985). North Atlantic Run. Naval Institute Press. pp. 117–119, 142–145, 158, 175–176, 226, 235, 285–291. ISBN 0-87021-450-0.
  10. Macpherson, Ken; Milner, Marc (1993). Corvettes of the Royal Canadian Navy 1939-1945. St. Catharines: Vanwell Publishing. ISBN 1-55125-052-7.
  11. "HMCS Kamloops (K 176)". Uboat.net. Retrieved 28 July 2013.
  12. "Canadian Navy: Canadian Naval Centennial – Background Information". Navy.forces.gc.ca. 7 March 2011. Archived from the original on 19 March 2012. Retrieved 27 April 2012.
  13. Macpherson, Ken; Burgess, John (1981). The ships of Canada's naval forces 1910-1981 : a complete pictorial history of Canadian warships. Toronto: Collins. p. 77. ISBN 0-00216-856-1.
  14. "Naval Museum of Quebec". Diffused Lighting and its use in the Chaleur Bay. Royal Canadian Navy. Retrieved 19 January 2012.
  15. "Kamloops (6111907)". Miramar Ship Index. Retrieved 13 July 2016.
  • Hazegray. "Flower Class". Canadian Navy of Yesterday and Today. Retrieved 10 August 2013.
  • Ready, Aye, Ready. "HMCS Kamloops". Retrieved 10 August 2013.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
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