NAVYPEDIA

Ships

Name	No	Yard No	Builder	Laid down	Launched	Comp	Fate	Modification
Bowmanville			Redfern, Toronto	8/1943	24.11.1943	7.1944 // ---	completed for UK (Coquette)	RN, Canadian-built
Arnprior			Redfern, Toronto	9/1943	22.12.1943	9.1944 // ---	completed for UK (Courier)	RN, Canadian-built
Coppercliff			Redfern, Toronto	9/1943	19.1.1944	8.1944 // ---	completed for UK (Felicity)	RN, Canadian-built
Tillsonburg			Redfern, Toronto	10.1943	16.2.1944	10/1944 // ---	completed for UK (Flying Fish)	RN, Canadian-built
Humberstone			Redfern, Toronto	8/1943	29.2.1944	9.1944 // ---	completed for UK (Golden Fleece)	RN, Canadian-built
Petrolia			Redfern, Toronto	11/1943	15.3.1944	12.1944 // ---	completed for UK (Lioness)	RN, Canadian-built
Hespeler			Port Arthur SY	6/1943	11.11.1943	11.1944 // ---	completed for UK (Lysander)	RN, Canadian-built
Kincardine			Port Arthur SY	8/1943	9.5.1945	5.1945 // ---	completed for UK (Mariner)	RN, Canadian-built
Orangeville			Port Arthur SY	8/1943	15.6.1944	6.1945 // ---	completed for UK (Marmion)	RN, Canadian-built
Toronto			Redfern, Toronto	2/1943	5.8.1943	4.1945 // ---	completed for UK (Mary Rose)	RN, Canadian-built
Mimico			Redfern, Toronto	3/1943	2.9.1943	7.1944 // ---	completed for UK (Moon)	RN, Canadian-built
Huntsville			Redfern, Toronto	11/1943	30.3.1944	9.1944 // ---	completed for UK (Prompt)	RN, Canadian-built
Forrest Hill			Redfern, Toronto	7/1943	27.10.1943	5.1944 // ---	completed for UK (Providence)	RN, Canadian-built
Longbranch			Toronto SB	4/1943	18.9.1943	5.1944 // ---	completed for UK (Regulus)	RN, Canadian-built
St. Thomas			Redfern, Toronto	7/1943	6.11.1943	6.1944 // ---	completed for UK (Seabear)	RN, Canadian-built
Leaside			Redfern, Toronto	7/1943	18.10.1943	9.1944 // ---	completed for UK (Serene)	RN, Canadian-built
Solebay			Redfern, Toronto	11.1942	4.7.1943	4.1944 // ---	completed for UK (Skipjack)	RN, Canadian-built
Border Cities	J344		Port Arthur SY	8.1942	3.5.1943	5.1944	sold 1949	RCN
Fort Francis	J396, 1950- FSE168		Port Arthur SY	5.1943	30.10.1943	10.1944	survey vessel 1948	RCN
Kapuskasing	J326, 1950- FSE169		Port Arthur SY	12.1942	22.7.1943	8.1944	survey vessel 1959	RCN
Middlesex	J328		Port Arthur SY	9.1942	27.5.1943	6.1944	rescue ship 1946	RCN
New Liskeard	J397, 1950- FSE170		Port Arthur SY	8.1943	31.1.1944	11.1944	TS 1948, survey vessel 1959	RCN
Oshawa	J330, 1950- FSE171		Port Arthur SY	10.1942	6.10.1943	7.1944	survey vessel 1958	RCN
Portage	J331, 1950- FSE172		Port Arthur SY	5.1942	21.11.1942	10.1943	TS 1947, sold 1958	RCN
Rockcliff	J355, 1950- FSE173		Port Arthur SY	12.1942	19.8.1943	9.1944	TS 1947, sold 1950	RCN
St. Boniface	J332		Port Arthur SY	5.1942	5.11.1942	10.1943	sold 1946	RCN
Sault Ste. Marie (ex-The Soo)	J334, 1950- FSE174		Port Arthur SY	1.1942	5.8.1942	6.1943	TS 1949, sold 1959	RCN
Wallaceburg	J336, 1950- FSE175		Port Arthur SY	7.1942	17.12.1942	11.1943	TS 1950, to Belgium 1959 (Georges Lecointe)	RCN
Winnipeg	J337, 1950- FSE176		Port Arthur SY	1.1942	19.9.1942	7.1943	to Belgium 1959 (A. F. Dufour)	RCN

Technical data

Displacement standard, t	950 - 1030
Displacement full, t	1235 - 1325
Length, m	68.6
Breadth, m	10.8
Draught, m	3.10 - 3.28 deep load (3.84 - 3.99 by screws)
No of shafts	2
Machinery	2 VTE, 2 Admiralty 3-drum boilers
Power, h. p.	2400
Max speed, kts	16.5
Fuel, t	oil 230 - 239
Endurance, nm(kts)	6000(12)
Armament	1 x 1 - 102/45 QF Mk V, 4 x 1 - 20/70 Oerlikon Mk II/IV or 4 x 2 - 20/70 Oerlikon Mk II/IV (more often), 4 DCT, 2 DCR (90 - 92)
Electronic equipment	type 271 or type 272, type 291 (some) radars, type 128 sonar
Complement	85 - 138

Standard scale images

Project history

After ordering of small minesweepers of Bangor class, Admiralty returned to the ship of the big sizes close to Halcyon class, but with smaller slenderness of the hull (L/B ratio was 6.4 against 7.3). On request of the Admiralty, new minesweepers should, besides the developed minesweeping equipment (sweeps for acoustic, magnetic and contact mines) to carry strong enough anti-submarine armaments. Actually, Algerine class could solve the same tasks, as Flower class corvette, and in days of war minesweepers of this class very often attracted for escort service performance. However such universality has been bought in literal sense by expensive price: the building of one Algerine class minesweeper managed more expensively, than two corvettes of Flower class. Nevertheless, in Canadian Navy they fulfilled a role of escort ships and did not carry the minesweeping equipment. On usual practice, the ships had machinery as with geared turbines (are known as Algerine type 1940), and with vertical triple expansion steam engine (Algerine type 1941).

In total 48 ships were built on British yards (29 with turbines and 19 with VTE). The order for 4 ships with turbines and on 5 with VTE have been cancelled. From 62 ships built on Canadian yards, 19 were ordered by RN, 15 intended for the USN on "reverse" lend-lease (in the end of 1943 of the USA, already satisfied the "minesweeping" hunger, cancelled an order on 6 of them, eventually "cancelled" and "ordered" have got to RN). From 28 ships intended for Canadian fleet under the agreement between the governments of England and Canada 16 are transferred to Royal Navy in exchange for 4 corvettes of Flower class and 12 of Castle class. The order for 6 ships for Canadians was cancelled.

Modernizations

None.

Naval service

RCN ships are used as escorts only and reclassified to coastal escorts in 1953.

© Ivan Gogin, 2015