HMCS Canada

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HMCS Canada was a commissioned patrol boat of the Royal Canadian Navy and was one of the very first ships of the Royal Canadian Navy. She played an important role in training the first officers for the R.C.N. This occurred before and during World War I. The vessel was originally built as the man-of-war C.G.S. (Canadian Government Ship) Canada in 1904 by Vickers Armstrong. Canada was later refitted and pressed into service at the beginning of World War I as part of the newly created Royal Canadian Navy.

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[edit] First role

Originally, C.G.S. Canada was equipped with 4 Maxim guns, and was the flagship of the Canadian Fisheries Protection Service. With her top speed of 22 knots she was the fastest ship in the squadron and detained numerous vessels illegally fishing in Canadian territorial waters. She was equipped with what was then the smallest Marconi wireless telegraph in the world. Later, she was the first ship to train fishermen to become members of Canada's Naval Militia, before the existence of a Canadian naval service. After each training cruise, she was recrewed with fresh trainees while the trained crew moved on to other vessels to spread and share their experience.

In 1910, the Canadian Government established a Department of Naval Services and made provisions for the Canadian Naval Force. In 1911, King George V gave permission for the designation Royal Canadian Navy or RCN. The new RCN had no academy for training officers, so C.G.S. Canada was once again used as a primary training vessel.

[edit] Naval duties

When World War I began, C.G.S. Canada was officially transferred to the RCN and in 1915 was commissioned HMCS Canada. She was refitted to raise her forecastle and the Maxim guns were replaced with two 12-pounder and two 3-pounder guns.

In 1917 she was one of the ships at the dockyard anchorage during the Halifax Explosion. She suffered minor damage and one crew member was seriously injured. The crew was sent ashore to lend assistance to the shattered city.

After the conclusion of the war, in November of 1919, HMCS Canada was decommissioned and removed her pennant. Canada was returned to her former duties patrolling the fisheries. She fulfilled this role for only one more year.

[edit] Queen of Nassau

In 1920, Canada was offered for sale at a price of $25000. When no one purchased her, she was laid-up in port. After 4 years of neglect she was sold to U.S. based company, and then resold to Florida real estate entrepreneur Barron Gift Collier, Sr. Collier renamed her Queen of Nassau and pressed her into service shuttling passengers between Miami, Florida and Nassau, Bahamas. Unfortunately, this was a service for which she was poorly equipped, lacking comfortable overnight accommodations for the island cruise. Passengers rapidly lost interest in the service and once again the ship sat idle and rusting, this time for 18 months in the Bay of Biscayne.

Collier announced some Mexican investors were interested in purchasing the ship for service in the Gulf of Mexico in June 1926. The ship was to be sailed to Tampa, Florida for a final inspection before the sale but unfortunately, after years of deterioration, she was not up to the task. She left port on June 30, 1926. After stopping twice due to problems with her boilers, she began taking on water on July 2, 1926. At first her three pumps were enough to keep her afloat but when flooding reached her engine room, the boilers cooled and then failed, leaving no power for the pumps. The 18-person crew abandoned ship and shortly after 7:00 pm the former HMCS Canada slipped below the waves stern-first to a watery grave in 35 fathoms of water off Islamorada.

[edit] Specifications

  • Launched: 1904
  • Commissioned: 1915
  • Paid Off: 1919
  • Displacement: 557 tonnes (during RCN service as HMCS Canada)
  • Length: Originally 200 feet (206 feet during RCN service )
  • Width: 25 feet
  • Draught: 13 feet
  • Top Speed: 22 knot's
  • Crew: 60
  • Armament: 4 X Maxim guns
  • Armament(after refit for RCN service): 2 X 12pounder (Naval gun capable of firing a 12 pound shot),and 2 X 3pounder (Naval gun capable of firing a 3 pound shot)

[edit] References

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