HMCS Cape Breton (ARE 100)
 HMS Flamborough Head underway in coastal waters. | |
| Career (United Kingdom) |  |
|---|---|
| Name: | Flamborough Head |
| Builder: | Burrard Dry Dock, Vancouver |
| Laid down: | 5 July 1944 |
| Launched: | 7 October 1944 |
| Out of service: | 1952 |
| Fate: | Sold to Canadian Government, 1952 |
| Career (Canada) |  |
| Name: | Cape Breton |
| Namesake: | Cape Breton |
| Acquired: | 31 January 1953 |
| Commissioned: | 16 November 1959 |
| Decommissioned: | 10 February 1964 |
| Fate: | Sunk as artificial reef, 20 October 2001, near Nanaimo, Vancouver Island |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type: | Cape-class maintenance ship |
| Displacement: | 8,580 long tons (8,718 t) |
| Length: | 134.7 m (441 ft 11 in) |
| Beam: | 17.4 m (57 ft 1 in) |
| Draught: | 6.1 m (20 ft) |
| Propulsion: | Oil-fired triple expansion steam engines, 2 boilers, 1 shaft, 2,500 hp (1,864 kW) |
| Speed: | 11 knots (20 km/h; 13 mph) |
| Complement: | 270 |
| Armament: | 16 × 20 mm guns |
| Aircraft carried: | can handle Sikorsky HO4S |
| Aviation facilities: | helicopter pad |
HMCS Cape Breton was a Royal Canadian Navy Cape-class maintenance ship. Originally built for the Royal Navy as HMS Flamborough Head in 1944 she was transferred in 1952. Upon her commissioning she was the second ship to bear the name Cape Breton.
Construction
Flamborough Head (pennant F88) was one of the 21 Beachy Head-class repair ships built for the Royal Navy.[1] She was laid down 5 July 1944 by Burrard Dry Dock in Vancouver, British Columbia and launched on 7 October 1944.[2]
Royal Canadian Navy
Flamborough Head was transferred to the Royal Canadian Navy in 1952 and renamed Cape Breton and served until 1975. The vessel was used as a floating machine shop until the late 1990s. Except for a short section of the stern and her engines, which may eventually go on display in North Vancouver, the ship was sunk in the waters of British Columbia in 2001 by the Artificial Reef Society of British Columbia after extensive cleaning to meet Environment Canada requirements.
The ship now lies near Snake Island in Nanaimo harbour and is a popular scuba diving site.
Canadian Forces Maritime Command
Fleet Maintenance Facility Cape Breton was formed in 1996 at CFB Esquimalt from the amalgamation of three shore-based units: Ship Repair Unit (Pacific), Naval Engineering Unit (Pacific), and Fleet Maintenance Group (Pacific). Fleet Maintenance Facility Cape Breton took its name from HMCS Cape Breton.
Ship's bell
The Christening Bells Project at Canadian Forces Base Esquimalt Naval and Military Museum includes information from the ship's bell of HMCS Cape Breton (2nd) 1959–1993, which was used for baptism of babies onboard ship 1959–1971. The bell is currently held by the CFB Esquimalt Naval & Military Museum, Esquimalt, BC. [3]
References
- Notes
- ↑ "Beachy Head class". uboat.net. Retrieved 15 March 2014.
- ↑ "HMCS CAPE BRETON (2nd)". ReadyAyeReady.com. Retrieved 15 March 2014.
- ↑ "The Christening bells project". CFB Esquimalt Naval and Military Museum. Retrieved 15 March 2014.
- Bibliography
- "Cape Class escort maintenance ship". Haze Gray and Underway. Retrieved 2008-11-11.
- "The Cape Breton: FMG 100 (Fleet Maintenance Group)". Artificial Reef Society of British Columbia. Retrieved 2008-11-11.
- Colledge, J. J.; Warlow, Ben (2006) [1969]. Ships of the Royal Navy: The Complete Record of all Fighting Ships of the Royal Navy (Rev. ed.). London: Chatham Publishing. ISBN 978-1-86176-281-8. OCLC 67375475.
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