HMCS Ontario (C53)
 HMCS Ontario | |
| Career (UK) |  |
|---|---|
| Class and type: | Minotaur-class light cruiser |
| Name: | Minotaur |
| Builder: | Harland & Wolff, Belfast |
| Yard number: | 1171 |
| Laid down: | 20 November 1941 |
| Launched: | 29 July 1943 |
| Out of service: | Transferred to Royal Canadian Navy in July 1944 |
| Career (Canada) | |
| Name: | Ontario |
| Acquired: | July 1944 |
| Commissioned: | 25 May 1945 |
| Decommissioned: | 15 October 1958 |
| Fate: | Scrapped, arriving at Osaka for breaking up on 19 November 1960 |
| General characteristics | |
| Displacement: | 8,800 tons standard 11,130 tons full |
| Length: | 555.5 ft (169.3 m) |
| Beam: | 63 ft (19 m) |
| Draught: | 17.25 ft (5.26 m) |
| Propulsion: | Four Admiralty-type three drum boilers Four shaft Parsons steam turbines 72,500 shp |
| Speed: | 31.5 knots (58.3 km/h) |
| Range: | 2,000 nautical miles (3,700 km) at 30 knots (60 km/h) 8,000 nautical miles (15,000 km) at 16 knots (30 km/h); 1,850 tons fuel oil |
| Complement: | 867 |
| Armament: | Three triple 6-inch / 50 Mk 23 guns Five dual 4-inch / 45 QF Mk 16 HA |
| Armour: | 3.25 to 3.5-inch (89 mm) belt 2 inch deck |
HMCS Ontario was a Minotaur class light cruiser built for the Royal Navy as HMS Minotaur (53), but transferred to the Royal Canadian Navy on completion and renamed Ontario.[1]
HMS Minotaur was laid down on 20 November 1941 by Harland & Wolff of Belfast and launched on 29 July 1943.[1] She was transferred to the Royal Canadian Navy in July 1944, and completed and commissioned as Ontario on 25 May 1945 at Belfast.[2][1]
Service history
After commissioning she was worked up on the River Clyde in Scotland. She sailed to join the 4th Cruiser Squadron in the Pacific Theatre, but was too late to see active service, although she was employed in the operations at Hong Kong, Manila and in Japan. She returned home for refit, arriving at Esquimalt on 27 November 1945.[2] In 1953 she took part in the Fleet Review to celebrate the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II.[3] She was used for training duties postwar until paid off on 15 October 1958.[2] She arrived at Osaka for breaking up on 19 November 1960.[1]
Ship's Bell
The ship's bell of HMCS Ontario is currently held at HMCS Ontario Sea Cadet Summer Training Centre in Kingston, Ontario. The second bell is held by the Maritime Museum of British Columbia. The Christening Bells Project at Canadian Forces Base Esquimalt Naval and Military Museum includes information from the ship's bell of HMCS Ontario, which was used for baptism of babies onboard ship.[4]
Later use of the name
On 13 July 1981 Royal Canadian Sea Cadet Camp Frontenac was renamed Ontario Sea Cadet Training Establishment located in Kingston, Ontario, Canada, at the Royal Military College of Canada. In later years Ontario would be redesignated as HMCS Ontario Sea Cadet Summer Training Centre.
References
- Notes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 "HMS Minotaur (53)". uboat.net. Retrieved 27 March 2014.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Macpherson, Ken; Burgess, John (1981). The ships of Canada's naval forces 1910-1981 : a complete pictorial history of Canadian warships. Toronto: Collins. ISBN 0-00216-856-1.
- ↑ Souvenir Programme, Coronation Review of the Fleet, Spithead, 15th June 1953, HMSO, Gale and Polden
- ↑ "Christening Bells". CFB Esquimalt Naval & Military Museum. Retrieved 27 March 2014.
- References
- 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.
- Macpherson, Ken; Burgess, John. The ships of Canada's naval forces 1910-1981 : a complete pictorial history of Canadian warships. Collins: Toronto, 1981. ISBN 0-00216-856-1
- WWII cruisers
- HMCS Ontario at Uboat.net
- HMS Minotaur at Uboat.net
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