HMCS Stratford (J310)

Career (Canada)
Name: Stratford
Namesake: City of Stratford
Operator: Royal Canadian Navy
Builder: Davie Shipbuilding and Repairing Co. Ltd., Lauzon[note 1][1][2]
Laid down: 29 October 1941
Launched: 4 February 1942
Commissioned: 29 August 1942
Decommissioned: 1 April 1946
Identification: pennant number: J310
Honours and
awards:		 Atlantic 1942-44,[3] Gulf of St. Lawrence 1942, 1944[4]
Fate: Sold for scrap 1946
General characteristics
Class and type:Bangor-class minesweeper
Displacement:672 tons
Length:180 ft (55 m)
Beam:28.5 ft (8.7 m)
Draught:8.3 ft (2.5 m)
Propulsion:Single shaft, 2 Admiralty 3-drum boilers, 2 triple expansion steam engines, 2,400 ihp.
Speed:16.5 knots (30.6 km/h; 19.0 mph)
Complement:83
Armament:1 × QF 12-pounder (3 inch (76 mm)) gun

1 × QF 2-pounder (40 mm) guns
2 × QF 20 mm Oerlikon guns

2 × Mk.II DC throwers, 4 × DC rails, 40 depth charges

HMCS Stratford was a Bangor-class minesweeper that served in the Royal Canadian Navy during the Second World War. She saw action in the Battle of the Atlantic and the Battle of the St. Lawrence. Towards the end of the war she collided with another ship and was rendered unusable. She was named after the city of Stratford, Ontario.

The Stratford was ordered to be built as part of the Royal Canadian Navy's 1941-1942 shipbuilding programme.[5] She was laid down on 29 October 1941 and launched 14 February 1942.[6][7] She was commissioned into the Royal Canadian Navy on 29 August at Toronto.[7]

War service

After arriving at Halifax, Nova Scotia, Stratford was assigned to Newfoundland Force. With that unit, the ship was used as convoy escort throughout the war. In December 1944, she underwent a refit at Dartmouth. After its completion she traveled to Bermuda to work up from 15 February 1945 to 18 March 1945. Upon her return she collided with HMCS Ottawa in the approaches to Halifax. Her fo'c'sle was damaged significantly and as a result of this, she remained inactive until being paid off on 4 January 1946. She was sold for scrap afterwards.[7]

In popular culture

(The name Stratford was used for a fictional Royal Navy cruiser in a 1953 film based on C S Forester's novel "Brown on Resolution". In this film, called "Sailor of the King", "HMS Stratford" is played by the Dido class cruiser: HMS Cleopatra)

See also

References

Notes
  1. ↑ Colledge and shipbuildinghistory.com both have it being built by Dufferin Shipbuilding Co., Toronto
Footnotes
  1. ↑ "Redfern Construction, Toronto ON". shipbuildinghistory.com. 12 August 2011. Retrieved 5 June 2014.
  2. ↑ 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.
  3. ↑ "Battle Honours". Britain's Navy. Retrieved 18 September 2013.
  4. ↑ "Battle Honours 2". Veterans Affairs Canada. Retrieved 18 September 2013.
  5. ↑ McClearn, Sandy (2007). "Bangor Class". hazegray.org. Retrieved 31 May 2014.
  6. ↑ "HMCS Stratford (J310)". uboat.net. Retrieved 5 June 2014.
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 Macpherson, Ken; Barrie, Ron (2002). The Ships of Canada's Naval Forces, 1910-2002 (3 ed.). St. Catharines: Vanwell Publishing Limited. p. 194. ISBN 1551250721.
Sources