HMCS Winnipeg (J337)

For other ships of the same name, see HMCS Winnipeg.
As Belgian Navy A.F. Dufour
Career (Canada)
Name: Winnipeg
Operator: Royal Canadian Navy
Ordered: 12 December 1941
Builder: Port Arthur Shipbuilding Company Ltd.
Laid down: 31 January 1942
Launched: 19 September 1942
Commissioned: 29 July 1943
Decommissioned: 1 November 1946
Identification: pennant number: J337
Honours and
awards:		 Atlantic 1943-45[1]
Career (Belgium)
Name: A.F. Dufour
Operator: Belgian Navy
Acquired: 7 August 1959
Struck: 1966
Identification: 903
General characteristics
Class and type:Algerine-class minesweeper
Displacement:990 tons
Length:68.6 (225 ft)
Beam:10.8 (35.5 ft)
Draught:2.6 (8.5 ft)
Propulsion:2 3-drum Yarrow style water tube all welded boilers, 2 1250 HP triple expansion engines.
Speed:16 knots (30 km/h; 18 mph)
Crew:107
Armament:1 4" HA single, 4 20mm twin guns, 1 Hedgehog ASW mortar, depth charges

HMCS Winnipeg was an Algerine-class minesweeper that served in the Royal Canadian Navy during the Second World War. Used primarily as a convoy escort, the vessel served in the Battle of the Atlantic. Following the war she placed in reserve before being sold to Belgium and renamed A.F. Dufour. She served with the Belgian Navy until 1966.

Winnipeg was ordered on 12 December 1941.[2] The ship was laid down on 31 January 1942 by Port Arthur Shipbuilding Company Ltd. at Port Arthur, Ontario and launched 19 September later that year.[3] She was commissioned into the Royal Canadian Navy on 29 July 1943 at Port Arthur with the pennant number J 337.[3][2]

Service history

Royal Canadian Navy

After commissioning, Winnipeg worked up at Pictou before joining the Western Escort Force. The vessel was assigned to the escort group W-7 initially, transferring to W-6 in December 1943. From February to April 1944 the ship was acted as the Senior Officer's ship of the escort group.[3]

Winnipeg joined escort group W-5, becoming that group's Senior Officer's ship upon transfer and remained with that group until it was disbanded in June 1945. The ship was placed in reserve at Sydney for a short period before being reactivated and transferred to Esquimalt, British Columbia. There she was paid off into the reserve on 11 January 1946.[3]

Belgian Navy

As A.F. Dufour

After lying in reserve for ten years, Winnipeg was brought back to the east coast in 1956. She was sold to Belgium and entered into service with the Belgian Navy on 7 August 1959 as A.F. Dufour. The ship was reclassified as a coastal escort after entering service. Upon acquisition, the 20mm anti-aircraft guns were replaced with 40mm anti-aircraft guns in single mounts.[4] In 1960, the ship took part in operations in the Belgian Congo.[5] She remained in service until 1966, when the ship was broken up.[3][2]

See also

References

Notes
  1. ↑ "Battle Honours". Britain's Navy. Retrieved 18 September 2013.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 "HMCS Winnipeg (J337)". uboat.net. Retrieved 30 August 2014.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 Macpherson, Ken; Barrie, Ron (2002). The Ships of Canada's Naval Forces, 1910-2002 (3 ed.). St. Catharines: Vanwell Publishing Limited. p. 200. ISBN 1551250721.
  4. ↑ Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1947-1995. Annapolis: Naval Institute Press. 1996. p. 26.
  5. ↑ "Dufour". La Marine Belge (in French). Retrieved 30 August 2014.
References