HMCS Red Deer was a that served in the Royal Canadian Navy during the Second World War. The minesweeper saw action in the Battle of the Atlantic and the Battle of the St. Lawrence. She was named for Red Deer, Alberta. After the war the vessel was briefly reacquired by the Royal Canadian Navy, but was not recommissioned and was sold for scrap and broken up in 1959.

Design and description

A British design, the Bangor-class minesweepers were smaller than the preceding s in British service, but larger than the in Canadian service. They came in two versions powered by different engines; those with a diesel engines and those with vertical triple-expansion steam engines. The minesweeper had a displacement of . She had a complement of 6 officers and 77 enlisted. Those ships assigned to convoy duty were armed with two depth charge launchers and four chutes to deploy their 40 depth charges.

After commissioning, Red Deer was assigned to the Western Local Escort Force as a convoy escort. At various periods after that she served with Sydney Force, Halifax Local Defence Force and the Gulf Escort Force, as part of the Battle of the St. Lawrence. On 12 January 1942 she rescued 95 survivors from the British merchant ship SS Cyclops, which had been torpedoed by . Beginning in February 1944, Red Deer was assigned to Newfoundland Force. In May 1944 she began a refit at Liverpool, completing it in July 1944 and working up in Bermuda later that month. She returned to Newfoundland Force after working up and remained with the unit until the end of the war. She was paid off at Halifax, Nova Scotia on 30 October 1945 and laid up at Shelburne.

Affiliations

126 RCSCC Red Deer is a Royal Canadian Sea Cadet Corp in Red Deer, Alberta, that is named after HMCS Red Deer.

See also

  • List of ships of the Canadian Navy

References

Notes

Citations

Sources

  • Haze Gray and Underway
  • ReadyAyeReady.com