HMCS Chaleur (MCB 164)
{{Short description|Minesweeper in the Royal Canadian Navy}}
{{other ships|HMCS Chaleur}}
{{Use Canadian English|date=January 2023}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2016}}
| {{Infobox ship begin}}
{{Infobox ship image |Ship image= |Ship caption= }} {{Infobox ship career |Hide header= |Ship country=Canada |Ship flag={{shipboxflag|Canada|naval-1911}} {{shipboxflag|Canada|naval}} |Ship name=Chaleur |Ship namesake=Chaleur Bay |Ship ordered= |Ship builder=Marine Industries, Sorel |Ship laid down=20 February 1956 |Ship launched=11 May 1957 |Ship acquired= |Ship commissioned=12 September 1957 |Ship decommissioned=18 December 1998 |Ship in service= |Ship out of service= |Ship struck= |Ship reinstated= |Ship honours= |Ship identification=MCB 164 |Ship fate=Sank at moorings 2021 |Ship badge=A field pile or and gules above a barry wavy azure and argent, and in the center an equilateral triangle azure bearing a fern leaf or.{{sfn|Arbuckle|1987|p=24}} |Ship notes= }} {{Infobox ship characteristics |Hide header= |Header caption= |Ship class={{sclass2|Bay|minesweeper}} |Ship displacement=*{{convert|390|LT|t|lk=on|abbr=on}}
|Ship length={{convert|152|ft|m|abbr=on}} |Ship beam={{convert|28|ft|m|abbr=on}} |Ship draught={{convert|8|ft|m|abbr=on}} |Ship propulsion=2 shafts, 2 GM 12-cylinder diesels, {{convert|2400|bhp|lk=in|abbr=on}} |Ship speed={{convert|16|kn|lk=in}} |Ship range={{convert|3290|nmi|lk=in|abbr=on}} at {{convert|12|kn|abbr=on}} |Ship complement=38 |Ship sensors= |Ship EW= |Ship armament=1 x 40 mm Bofors gun |Ship armour= |Ship notes= }} |
HMCS Chaleur (hull number MCB 164) was a {{sclass2|Bay|minesweeper}} that served in the Royal Canadian Navy during the Cold War. Entering service in 1957, the minesweeper was used mainly as a training ship on the West Coast of Canada. The vessel was discarded in 1998 and sold for scrap in 1999. However, only partially dismantled, the ex-Chaleur was towed to California to have the process completed at a salvage yard. The salvage yard was found to be operating illegally and the demolition of the ship was postponed. Without preventative maintenance, the ship sank at her moorings in 2021.
Design and description
The Bay class were designed and ordered as replacements for the Second World War-era minesweepers that the Royal Canadian Navy operated at the time. Similar to the {{sclass2|Ton|minesweeper|1}}, they were constructed of wood planking and aluminum framing.{{sfn|Macpherson|Barrie|2002|p=271}}{{sfn|Gardiner|Chumbley|Budzbon|1995|p=49}}
Displacing {{convert|390|LT|t|lk=on}} standard at {{convert|412|LT|t}} at deep load, the minesweepers were {{convert|152|ft|m|abbr=on}} long with a beam of {{convert|28|ft|m|abbr=on}} and a draught of {{convert|8|ft|m|abbr=on}}.{{sfn|Macpherson|Barrie|2002|p=271}}{{sfn|Gardiner|Chumbley|Budzbon|1995|p=49}} They had a complement of 38 officers and ratings.{{sfn|Macpherson|Barrie|2002|p=271}}{{efn|Gardiner, Chumbley & Budzbon claim the complement was 40.{{sfn|Gardiner|Chumbley|Budzbon|1995|p=49}}}}
The Bay-class minesweepers were powered by two GM 12-cylinder diesel engines driving two shafts creating {{convert|2400|bhp|lk=in}}. This gave the ships a maximum speed of {{convert|16|kn|lk=in}} and a range of {{convert|3290|nmi|lk=in}} at {{convert|12|kn}}.{{sfn|Gardiner|Chumbley|Budzbon|1995|p=49}}{{sfn|Moore|1981|p=82}} The ships were armed with one 40 mm Bofors gun and were equipped with minesweeping gear.{{sfn|Macpherson|Barrie|2002|p=271}}{{sfn|Gardiner|Chumbley|Budzbon|1995|p=49}}
Operational history
Ordered as a replacement for sister ship, {{HMCS|Chaleur|MCB 144|3}} which had been transferred to the French Navy in 1954, the ship's keel was laid down on 20 February 1956 by Marine Industries at their yard in Sorel, Quebec. Named for a bay located between Quebec and New Brunswick, Chaleur was launched on 11 May 1957.{{sfn|Macpherson|Barrie|2002|p=271}}{{sfn|Colledge|Warlow|2006|p=130}} The ship was commissioned on 12 September 1957.{{sfn|Macpherson|Barrie|2002|p=271}}
After commissioning, the minesweeper was transferred to the West Coast of Canada and joined Training Group Pacific. In 1972, the class was re-designated patrol escorts. The vessel remained a part of the unit until being paid off on 18 December 1998. The ship was sold for scrap for breaking up at Port Hope, British Columbia in 1999.{{sfn|Macpherson|Barrie|2002|p=271}} However, the hull was only gutted for parts and only sections were dismantled. The ex-Chaleur eventually ended up in the California Delta at the Herman and Helen's Marina outside Stockton, California. Initially the hull was only to stay at the marina for a week before being taken to a marine salvage yard within the bay for dismantling. However, the salvage yard was found to be operating illegally and shut down. The vessel was sold to a new owner and tied up alongside other derelict vessels at the marina. A legal quagmire developed around the marina and the derelict ships, preventing any work from being done.{{cite web |url=https://www.recordnet.com/story/opinion/columns/2017/10/06/the-hottest-mess-in-delta/18539498007/ |title=The hottest mess in the Delta |work=The Record |last=Fitzgerald |first=Michael |date=5 October 2017 |access-date=20 September 2024}} Eventually in 2021, the vessel sank.{{cite news |url=https://www.cnn.com/travel/bought-a-cruise-ship-on-craigslist-dream-sank-aurora/index.html |title=He bought a cruise ship on Craigslist and spent over $1 million restoring it. Then his dream sank |work=CNN |last=Hardingham-Gill |first=Tamara |date=18 September 2024 |access-date=20 September 2024}}
References
=Notes=
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=Citations=
{{reflist|30em}}
=References=
- {{cite book |last=Arbuckle |first=J. Graeme |year=1987 |title=Badges of the Canadian Navy |publisher=Nimbus Publishing |location=Halifax, Nova Scotia |isbn=0-920852-49-1}}
- {{Cite Colledge2006}}
- {{cite book |editor-last1=Gardiner |editor-first1=Robert |editor-last2=Chumbley |editor-first2=Stephen |editor-last3=Budzbon |editor-first3=Przemysław |name-list-style=amp |year=1995 |title=Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1947–1995 |publisher=Naval Institute Press |location=Annapolis, Maryland |isbn=1-55750-132-7}}
- {{cite book |last1=Macpherson |first1=Ken |last2=Barrie |first2=Ron |name-list-style=amp |year=2002 |title=The Ships of Canada's Naval Forces 1910–2002 |edition=Third |publisher=Vanwell Publishing |location=St. Catharines, Ontario |isbn=1-55125-072-1}}
- {{cite book |editor-first=John |editor-last=Moore |year=1981 |title=Jane's Fighting Ships, 1981–1982 |publisher=Jane's Information Group |location=New York |isbn=0-531-03977-3}}
{{Bay class minesweeper}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chaleur (MCB 164), HMCS}}
Category:Bay-class minesweepers
Category:Ships built in Sorel-Tracy