HMCS Clayoquot

A British design, the Bangor-class minesweepers were smaller than the preceding {{sclass|Halcyon|minesweeper|1}}s in British service, but larger than the {{sclass|Fundy|minesweeper|4}} in Canadian service.Chesneau, p. 64Macpherson and Barrie, p. 167 They came in two versions powered by different engines; those with a diesel engines and those with vertical triple-expansion steam engines. Clayoquot was of the latter design and was larger than her diesel-engined cousins. Clayoquot was {{convert|180|ft|m|1}} long overall, had a beam of {{convert|28|ft|6|in|m|1}} and a draught of {{convert|9|ft|9|in|m|1}}. The minesweeper had a displacement of {{convert|672|LT|t|0}}. She had a complement of 6 officers and 77 enlisted.

Clayoquot had two vertical triple-expansion steam engines, each driving one shaft, using steam provided by two Admiralty three-drum boilers. The engines produced a total of {{convert|2400|ihp|lk=in}} and gave a maximum speed of {{convert|16.5|kn|lk=in}}. The minesweeper could carry a maximum of {{convert|150|LT|t|0}} of fuel oil.

Clayoquot was armed with a single quick-firing (QF) QF 4 inch naval gun Mk IV, XII, XXII mounted forward.{{efn|name=gun nomenclature}} For anti-aircraft purposes, the minesweeper was equipped with one QF 2-pounder Mark VIII and two single-mounted QF 20 mm Oerlikon guns. As a convoy escort, Clayoquot was deployed with 40 depth charges launched from two depth charge throwers and four chutes.Macpherson, p. 19

Ordered on 23 February 1940{{cite web | url = http://www.uboat.net/allies/warships/ship/2649.html | work = Uboat.net | title = HMCS Clayoquot (J 174) | access-date = 28 July 2013}} as Esperanza, the ship was renamed Clayoquot in 1940.Colledge, p. 81 Clayoquot was laid down on 20 June 1940 by Prince Rupert Dry Dock and Shipyards Co. at Prince Rupert, British Columbia. The minesweeper was launched on 3 October 1940 and commissioned on 22 August 1941 at Prince Rupert.

She left Esquimalt, British Columbia after working up and made her way to Halifax, Nova Scotia where she arrived on 14 November 1941. Clayoquot was made part of Halifax Local Defence Force initially, though she was transferred to the Western Local Escort Force (WLEF) in March 1942. In May 1942 Clayoquot was assigned to the Gulf Escort Force. On 7 July, while responding to a U-boat attack on a convoy in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, Clayoquot came upon the abandoned hulk of the merchant vessel Dinaric, which had been torpedoed during the attack. Clayoquot sank the ship with gunfire and depth charges.Sarty, p. 106 On 10 September she was returning to Gaspé, Quebec after escorting a convoy to Rimouski with the corvette {{HMCS|Charlottetown|1941|6}} nearby when Charlottetown was hit by two torpedoes. Clayoquot searched for, but was unable to find the submarine. During depth charge attacks on possible targets, Clayoquot{{'}}s radio was knocked out and prevented the ship from informing command of the corvette's loss.Schull, p. 119Sarty, pp. 166–170 She returned to the site of the sinking and was able to rescue 55 survivors, taking at least three and a half hours to complete.Darlington and McKee, p. 69{{efn|name=survivors}} In October 1942 she joined Sydney Force.

On 29 December 1942 Clayoquot was sent for a major refit that took her from Halifax to Liverpool, Nova Scotia, to Pictou. The refit was completed in May 1943. After working up, she rejoined Sydney Force. In January 1944 she was assigned to {{HMCS|Cornwallis}} as an officer training vessel for anti-submarine warfare. After ten months of training service, she was reassigned to Halifax Force.

File:HMCS Cloyoquot window, CFB Halifax.jpg]]

While sweeping for submarines near Sambro Island Light on 24 December 1944 in preparation to escort a convoy, Clayoquot was hit aft by a torpedo fired by {{GS|U-806||2}}.German, p. 179 She sank quickly and eight people died. There had not been enough time to disarm the depth charges kept ready, which detonated as the ship sank causing injuries among the surviving crew, which were picked up by the corvette {{HMCS|Fennel|K194|2}}.Darlington and McKee, pp. 196–199 The frigate {{HMCS|Kirkland Lake|K337|2}} and sister ship {{HMCS|Transcona|J271|2}} which had been accompanying Clayoquot, were also targeted by the U-boat, but the torpedoes detonated before doing damage to the ships.Schull, p. 384 A large search force was sent out to deal with the U-boat however they were not successful in finding the submarine.

• List of ships of the Canadian Navy
• History of the Royal Canadian Navy
• Military history of Nova Scotia

{{notelist

| notes =

{{efn

| name = gun nomenclature

| The 40 caliber denotes the length of the gun. This means that the length of the gun barrel is 40 times the bore diameter.

}}

{{efn

| name = survivors

| Darlington and McKee state there is discrepancies in the number of survivors, claiming 57–58, with some dying of wounds after reaching shore-based medical treatment at Gaspé.

}}

}}

{{Reflist|30em}}

{{refbegin}}

• {{cite book |editor-last=Chesneau |editor-first=Roger |date=1980 |title=Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1922–1946 |publisher=Conway Maritime Press |location=Greenwich, UK |isbn=0-85177-146-7}}
• {{Cite Colledge2006}}
• {{cite book |last1=Darlington |first1=Robert A. |last2=McKee |first2=Fraser |date=1996 |title=The Canadian Naval Chronicle 1939–1945: The Successes and Losses of the Canadian Navy in World War II |publisher=Vanwell Publishing |location=St. Catharines, Ontario |isbn=1-55125-032-2}}
• {{cite book |last=German |first=Tony |date=1990 |title=The Sea is at Our Gates: The History of the Canadian Navy |publisher=McClelland & Stewart Incorporated |location=Toronto |isbn=0-7710-3269-2 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/seaisatourgatesh00germ }}
• {{cite book |last=Macpherson |first=Ken |date=1997 |title=Minesweepers of the Royal Canadian Navy 1938–1945 |publisher=Vanwell Publishing Limited |location=St. Catharines, Ontario |isbn=0-920277-55-1}}
• {{cite book |last1=Macpherson |first1=Ken |last2=Barrie |first2=Ron |date=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 |last=Sarty |first=Roger |date=2012 |title=War in the St. Lawrence: The Forgotten U-Boat Battles on Canada's Shores |publisher=Penguin Group |location=Toronto |isbn=978-0-670-06787-9}}
• {{cite book |last=Schull |first=Joseph |date=1961 |title=The Far Distant Ships: An Official Account of Canadian Naval Operations in the Second World War |publisher=Queen's Printer |location=Ottawa |oclc=19974782}}

{{refend}}

{{refbegin}}

• {{Cite web|url=http://www.hazegray.org/navhist/canada/ww2/bangor/ |title= Bangor Class|author=Hazegray |work= Canadian Navy of Yesterday and Today |access-date=28 July 2013}}
• {{Cite web|url=http://www.readyayeready.com/ships/shipview.php?id=1091&ship=CLAYOQUOT |title= HMCS Clayoquot |author=Ready, Aye, Ready |access-date=28 July 2013}}

{{refend}}

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{{Bangor class minesweeper}}

{{December 1944 shipwrecks}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Clayoquot (J174)}}

Category:Bangor-class minesweepers of the Royal Canadian Navy

Category:Ships built in British Columbia

Category:1941 ships

Category:World War II minesweepers of Canada

Category:Maritime incidents in December 1944

Category:Ships sunk by German submarines in World War II