HMCS Fundy (J88)

In 1936, new minesweepers were ordered for the Royal Canadian Navy.Johnston et al., p. 979 Based on the British {{sclass|Basset|trawler|4}},Chesneau, p. 65 those built on the east coast would cost $318,000 per vessel.Johnston et al., p. 1075 At the outbreak of the Second World War, the Royal Canadian Navy considered constructing more, but chose to build {{sclass|Bangor|minesweeper|1}}s instead upon learning of that design due to their oil-burning engines.Macpherson and Barrie, p. 167Pritchard, pp. 21–22Tucker, p. 29

The Fundy class, named after the lead ship, displaced {{convert|460|LT|t|lk=in}}. They were {{convert|163|ft|m|1|abbr=on}} long, with a beam of {{convert|27.5|ft|m|1|abbr=on}} and a draught of {{convert|14.5|ft|m|1|abbr=on}}. They had a complement of 3 officers and 35 ratings.Macpherson and Barrie, p. 32

The Fundy class was propelled by one shaft driven by vertical triple expansion engine powered by steam from a one-cylinder boiler. This created between {{convert|850|-|950|ihp|kW|lk=in}} and gave the minesweepers a top speed of {{convert|12|kn|lk=in}}. The ships were capable of carrying between {{convert|180|-|196|LT|t}} of coal.

The ships were armed with one QF QF 4 inch naval gun Mk IV, XII, XXII mounted forward on a raised platform.Macpherson and Barrie state that the ships were equipped with one QF 12-pounder 12 cwt naval gun.Mark IV = Mark 4. Britain used Roman numerals to denote Marks (models) of ordnance until after World War II. The minesweepers were armed with two 20 mm Oerlikon anti-aircraft cannon. They were later equipped with 25 depth charges.

Fundy was ordered on 23 August 1937{{cite web|url=http://www.uboat.net/allies/warships/ship/5619.html |title=HMCS Fundy (J88) |work=uboat.net |accessdate=30 May 2014}} as the lead ship of her class of four minesweepers built in Canada. The ship's keel was laid down on 24 January 1938 by Collingwood Shipyards Ltd. at Collingwood, Ontario. The warship was launched on 18 June later that year. Fundy was commissioned into the Royal Canadian Navy on 1 September 1938 at Collingwood.

After commissioning, Fundy was one of two of the Fundy-class minesweepers assigned to the East Coast of Canada. She was stationed at Halifax, Nova Scotia when the war broke out. At the onset of war, Fundy and sister ship {{HMCS|Gaspe|J94|2}} were the only warships available to patrol the entrance to Halifax's harbour.Tucker, p. 114 Fundy saw continuous service in the Second World War as a minesweeper and harbour defence vessel for Halifax Harbour. In July 1942 she escorted a convoy to Boston and one back to Halifax. Along with her sister ship {{HMCS|Comox|J64|6}}, Fundy rescued 66 survivors of the torpedoed Liberty ship SS Martin Van Buren on 15 January 1945. Fundy was decommissioned on 27 July 1945 and laid up.

Fundy was sold in 1947 to Marine Industries Limited and converted for mercantile service with a gross register tonnage of 419 tons.{{csr|register=MSI|id=6808167|shipname=Fundy |accessdate=13 August 2016}} The ship was refitted with a diesel engine giving the vessel a maximum speed of {{convert|12|kn}}. The ship was initially renamed Aigle Marin in 1967, owned by Les Chargeurs Unis Inc. The merchant vessel was sold to Niquelay Incorporated and renamed Anne R.D. in 1977. The vessel was broken up at La Malbaie, Quebec in July 1987. Her bell is preserved at the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic in Halifax.

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• {{cite book |last=Arbuckle |first=J.Graeme |date=1987 |title=Badges of the Royal Canadian Navy |publisher= Nimbus Publishing Ltd. |location=Halifax, Nova Scotia |isbn=0-920852-49-1}}
• {{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 |last=Johnston |first=William |last2=Rawling |first2=William G.P. |last3=Gimblett |first3=Richard H. |last4=MacFarlane |first4=John |date=2010 |title=The Seabound Coast: The Official History of the Royal Canadian Navy, 1867–1939 |volume=1 |publisher=Dundurn Press |location=Toronto |isbn=978-1-55488-908-2}}
• {{cite book |last=Macpherson |first=Ken |date=1990 |title=Minesweepers of the Royal Canadian Navy 1938–45 |publisher=Vanwell Publishing Limited |location=St. Catharines, Ontario |isbn=0-920277-55-1}}
• {{cite book |last=Macpherson |first=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=Pritchard |first=James |date=2011 |title=A Bridge of Ships: Canadian Shipbuilding during the Second World War |publisher=McGill-Queen's University Press |location=Montreal, Quebec and Kingston, Ontario |isbn=978-0-7735-3824-5}}
• {{cite book |last=Tucker |first=Gilbert Norman |date=1952 |title=The Naval Service of Canada, Its Official History – Volume 2: Activities on Shore During the Second World War |publisher=King's Printer |location=Ottawa|oclc=4346983}}

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{{Commons category}}

• [https://web.archive.org/web/20111002012438/http://www.navy.gc.ca/project_pride/ships/ship_e.asp?shipNumber=52 "HMCS Fundy" Specifications and History, Canadian Navy Heritage website]
• [http://www.navy.gc.ca/project_pride/photo_archive/photo_archive_e.asp?section=1&category=D%20-%20G&title=52 Canadian Navy Photo Archive HMCS Fundy] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111002012401/http://www.navy.gc.ca/project_pride/photo_archive/photo_archive_e.asp?section=1&category=D%20-%20G&title=52 |date=2011-10-02 }}

{{Fundy class minesweeper}}

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Category:Fundy-class minesweepers

Category:Ships built in Collingwood, Ontario

Category:1938 ships

Category:World War II minesweepers of Canada