HMCS Westmount

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 (2002), p. 167 They came in two versions powered by different engines; those with a diesel engines and those with vertical triple-expansion steam engines. Westmount was of the latter design and was larger than her diesel-engined cousins. The minesweeper 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}}.Macpherson and Barrie (2002), p. 180 Westmount had a displacement of {{convert|672|LT|t}}. She had a complement of 6 officers and 77 enlisted.

Westmount 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.

Westmount was armed with a single quick-firing (QF) QF 12-pounder 12 cwt naval gun mounted forward.Macpherson (1997), p. 70{{efn|name=gun nomenclature}} The ship was also fitted with a QF 2-pounder Mark VIII aft and were eventually fitted with single-mounted QF 20 mm Oerlikon guns on the bridge wings.Macpherson (1997), p. 58 Those ships assigned to convoy duty had two depth charge launchers and four chutes to deploy the 40 depth charges they carried. Westmount was equipped with LL and SA minesweeping gear to clear both magnetic and acoustic naval mines.

The minesweeper was ordered as part of the 1941–1942 construction programme. The ship's keel was laid down on 28 October 1941 by Davie Shipbuilding at their yard in Lauzon, Quebec. Named for a community in Quebec, Westmount was launched on 14 March 1942. The ship was commissioned on 15 September 1942 at Toronto.Macpherson and Barrie (2002), p. 194

While working up off Pictou, Nova Scotia, the ship developed engine issues that kept her at Halifax, Nova Scotia from 20 November 1942 to 2 February 1943. Following the minesweeper's return to service, Westmount was assigned to Halifax Local Defence Force and then Halifax Force, the escort and patrol force based at Halifax. In May 1943, the ship transferred to Sydney Force, the escort and patrol group based at Sydney, Nova Scotia and remained with the unit until January 1944. That month, the minesweeper rejoined Halifax Force. Other than a refit at Lunenburg, Nova Scotia that took from February to April 1945, Westmount remained on the Atlantic Canada coast for the remainder of the war.

The minesweeper was paid off at Sydney on 23 October 1945 and laid up at Shelburne, Nova Scotia. Westmount was taken to Sorel, Quebec in 1946 and placed in strategic reserve. In 1951 the minesweeper was reacquired by the Royal Canadian Navy during the Korean War. The vessel was given the new hull number FSE 187 and re-designated a coastal escort.Blackman, p. 99 However, the ship never recommissioned and remained in reserve until 29 March 1958 when Westmount was formally transferred to the Turkish Navy.Colledge, p. 682 Renamed Bornova (also spelled Bor Nova) by the Turkish Navy, the vessel remained in service until 1972 when it was discarded. The vessel was broken up in Turkey in 1972.{{csr|register=MSI|id=6114506|shipname=Westmount|accessdate=11 November 2016}}

{{notes

| notes =

{{efn

| name = gun nomenclature

| "Cwt" is the abbreviation for hundredweight, 20 cwt referring to the weight of the gun.

}}

}}

{{reflist|30em}}

• {{cite book |editor-last=Blackman |editor-first=Raymond V.B. |date=1953 |title=Jane's Fighting Ships 1953–54 |publisher= Sampson Low, Marston & Co. Ltd |location=London |oclc=913556389}}
• {{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=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 |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 web |url=http://www.hazegray.org/navhist/canada/ww2/bangor/ |title= Bangor Class |publisher=Hazegray.org |work= Canadian Navy of Yesterday and Today}}

{{Bangor class minesweeper}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Westmount (J318)}}

Category:Bangor-class minesweepers of the Royal Canadian Navy

Category:Ships built in Lévis

Category:1942 ships

Category:World War II minesweepers of Canada