HMCS St. Catharines

HMCS St. Catharines
History
Canada
NameSt. Catharines
NamesakeSt. Catharines, Ontario
OperatorRoyal Canadian Navy
OrderedOctober 1941
BuilderYarrows Ltd., Esquimalt
Laid down2 May 1942
Launched5 December 1942
Commissioned31 July 1943
Decommissioned14 December 1945
Identificationpennant number: K 325
Honours and
awards		Atlantic 1943–44[1]
FateConverted to Weather ship 1950
General characteristics
Class and typeRiver-class frigate
Displacement
  • 1,445 long tons (1,468 t; 1,618 short tons)
  • 2,110 long tons (2,140 t; 2,360 short tons) (deep load)
Length
  • 283 ft (86.26 m) p/p
  • 301.25 ft (91.82 m) o/a
Beam36.5 ft (11.13 m)
Draught9 ft (2.74 m); 13 ft (3.96 m) (deep load)
Propulsion2 x Admiralty 3-drum boilers, 2 shafts, reciprocating vertical triple expansion, 5,500 ihp (4,100 kW)
Speed
  • 20 knots (37.0 km/h)
  • 20.5 knots (38.0 km/h) (turbine ships)
Range646 long tons (656 t; 724 short tons) oil fuel; 7,500 nautical miles (13,890 km) at 15 knots (27.8 km/h)
Complement157
Armament

HMCS St. Catharines was a River-class frigate that served with the Royal Canadian Navy during the Second World War. She served primarily as a convoy escort in the Battle of the Atlantic. She was named for St. Catharines, Ontario. After the war she was re-purposed as a weather ship for use by the Department of Transport of Canada.

St. Catharines was ordered in October 1941 as part of the 1942–1943 River-class building program.[2][3] She was laid down on 2 May 1942 by Yarrows Ltd. at Esquimalt and launched 5 December later that year.[3] She was commissioned into the Royal Canadian Navy on 31 July 1943 at Esquimalt.[2]

  1. ^ "Battle Honours". Britain's Navy. Retrieved 20 April 2014.
  2. ^ a b Macpherson, Ken; Burgess, John (1981). The ships of Canada's naval forces 1910–1981 : a complete pictorial history of Canadian warships. Toronto: Collins. ISBN 0-00216-856-1.
  3. ^ a b Helgason, Guðmundur. "HMCS St. Catharines (K 325)". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net. Retrieved 20 April 2014.