HMCS Timmins

HMCS Timmins about 1943
History
Canada
Name	Timmins
Namesake	Timmins, Ontario
Builder	Yarrows Ltd., Esquimalt
Cost	$600,000 CAN
Laid down	14 December 1940
Launched	26 June 1941
Commissioned	10 February 1942
Decommissioned	15 July 1945
Identification	Pennant number: K223
Honours and awards	Atlantic 1942–45[1]
Fate	Sold in 1948 as mercantile ship named Guayaquil. Lost on 3 August 1960
General characteristics
Class and type	Flower-class corvette (original)[2]
Displacement	950 long tons (970 t; 1,060 short tons)
Length	205 ft 1 in (62.51 m)o/a
Beam	33 ft 1 in (10.08 m)
Draught	13 ft 5 in (4.09 m)
Propulsion	single shaft 2 × Scotch marine boilers 1 × 4-cycle triple-expansion reciprocating steam engine 2,750 ihp (2,050 kW)
Speed	16 kn (30 km/h)
Range	3,450 nautical miles at 12 knots (6,390 km at 22 km/h)
Complement	85 (6 officers)
Sensors and processing systems	1 × SW1C or 2C radar 1 × Type 123A (ASDIC) or Type 127DV sonar
Armament	1 × BL 4 in (102 mm) Mk.IX single gun 1 × 2-pounder (pom-pom) 2 × 0.5 (50 cal) machine guns 4 × Mk.II depth charge throwers 2 × depth charge rails with 40 depth charges
Notes	1940–1941 Short Forecastle Program[3]

HMCS Timmins was a Flower-class corvette of the Royal Canadian Navy that served during the battle of the Atlantic from 1942 to 1945. She was ordered from Yarrows Ltd. in Esquimalt, British Columbia and laid down on 14 December 1940. She was launched on 26 June 1941 and commissioned on 10 February 1942. She was named after the community of Timmins, Ontario.

She was lightly armed with a 4-inch gun and a 2-pounder naval gun. She used depth charges for anti-submarine warfare. She was crewed by a complement of 85 sailors and 6 officers. Her unofficial badge was a smug cat clutching a U-boat in its paw.

For the first six months she performed coastal defense duties on the west coast. In October 1942 she was ordered to the east coast travelling via the Panama Canal. From November 1942 to July 1945 she escorted convoys with the Western Local Escort Force which operated from New York City to St. John's, Newfoundland. In November 1942, Timmins was assigned to escort convoy ON145. On 21 November the convoy was attacked by U-518. The U-boat torpedoed and sank the British merchant Empire Sailor. Timmins along with HMCS Minas rescued 42 survivors from the ship. She was decommissioned on 15 July 1945. In 1948 she was sold off and turned into a mercantile freighter called Guayaquil. She was reported lost on 3 August 1960.