Dun-class tanker

The Dun class of tankers comprised two ships, HMCS Dundalk and HMCS Dundurn, constructed for the Royal Canadian Navy during the Second World War. The two vessels were ordered by the Royal Canadian Navy to fill a need to transport fuel oil for convoy escorts in the Battle of the Atlantic. The two vessels began their careers in 1943 and remained in naval service until 1946. Following the end of the war, they were crewed by civilians as naval auxiliaries until the 1980s. Dundalk was wrecked in 1984 and Dundurn's ultimate fate is unknown.

Class overview
Name: Dun class
Builders: Canadian Bridge Company, Walkerville, Ontario
Operators:  Royal Canadian Navy
Planned: 2
Completed: 2
Scrapped: 2
General characteristics
Type: Tanker
Displacement: 950 long tons (970 t)
Length: 178 ft 9 in (54.5 m)
Beam: 33 ft 2 in (10.1 m)
Draught: 13 ft 0 in (4.0 m)
Propulsion: 2 × shaft, diesel engine, 700 bhp (522 kW)
Speed: 11 knots (20 km/h; 13 mph)
Complement: 30
Armament:

Description

The Dun class were small tankers, displacing 950 long tons (970 t) and 1,500 long tons (1,500 t) at full load. They were 178 feet 9 inches (54.5 m) long with a beam of 33 feet 2 inches (10.1 m) and a draught of 13 feet 0 inches (4.0 m). The vessels were powered by a Fairbanks-Morse diesel engine driving two shafts rated at 700 brake horsepower (522 kW). This gave the tankers a maximum speed of 11 knots (20 km/h; 13 mph). The Dun class were armed with one QF 12-pounder 12 cwt naval gun and two single-mounted 20 mm Oerlikon cannon during the Second World War.[lower-alpha 1] The two vessels had a complement of 3 officers and 27 enlisted.[1][2][3][4] This was later reduced to a total complement of 24. The vessels could carry 790 long tons (800 t) of fuel oil and 25 long tons (25 t) of dry cargo.[3]

Ships in class
Dun class
Name Pennant number Commissioned Paid off Fate
Dundalk Z40/501 13 November 1943 9 April 1946 Became naval auxiliary (CNAV) until 1982
Dundurn Z41/502 25 November 1943 2 January 1947 Became naval auxiliary (CNAV) until 1993

Service history
The launch of Dundurn at the Canadian Bridge Company in 1943

Dundalk and Dundurn were ordered by the Royal Canadian Navy in 1942 after efforts to find a solution for the transportation of fuel oil for the convoy escorts along the Atlantic Coast had been found insufficient.[5] The two ships were constructed by the Canadian Bridge Company at their shipyard in Walkerville, Ontario.[4][6] Dundalk was launched on 4 July 1943 and Dundurn on 18 September of that year.[4][6] Dundalk was commissioned on 13  November 1943 and Dundurn on 25 November.[1]

During the Second World War, both vessels were used to transport fuel oil from refineries around Halifax, Nova Scotia to other naval bases along the Atlantic Coast being used by convoy escorts in the Battle of the Atlantic.[1] Dundalk would sometimes be employed as a lighter.[1] Following the end of the war, the Royal Canadian Navy intended to continue to use the vessels in this work instead of relying on civilian contractors.[7] Dundalk was paid off on 9 April 1946. The vessel became a Canadian naval auxiliary vessel (CNAV) with a civilian crew but remained under naval control. Dundurn was transferred to the West Coast of Canada, based at Esquimalt, British Columbia and paid off on 2 January 1947 for service as a CNAV.[1] In 1948, Dundalk was used to transport fuel oil from Halifax to Churchill, Manitoba in preparation for an Arctic cruise by large Canadian warships. In order to navigate in Hudson Bay, the ship was fitted with a gyro compass due to the poor navigation charts of the area. At Port Burwell, Dundalk refuelled the destroyers HMCS Haida and HMCS Nootka.[8] Dundalk remained in service at a CNAV and later as a CFAV (Canadian Forces auxiliary vessel) until 17 December 1982.[7][lower-alpha 2] Dundalk was wrecked on 7 November 1984.[6] Dundurn remained in service on the West Coast until 1993.[9] After a short period of time, she was sold to the Burrard Yacht Club in Vancouver on 08 May 1996 to be used as a floating breakwater.[lower-alpha 3] Ship was removed and towed to Fraser River for scrapping in 2014.[10]

Notes
  1. "Cwt" is the abbreviation for hundredweight, 20 cwt referring to the weight of the gun
  2. Macpherson & Barrie claim the vessel remained a CNAV until 13 November 1959.[1]
  3. http://forposterityssake.ca/Navy/HMCS_DUNDURN.htm

Citations
  1. Macpherson & Barrie 2002, p. 220.
  2. Moore 1981, p. 81.
  3. Sharpe 1990, p. 83.
  4. "Dundurn (6135120)". Miramar Ship Index. Retrieved 1 July 2017.
  5. Tucker 1952, p. 534.
  6. "Dundalk (8138346)". Miramar Ship Index. Retrieved 1 July 2017.
  7. "HMCS Dundalk". Royal Canadian Navy. 4 January 2017. Archived from the original on 3 March 2018. Retrieved 3 March 2018.
  8. Elliot-Meisel 1999, pp. 30–31.
  9. "HMCS Dundurn". Royal Canadian Navy. 4 January 2017. Archived from the original on 3 March 2018. Retrieved 3 March 2018.
  10. https://warsearcher.com/shipsearcher/royal-canadian-navy-current-and-retired/royal-canadian-navy-auxiliaries-and-other-ships/

Sources
  • Elliot-Meisel, Elizabeth B. (April 1999). "Arctic Focus: The Royal Canadian Navy in Arctic Waters, 1946–1949". The Northern Mariner. IX (2). ISSN 1183-112X.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  • Macpherson, Ken & Barrie, Ron (2002). The Ships of Canada's Naval Forces 1910–2002 (Third ed.). St. Catharines, Ontario: Vanwell Publishing. ISBN 1-55125-072-1.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  • Moore, John, ed. (1981). Jane's Fighting Ships 1981–82. New York: Jane's Publishing Incorporated. ISBN 0-531-03977-3.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  • Sharpe, Richard, ed. (1990). Jane's Fighting Ships 1990–91 (93 ed.). Surrey, United Kingdom: Jane's Information Group. ISBN 0-7106-0904-3.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  • Tucker, Gilbert Norman (1952). The Naval Service of Canada, Its Official History – Volume 2: Activities on Shore During the Second World War. Ottawa: King's Printer. OCLC 4346983.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
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