HMCS Comox (MCB 146)

HMCS Comox was a Bay-class minesweeper built for the Royal Canadian Navy during the Cold War. The vessel was named for Comox Harbour, a bay in British Columbia. The minesweeper was later transferred to the Turkish Navy where she was renamed Tirebolu and served until 1996.

History
Canada
Name:	Comox
Builder:	Victoria Machinery Depot, Victoria
Laid down:	8 June 1951
Launched:	24 April 1952
Commissioned:	2 April 1954
Decommissioned:	11 September 1957
Identification:	MCB 146
Motto:	Ut habeas da (Give that what you may)[1]
Fate:	Sold in 1957 to Turkey as Tırebolu.
Badge:	argent, an ox-head erased at the shoulders and facing the dexter sable having upon its head a cock's comb gules[1]
Turkey
Name:	Tırebolu
Acquired:	1957
Commissioned:	31 March 1958
Stricken:	1995
General characteristics
Class and type:	Bay-class minesweeper
Displacement:	390 long tons (400 t) 412 long tons (419 t) (deep load)
Length:	152 ft (46 m)
Beam:	28 ft (8.5 m)
Draught:	8 ft (2.4 m)
Propulsion:	2 shafts, 2 GM 12-cylinder diesels, 2,400 bhp (1,800 kW)
Speed:	16 knots (30 km/h; 18 mph)
Complement:	38
Armament:	1 × Bofors 40 mm gun

Design

The Bay class were designed and ordered as replacements for the Second World War-era minesweepers that the Royal Canadian Navy operated at the time. Similar to the Ton-class minesweeper, they were constructed of wood planking and aluminum framing.[2][3]

Displacing 390 long tons (400 t) and 412 long tons (419 t) at deep load, the minesweepers were 152 ft (46 m) long with a beam of 28 ft (8.5 m) and a draught of 8 ft (2.4 m).[2][3] They had a complement of 38 officers and ratings.[note 1][3]

The Bay-class minesweepers were powered by two GM 12-cylinder diesel engines driving two shafts creating 2,400 brake horsepower (1,800 kW). This gave the ships a maximum speed of 16 knots (30 km/h; 18 mph).[2] The ships were armed with one Bofors 40 mm gun and were equipped with minesweeping gear.[2][3]

Service history

Comox was laid down on 8 June 1951 by Victoria Machinery Depot at Victoria with the yard number 53 and launched on 24 April 1952.[4][5] The vessel was commissioned into the Royal Canadian Navy on 2 April 1954 with the hull identification number 146.[5]

Comox spent three years in service with the Royal Canadian Navy. The minesweeper was paid off on 11 September 1957. She was transferred to Turkey on 31 March 1958 and renamed TCG Tirebolu with the identification number M-352.[5] She was sold in 1996.[6]

References

Notes

1. Gardiner and Chumbley state the complement was 40.

Citations

1. Arbuckle, p. 28
2. Gardiner and Chumbley, p. 49.
3. Macpherson and Barrie, p. 271.
4. "Comox (6123274)". Miramar Ship Index. Retrieved 30 April 2016.
5. Macpherson and Barrie, p. 272.
6. Colledge, p. 150.

References

• Arbuckle, J. Graeme (1987). Badges of the Canadian Navy. Halifax, Nova Scotia: Nimbus Publishing. ISBN 0-920852-49-1.
• Colledge, J. J.; Warlow, Ben (2006) [1969]. Ships of the Royal Navy: The Complete Record of all Fighting Ships of the Royal Navy (Rev. ed.). London: Chatham Publishing. ISBN 978-1-86176-281-8.
• Gardiner, Robert; Chumbley, Stephen; Budzbon, Przemysław, eds. (1995). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1947–1995. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 1-55750-132-7.
• 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.