HMCS HUSKY

The United States luxury yachting world in the summer of 1939 seemed very remote from the warlike preparations being made in Europe for a conflict, which now appeared inevitable.  Large powered yachts, with their shining brass-work, scrubbed decks, and gleaming paintwork, added to the colourful scene at the various regattas held up and down the coasts.  As they relaxed in their oak-panelled saloons, sipping a pre-dinner glass of sherry after a pleasant day of sailing, the owners of this gilded fleet would have been startled to learn what fate had in store for some of their vessels, one of which, Wild Duck, later became HMCS HUSKY.

At the beginning of the Second World War the Royal Canadian Navy was manning thirteen ships of which six were fairly modern destroyers, [1] two were training vessels, [2] and the remainder were small minesweepers. [3]  More warships were urgently needed and to remedy this situation all available vessels, suitable for naval service, were requisitioned and a shipbuilding programme was started.  In December, 1939, it was decided to obtain yachts in the United States for anti-submarine duties, to fill the gap until new construction became available.  As the US was neutral at this time the vessels could not be bought directly by the Canadian Government but, under an ingenious arrangement, were purchased by private yachtsmen, who received their instructions from Mr Lesslie Thomson of the Department of Transport.  Once the craft were under Canadian registry and had arrived in Canada they were taken over for service with the RCN.  One of the patriotic yachtsmen involved in this scheme was Mr G. H. Duggan of Montreal, who purchased the American motor vessel, Wild Duck.

A number of the yachts, including Wild Duck, were brought to Halifax in April, 1940, but, in order not to involve, openly, the Canadian Government in any way the strictest secrecy was maintained until 17 May when officers and ratings employed in the ships were allowed to wear uniforms.  Shortly after this the actual process of taking over the yachts from private owners, began.  Mr Duggan received word that to date 27 May, 1940, the Minister of National Defence required MV Wild Duck, which had recently been bought in the US.  Three days later Wild Duck, [4] in company with another yacht, Mascotte, sailed for Quebec City.

The two ships arrived in the St. Lawrence River on 2 June, 1940, at a time when the Allied fortunes were at a low ebb.  Norway, Denmark, Holland, and Belgium had recently been occupied by the Nazis; France was at the point of collapse whilst a hard-pressed British army was being evacuated from the beaches of Dunkirk.  Where the conversion of the yachts, for war, had formerly been important it was now urgent and vital.

A Montreal firm of naval architects, Lambert, German and Milne, had been given the job of surveying the east coast craft and the first one to come up for inspection was Wild Duck.  It was considered not in the public interest, owing to the need for speed, to go through the usual procedure of calling for tenders to do the refitting work and the Director of Shipping therefore instructed a number of companies best suited. [5]  The Morton Engineering and Dry Dock Company of Quebec City worked on MV Wild Duck (or Xania II), which was now known in official naval correspondence as HMCS HUSKY, during June and July, 1940.  After her refit [6] and exhaustive trials the ship made the voyage back to Halifax, where she arrived on 21 July.  At 0800 on 23 July, 1940, the armed yacht, with her complement of five officers and 30 ratings, was commissioned as HMCS HUSKY and officially joined His Majesty’s Canadian Fleet.

The warship, as her company saw her on that day, now belonged to the “Animal” [7] Class.  Ten years old, having been built at Bay City, Michigan, in 1930 by the Defoe Boat and Engine Works, she had the following specifications:

• Displacement: 360 tons
• Length: 153’ 2”
• Breadth: 24’ 7”
• Draught: 9’ 7½”

The 900-horse-power Diesel engine gave a speed of 10-12½ knots and gunnery armament consisted of 1-4” Q.F. gun and 1 Lewis gun.  As HUSKY’s main role was to be in anti-submarine warfare she was equipped with eight depth-charges and Hydrophone Installation Type 123. [8]

Stores were embarked and early in August, 1940, HUSKY and REINDEER steamed up to Sydney, N.S.  The previous month this port had been made the assembly point for ships from the St. Lawrence area destined for the United Kingdom and warships were in urgent demand to escort them to join the main outward-bound convoys from Halifax. [9]  Also local escorts were required for slow convoys, [10] consisting of ships unable to do more than nine knots, for which Sydney was now the point of departure.

For the first few weeks at her new base HUSKY was employed, in rotation with other ships, in providing an A/S (Anti-Submarine) patrol outside Sydney.  This work was inclined to be dull and unspectacular but was very important in that it gave protection against submarines during the vulnerable period when convoys were forming up outside the harbour defences.  On 10 September the yachts sailed with HMS Deptford [11] as local escort for SC-4 and, after three days, left the convoy to return to Sydney and resume patrol.

The shortage of escort vessels was becoming even more acute and from the middle of September onwards the armed yachts began to carry the main load of escorting the Sydney section [12] of HX convoys.  By the end of the month HUSKY had accompanied SHX-74, SHX-75, SHX-76 and SHX-77 to their ocean rendezvous.  The routine was unchanging; HUSKY and another armed yacht would sail the night before the convoy and patrol off the boom.  In the forenoon of the following day the merchantmen would start to leave harbour and, after they had formed into columns, the two warships would take up screening positions.  Approximately twenty-four hours later the main convoy would be sighted and messages exchanged with the Senior Officer, who was usually in an Armed Merchant Cruiser.  Having shepherded the Sydney section in astern of the Halifax contingent the yachts would receive permission to return home, where they would arrive on the next day.

By the time SHX-81 sailed on 17 October winter had arrived on the east coast of Canada and HUSKY had to contend with the elements as well as possible attacks by the enemy.  For this convoy REINDEER was Senior Officer of the local escort and in the middle watch of the 18^th she had to heave to and let the merchant ships steam away.  The next day REINDEER met HUSKY at the entrance to the harbour and learnt that the latter had managed to stick with the convoy eight hours longer than herself but had had to leave it when visibility became zero and the weather too rough to continue.  The two yachts left Sydney again on 20 October and in a strong wind, accompanied by snow squalls, awaited the sailing of SHX-82 on Trafalgar Day.  In due course the convoy got under way and rendezvous was made with HMS Alaunia [13] and HX-82.  REINDEER and HUSKY turned over their charges and altered course for their base.  Within a few hours the yachts ran into the teeth of a north-westerly gale, which caused damage to both of them, HUSKY, in particular, being unfit for sea until the second week of November, 1940. [14]

HUSKY gave support to eight more convoys [15] in November and December before being sent to Halifax, where she arrived with ELK on 11 December. [16] Sundry defects were made good and the two ships, with another armed yacht, VISON, were escorted to Bermuda by HMS Montclare. [17] A few days were spent at the RN Dockyard on the island and HUSKY and VISON then continued to Trinidad.  The Canadian yachts were operating under the orders of the Commander-in-Chief, America and West Indies Command [18] and were employed, generally, on patrol of the A/S loops between Trinidad and Venezuela.  This was a distinct improvement on struggling to keep station on pitching merchant ships, off the blizzard-swept Nova Scotian coast.

The quiet routine of patrolling was interrupted for HUSKY by an incident which occurred in early February, 1941.  Arrangements had been completed in distant New York between the British Ministry of Shipping and the Standard Oil Company of New Jersey whereby two Danish tankers, Christian Holm and Scandia, [19] lying at St. Thomas, US Virgin Islands, would sail ostensibly for Caripito, Venezuela, but would, in fact, be seized by the Allies whilst on passage.  On being informed of the scheme, Commander-in-Chief, A and WI issued orders under the code name “Operation Bacon”. [20]  The cruiser, HMS Caradoc, was to intercept the ships but if she failed to make contact, VISON and HUSKY, who would be patrolling Boca Grande [21] under Caradoc’s orders, would endeavour to stop the tankers.  The two Danish vessels cleared St. Thomas towards the end of January and as they approached the Dragon’s Mouths, HUSKY and VISON were in wait with the Netherlands Gunnery Training Ship, HMNS Van Kinsbergen, who had been put in command of them by Admiral Kennedy- Purvis.

In the early morning light on 5 February two steamers were sighted by HUSKY and, as she increased speed and altered course to intercept, a coded “sighting” report was sent out to Van Kinsbergen.  The Netherlands ship was not in sight and the Commanding Officer of the Canadian armed yacht therefore decided to send over armed parties to the two tankers, which were now lying stopped close to HUSKY.  The boarding officers were instructed not to seize in prize or strike the Danish flag unless resistance was offered.  Naval personnel were soon climbing up rope ladders on to the decks of the tankers, where they were received with the utmost friendliness by the Danes.  After precautions had been taken to prevent wireless transmissions or the possibility of scuttling, Scandia and Christian Holm shaped course in line ahead for Port of Spain, Trinidad.  The time was now 0630 and about ten minutes later Van Kinsbergen appeared on the scene, ordered the ships to stop and sent a boarding party to each, although she knew that HUSKY had already taken over the vessels.  Aboard the prizes the Dutchmen quickly went to key positions much to the amazement of the Canadians, who were completely ignored.  Next, the Danish ensign was struck and the Netherlands ensign hoisted in its place.  This last act was observed from the bridge of HUSKY, who immediately signalled to Van Kinsbergen “Did you order the Netherlands ensign hoisted?”  Reply was received “I Did.”  HUSKY then made to Van Kinsbergen “Submit these are British prizes” to which the Netherlands ship replied “You are under my orders”.

On this brusque note the matter was closed for the moment and HUSKY was ordered to resume patrol.  Aboard the tankers the two Allies watched each other with grave suspicion but did not actually come to blows.  The Dutch officers took over the navigation and the ships steamed to Port of Spain via Boca Huevos.  Anchor was dropped in the harbour and a detail of the Trinidad Volunteers came on board as guard; tension had eased by this time to the extent that the Canadian boarding officer in Scandia lent his Dutch counterpart 3s 6d to buy cigarettes for his men.  However, the “battle” was resumed on paper in the Reports of Proceedings rendered to the C-in-C and in due course a review of the incident was forwarded to the Naval Secretary, Ottawa.  In this letter the Admiral made it clear that he thought that the Commanding Officer of HUSKY had shown initiative and was quite correct to put armed parties on the tankers in view of the ships’ close proximity to Venezuelan territorial waters but that the Commanding Officer “would have been wiser not to protest on the spot against the hoisting of the Dutch flag”.  It was evident that Van Kinsbergen’s idea in putting up his colours was to add the ships to his list of captures and not with any view of claiming them as Dutch prizes. [22]  The Canadian mistake was in not formally seizing the vessels in prize but the way in which the Dutchmen took over was provocative of antagonistic feelings, to put it mildly.  Actually, as Admiral Kennedy-Purvis had pointed out in an earlier signal the question of captors was immaterial.  The important thing was that two valuable tankers [23]  had been added to the Allied Merchant Fleet.

HUSKY made her headquarters for February, March, April, May and the early weeks of June, 1941, at Trinidad, where she was of inestimable value to C-in-C, A and WI on patrol and A/S escort duties.  Her capabilities in the latter employment had been improved by conversion to A/S equipment, Type 123A, in February.

The armed yachts were still required for operations in Canadian waters and by May, 1941, could be spared no longer.  Accordingly, VISON and ELK returned to Halifax.  Permission was given by the Chief of the Naval Staff for one yacht to remain until June and on the 16^th of that month HUSKY sailed for the last time from Trinidad.  Leaving the Windward Islands astern she passed Sombrero [24] on 21 June and, after a brief call at Bermuda, HUSKY berthed alongside at Halifax on 26 June.  Very soon afterwards the yacht was ordered to Lunenburg for a refit, which kept her out of action until late in August.  Back at Halifax HUSKY joined the Local Defence Force and formed part of a two-ship patrol off the harbour for five days in both August and September, 1941.

Saint John, N.B., had become increasingly important as a merchant ship loading point and repair base [25] and from 24 September, 1941, HUSKY came under the orders of the Naval Officer in Charge at this port.  For the next five months the yacht was attached to the Examination Service at Saint John and carried out the duties of an examination vessel.

The Examination Service was responsible for identifying and controlling all merchant vessels and minor warships.  Usually HUSKY alternated every three days with another ship [26] and during a duty period would be stationed near the entrance to the harbour at all hours except when the port was closed.  A vessel identified was given a special signal to hoist, by HUSKY, and with this flying was permitted to enter by the port authorities.  Any ship, which was not immediately recognized, was directed to the examination anchorage for more detailed inspection.  Failure to obey orders brought a warning shot across the bows.

Whilst HUSKY was engaged on this pedestrian but important duty the USN fleet in Pearl Harbor was attacked by Japanese planes on 7 December, 1941.  The United States declared war on Japan the following day and on 11 December Germany and Italy declared war on her.  It was obvious that German U-boats would move in on the American seaboard and almost a month to the day, on 12 January, 1942, their attack opened.  The British steamer, SS Cyclops, was torpedoed and sunk 300 miles east of Cape Cod, the first ship to be destroyed off North America within the Pan American Neutrality zone declared in 1939.  For some months [27] the enemy had a happy hunting ground off the US Atlantic coast and in the Caribbean.  The USN had no convoy organization and had its light craft scattered along the coasts to patrol the shipping lanes.  Assisted by the bright lights of coastal towns, [28] which silhouetted the merchant ships on passage at night, the submarines operated virtually unopposed.

Canadian local convoys, Halifax-Boston [29] and Boston-Halifax, [30] were organized in March, 1942, as an answer to U-boat depredations.  Convoy XB-1 consisting of twelve ships formed up off Sambro Light Vessel, Halifax, on the 18^th; escorts were still scarce and a lone destroyer, HMCS OTTAWA, was in company until 20 March when she left to rendezvous with BX-1, having detached the Saint John portion of XB-1 on the 19^th.  The sailings of this series of convoys continued and on 28 March HUSKY started escort duties again when she sailed to meet XB-5, which was coming round from Halifax accompanied by two minesweepers, HMC Ships GODERICH and MAHONE, with five ships for Saint John.

HUSKY was at sea again on 9 April with ten ships of BX-5, which she had brought out from Saint John.  Thirteen miles north-north-west of Lurcher Light Vessel, off the Nova Scotian coast, the destroyer, HMS Vanoc, closed the convoy and took over from the yacht, which returned up the Bay of Fundy.

By 27 April when XB-14 sailed from Halifax, U-boats were still wreaking havoc but the USN had reduced losses to a certain extent on the east coast by the introduction of the “bucket-brigade”, a system whereby merchant ships were given daylight escort on coastal passage and held in anchorages at night.  This amounted to a self-imposed 50 per cent blockade involving longer delays than with a proper convoy system, but it reduced opportunities for attack.

XB-14 consisted of eight vessels, six for Saint John, one for the West Indies and one for New York.  On 28 April SS Lady Rodney was detached from Bermuda and the minesweeper, HMCS NIPIGON, with SS Fort Amherst shaped course for New York.  The Saint John section with the minesweeper, HMCS MEDICINE HAT, continued until met by HUSKY and CARIBOU, who took over escort duty for the rest of the voyage.

Heavy fog in May, 1942, added to the problem of keeping to a convoy schedule and the experience of BX-19 gives a good example of this.  The convoy was delayed sailing from Boston by fog but had expected to meet the Saint John contingent in position 43⁰ 45’ N, 66⁰ 33’ W.  Dense fog still prevailed as BX-19 groped its way towards the rendezvous but of the other ships there was no sound.  HUSKY, meanwhile, had sailed with the Saint John portion but had been forced to return to base with engine trouble.  She had left her charges in the vicinity of Seal Island, having instructed them to proceed to Halifax.  On the following day, 23 May, visibility had greatly improved and HMS Verity, who was with BX-19, made a wide search 25 miles ahead and 42 miles astern for the missing ships, but without success.  In spite of these mishaps both BX-19 and the Saint John section arrived at the port of destination without loss.

Failure to make contact with Boston convoys, now that the “bucket-brigade” was operating, does not seem to have been entirely the fault of the armed yachts as pointed out by the Naval Officer in Charge, [31] Saint John, in May: [32]  “The new system of American controlled convoys will no doubt work out well in time but at present this port feels the pinch through lack of information in sufficient time.  Time of expected departure from USA is given and from that we must calculate the time of rendezvous.  Ships are then given instructions and placed outside the harbour to sail when usually a last minute signal changes the time of rendezvous.  This necessitates boarding all ships, usually in the middle of the night, to change the orders.  Foggy weather makes this difficult and confusing at the best of times.”  Further on in the same report he shows that the yachts, which had steamed thousands of miles and stopped the gap until better escorts were available, had begun to feel the strain:  “It is felt that suitable escort should be based at Saint John for our portion of BX convoys.  The present converted yachts are not reliable and recently we had to hold five ships over owing to lack of escort.”

Saint John continued to be busy in June, 1942, and HUSKY set out on the 9^th with the local section to meet BX-23B, which had left Boston with Verity.  Rendezvous was not effected, again probably due to the troubles enumerated by NOIC in his May report, although Verity reported that his party had arrived in the arranged position exactly on time.  The following month shipping at the Bay of Fundy port was quite slack as changes were pending in routeing consequent upon the USN beginning to organize proper convoys; HUSKY was put on inner patrol off the harbour.  The sighting of a “submarine” off Negro Head on 29 July and a suspicious craft in a given position, five days later, enlivened this period but the yacht made no contact with the enemy.  She returned to her old duty with the Examination Service and stayed on this work [33] until she finally sailed for Halifax on 3 September.

At the Nova Scotian base HUSKY was placed under the jurisdiction of Captain (D) [34] for working-up practices to test the efficiency of her ship’s company.  On completion she was placed in dry dock at Pictou, NS, for general repairs.  By the end of the month HUSKY was back at Halifax, where, having had her appearance changed with a new camouflage, she joined the local Defence Force for patrol cruises.

The days of “front line” duty for the A/S yachts were now drawing to a close.  The Naval Staff [35] had decided that the craft should be re-classed to examination vessels or training ships as soon as convenient.  In late November, 1942, HUSKY had her A/S dome removed and depth-charges landed.  She was employed on examination and miscellaneous tasks as part of the local force to 1 March, 1943, when she was allocated to HMCS CORNWALLIS, the RCN training establishment.  HUSKY made a short local cruise in April when she escorted the submarine, HMS Seawolf, to St. Margaret’s Bay.  On return a refit began at Halifax early in May to prepare the yacht for her instructional role; work included the conversion [36] from Type 123A A/S equipment to Type 127A and adaptation of the ship to accommodate thirty additional seamen under training.

HUSKY’s controlling authority, CORNWALLIS, was at this time in the process of moving to new headquarters.  The training establishment had been commissioned as a sub-command a year previously on 1 May, 1942, to relieve the pressure on the main naval barracks, HMCS STADACONA.  Although this eased the administrative problem it was only a stop-gap until there could be physical removal away from Halifax.  Deep Brook, on the Annapolis Basin, NS, was chosen as a suitable locale by the Naval Board and as new buildings became ready the various schools transferred their operations. [37]  The Anti-Submarine School, with which the armed yacht was to be actively associated, officially moved to Deep Brook on 25 June, 1943.

Her alterations completed, HUSKY proceeded coast-wise to Digby, NS, where she secured alongside the Canadian Pacific Railway jetty [38] on 8 July, to join the training fleet. [39]  Shortly afterwards the yacht carried out a programme, which she was to repeat many times in the years ahead.  In company with Seawolf, HUSKY spent three days in the Bay of Fundy exercising with aircraft and in general A/S drills.  Later in July she stood off Digby Gut to assist, if required, the tug Graeme Stuart, who was towing in a gallant veteran of the Battle of the Atlantic to spend her last days in training young seamen at Deep Brook.

The destroyer, HMCS SAGUENAY, was commissioned in 1931, one of the first two ships [40] to be built specifically for the RCN.  During the war she had had an eventful career, which included survival after torpedoing, riding out the worst North Atlantic hurricane in years and living through a collision, as a result of which her stern had been sliced off and further damage sustained by the explosion of her own depth-charges.  Now safely brought to Annapolis Basin, where she was moored, the old ship became affectionately known as “HMCS STANDSTILL”.

HUSKY made frequent trips to the practice area in the vicinity of Digby for the rest of the year.  Usually she exercised with VISON and Seawolf but the latter was relieved by another submarine, HMS L23, in November, 1943.  A collision between HUSKY and L23 in Courtenay Bay, near Saint John, during January, 1944, made it necessary for the yacht to go into dry dock.  Luckily damage was only slight and with her starboard propeller blades faired up she was back in the Bay of Fundy by March.  Seawolf returned two months later and HUSKY operated with her before starting a long refit which kept the yacht at Saint John until July; seamanship training was still carried out whilst alongside.  Early on the morning of 31 July the ship put to sea but, after striking a submerged object which damaged her A/S dome, returned for a further spell in dry dock.

The British submarine, HMS Unseen, had replaced Seawolf when HUSKY once more sailed for the familiar waters.  With either L23 or Unseen, and ELK, HUSKY carried out exercises through the fall and winter of 1944 to meet the insatiable demand of the RCN for more and more trained men.  In the new year she began a series of sea-drill routines with VISON, the yacht, HMCS SANS PEUR, and L23 or Seawolf.  SANS PEUR, being fitted with more modern equipment, had the A/S classes on board whilst the other yachts were mainly used for seamanship and gunnery exercises.  On these sea-training cruises it was customary for one of the yachts to escort the submarine to Saint John for fuel; in April, 1945, HUSKY made three trips to the New Brunswick port.

The war in Europe officially ended on 8 May, 1945, but the yacht continued with her seamanship cruises for the rest of that month.  HUSKY and REINDEER were declared surplus on 6 June and their naval careers were nearly over.  HUSKY made two more trips to Saint John for fuel, escorting L23 back on one of them.  Alongside Digby Jetty the yacht had the submarine berthed on her until late July, when HUSKY was transferred from the administration of CORNWALLIS to that of the Naval Officer in Charge, Sydney.  By 27 July she had made the forty-hour passage around the coast of Nova Scotia and lay at Sydney for final disposal.  The ship’s company went ashore, with their bags and hammocks, for the last time when HUSKY paid off on 3 August, 1945.  After destoring she lay at Sydney until sold with REINDEER and CARIBOU to the Margaree Steamship Company Limited.  On 30 November, 1945, her new owners signed a receipt for the former HMCS HUSKY, pennants Z-28. [41]  Once again a “civilian” the yacht did not remain long under Canadian registry.  In 1946 she was reconverted and at the latest report (1953) was being used as harbour commissioner’s craft for the port of New Orleans, USA.

HUSKY, as one of the “Animal” Class, was named after the Siberian husky, which is one of the predominant draft dogs [42] of the North.  This canine had great powers of endurance and is capable of tremendous speed.  Huskies will pull heavy loads on very little food for days; affection and loyalty for their driver is strong, so much so that they will struggle on until they drop dead from hunger and exhaustion. [43]

In the great frozen wastes of the far North the husky dog always has to work hard under adverse conditions to survive and win through to his goal.  The few escort ships in 1940, of which HMCS HUSKY was one, were faced with a task requiring similar fortitude and endurance.  Since those dark, hazardous days when she first went to war much water [44] had passed under the yacht’s forefoot.  Most of these miles steamed had been on necessary but unspectacular work but the name of HUSKY will always be proudly listed amongst the “few”, who, before more modern ships were built and commissioned, held the line in the critical early days of the Second World War.