HMCS BLAIRMORE

HMCS BLAIRMORE, built by the Port Arthur Shipbuilding Company, Ltd, was commissioned on 17 November, 1942. Her specifications are those of the other steam Bangors built in Canada:

• Length overall 180’
• Breadth, extreme 28’ 6”
• Draught, full load, aft 11’ 9”
• Speed, maximum 16½ knots
• Displacement, standard 672 tons
• Endurance, cruising 2,950 miles.

She has twin screws which are driven by two triple-expansion, steam reciprocating engines of 2,400 horse-power. Her armament consisted of one 12-pounder, one twin Oerlikon, and two single Oerlikons. She also carried depth-charges for anti-submarine work. 1

BLAIRMORE’s first operational assignment was with the escort group W-4. She served with this group for a year, escorting ships to and from Halifax, St. John’s, Boston, and New York and the Western Ocean Meeting Point east of Newfoundland. Early in 1944, the Admiralty asked for a number of RCN Bangors to serve with the assaut forces in the projected invasion of France, and BLAIRMORE was one of the sixteen chosen. She sailed from St. John’s on 24 February, 1944, for England, arriving at Plymouth on 8 March.

During the invasion, BLAIRMORE served with the 14th (British) Minesweeping Flotilla 2, one of the many Bangors that steamed in the van, leading the huge assault force to the beaches. Sweeping a path for the invasion fleet was merely a beginning, and for month after month the Bangors continued to sweep and counter-sweep the channels used by the thousands of ships supplying the armies on the continent. BLAIRMORE was long overdue for refit when she was at last relieved. She arrived back in Halifax on 6 April, 1945, and when the war in Europe ended was in Lunenburg undergoing refit.

But though the war on land had ended there was still work for the Bangors to do. Thousands upon thousands of mines, both enemy and allied, had to be cleared to make the waters of the European coast safe for shipping. As a result, when BLAIRMORE came out of refit, she sailed at once for England, arriving at Plymouth on 9 July. For over two months she remained on sweeping duties, finally sailing for home on 21 September.

BLAIRMORE’s work was finished for the time being and on 16 October, 1945, she was paid off. On 14 December, she was turned over to War Assets Corporation which later sold her to Marine Industries, Limited, Sorel, P.Q. In 1951, the RCN re-acquired BLAIRMORE and converted her into a coastal escort. Following conversion, she was placed in reserve at Sydney, N.S., where she remained until taken out for overhaul prior to transfer to Turkey under the programme of Mutual Aid to member nations of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.