HMCS Reindeer
| History | |
|---|---|
 Canada | |
| Name | Reindeer |
| Namesake | Reindeer |
| Operator | Royal Canadian Navy |
| Builder | Newport News S.B. Co, Newport News |
| Launched | 1926 |
| Commissioned | 25 July 1940 |
| Decommissioned | 20 July 1945 |
| Identification | pennant number: S08 |
| Honours and awards | Atlantic 1940,[1] Gulf of St. Lawrence 1942[2] |
| Fate | Sold |
| General characteristics | |
| Displacement | 337 long tons (342 t) |
| Length | 140 ft (43 m) |
| Beam | 24 ft (7.3 m) |
| Draught | 9 ft (2.7 m) |
| Propulsion | 2 Winton Diesels, 2 shafts[3] |
| Speed | 11 knots (20 km/h; 13 mph) |
| Crew | 40 |
| Armament | 1 4-inch gun |
HMCS Reindeer, formerly Mascotte and Josephine,[3] was an armed yacht that served in the Royal Canadian Navy during the Second World War. She served mainly in local waters, escorting convoys until becoming a training vessel at Halifax, Nova Scotia at the end of 1942. The ship remained as such until being paid off to reserve in 1945 and was sold.
Service history
After failing to acquire any British vessels at the outset of the war for auxiliary purposes, the Royal Canadian Navy discreetly searched the American market for suitable ships. However, American law prevented the sale of ships for possible use in the war to any of the belligerents. The Canadian Navy, requisitioned unsuitable Canadian yachts and had their respective owners go the United States and buy those ships the Navy wanted as replacements. Once the ships arrived in Canada, the navy then returned the original yachts and requisitioned the new ones.[4] Reindeer was one such, originally named Mascotte, she had been constructed at Newport News S.B. Co. at Newport News, Virginia in 1926. The vessel was purchased in 1940 and sent to Quebec City for conversion to an armed yacht.[5]
Once there, the ship had a 4-inch gun installed forward. Renamed Reindeer, the vessel made its way to Halifax where she was commissioned on 25 July 1940. The ship was assigned to Sydney Force as a coastal escort remaining with them until December, when she returned to Halifax for the winter.[5]
In July 1941 Reindeer joined the Gaspe Force before transferring to the Halifax Local Defence Force by the end of the year. In 1942 the ship spent time with the Sydney Force and the local escorts working out of Saint John, New Brunswick.[5] In November 1942, there was a mutiny aboard the ship to protest against the captain.[6] On 24 December 1942 she became a training vessel with HMCS Cornwallis for anti-submarine training purposes working with Royal Navy submarines on loan.[5]
In 1943, Reindeer, still serving in that capacity, transferred with the establishment to Digby, Nova Scotia and remained there until the end of the war except for one stint at Saint John.[7] The vessel was paid off at Sydney, Nova Scotia on 20 July 1945 and placed in reserve. She was sold later in 1945.[5]
See also
References
- Notes
- ^ "Battle Honours". Britain's Navy. Retrieved 18 September 2013.
- ^ "Battle Honours 2". Veterans Affairs Canada. Retrieved 18 September 2013.
- ^ a b McMurtrie, p.104
- ^ Macpherson & Barrie, p.204
- ^ a b c d e Macpherson & Barrie, p.210
- ^ Howard Coombs, ed. (March 2008). The Insubordinate and the Noncompliant: Case Studies of Canadian Mutiny and Disobedience, 1920 to Present. Dundurn. p. 232. ISBN 978-1-55002-764-8.
- ^ "HMCS Reindeer". For Posterity's Sake. Retrieved 18 September 2013.
- References
- Macpherson, Ken; Barrie, Ron. (2002) Warships of Canada's Naval Forces 1910-2002. 3rd Edition. St. Catharines: Vanwell Publishing Limtied. ISBN 1-55125-072-1
- Francis E. McMurtrie, ed. (June 1943). Jane's Fighting Ships 1942. London: Samspon Low & Marten.
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