Bay-class minesweeper

For the Australian minehunter, see Bay class minehunter.

Class overview
Name:	Bay class
Operators:	Royal Canadian Navy ⁄ Royal Canadian Navy French Navy Turkish Navy
In commission:	1 December 1953 – 1998
Completed:	20
Retired:	20
General characteristics
Type:	Minesweeper
Displacement:	390 tons
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, 2400 bhp
Speed:	16 kn (30 km/h; 18 mph)
Complement:	38
Sensors and processing systems:	Mechanical minesweeping equipment (later removed)
Armament:	1 × 40mm Bofors single mount (later removed)
Notes:	Initial plan was for 14 vessels. 6 RCN vessels sold to allies while under construction, replaced by 6 new builds carrying the same name but new pennants.

The Bay-class minesweepers were a class of minesweepers operated by the Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) and Canadian Forces (CF) during the Cold War. Their design was similar to the British Ton-class minesweepers.

The class derives its name from bays in Canada and was designed by the RCN as a replacement for Second World War-era minesweepers. Fourteen were laid down in 1951–1952, however six were subsequently transferred to the French Navy in 1954. These ships were replaced by six of the same name in 1956–1957 but were assigned new pennant numbers.

They were reclassed in Canadian Forces service as patrol escorts in 1972 and six vessels remained in service until the late 1990s, providing coastal surveillance and shiphandling experience for junior officers with Maritime Forces Pacific.\ The removal of the aft mounted minesweeping equipment in the 1970s allowed for the erection of additional sleeping spaces and a wash space for aspiring officers, unofficially known on all ships as "Dunk's Diner".

Ships

Ship	Original pennant number	Builder	Laid down	Launched	Commissioned	Paid off	Fate
Chaleur	MCB 144	Port Arthur Shipbuilding, Port Arthur	8 Jun 1951	21 Jun 1952	18 Jun 1954	30 Sep 1954	Sold to France as La Dieppoise in 1954, stricken 1985.
Chaleur	MCB 164	Marine Industries, Sorel	20 Feb 1956	11 May 1957	12 Sep 1957	18 Dec 1998
Chignecto	MCB 156	Marine Industries, Sorel	4 Jun 1951	13 Jun 1952	1 Dec 1953	31 May 1954	Sold to France as La Bayonnaise in 1954, stricken 1976.
Chignecto	MCB 160	Davie Shipbuilding, Lauzon	25 Oct 1955	17 Nov 1956	1 Aug 1957	19 Dec 1998
Comox	MCB 146	Victoria Machinery Depot, Victoria	8 Jun 1951	24 Apr 1952	2 Apr 1954	11 Sep 1957	Sold to Turkey as Tirebolu in 1957.
Cowichan	MCB 147	Victoria Machinery Depot, Victoria	20 Jun 1951	12 Nov 1951	10 Dec 1953	31 Mar 1954	Sold to France as La Malouine in 1954, stricken 1977.
Cowichan	MCB 162	Yarrows Shipbuilding, Esquimalt	10 Jul 1956	26 Feb 1957	12 Dec 1957	22 Aug 1997
Fortune	MCB 151	Victoria Machinery Depot, Victoria	24 Apr 1952	14 Apr 1953	3 Nov 1954	28 Feb 1964	Sold in 1964, becoming mercantile Greenpeace Two in 1966 and later Edgewater Fortune.
Fundy	MCB 145	Saint John Drydock and Shipbuilding, Saint John	19 Jun 1951	9 Dec 1953	19 Mar 1954	31 Mar 1964	Sold to France as La Dunkerquoise in 1954, stricken 1984.
Fundy	MCB 159	Davie Shipbuilding, Lauzon	7 Mar 1955	14 Jun 1956	27 Nov 1956	19 Dec 1996
Gaspe	MCB 143	Davie Shipbuilding, Lauzon	21 Mar 1951	12 Nov 1951	5 Dec 1953	22 Aug 1957	Sold to Turkey as Trabzon in 1957.
James Bay	MCB 152	Yarrows Shipbuilding, Esquimalt	16 Aug 1951	12 Mar 1953	3 May 1954	28 Feb 1964	Sold into mercantile service.
Miramichi	MCB 150	Saint John Drydock and Shipbuilding, Saint John	13 Jun 1952	4 May 1954	30 Jul 1954	1 Oct 1964	Sold to France as La Lorientaise in 1954, stricken 1984.
Miramichi	MCB 163	Victoria Machinery Depot, Victoria	2 Feb 1956	22 Feb 1957	29 Oct 1957	16 Dec 1998
Quinte	MCB 149	Port Arthur Shipbuilding, Port Arthur	14 Jun 1952	8 Aug 1953	15 Oct 1954	26 Feb 1964
Resolute	MCB 154	Kingston Shipbuilding, Kingston	29 Feb 1951	20 Jun 1953	16 Sep 1954	14 Feb 1964
Thunder	MCB 153	Canadian Vickers, Montreal	17 May 1951	17 Jul 1952	15 Dec 1953	31 Mar 1964	Sold to France as La Paimpolaise in 1954, stricken 1986.
Thunder	MCB 153	Port Arthur Shipbuilding, Port Arthur	1 Sep 1955	27 Oct 1956	3 Oct 1957	22 Aug 1997
Trinity	MCB 157	Davie Shipbuilding, Lauzon	31 Jan 1952	31 Jul 1953	16 Jun 1954	21 Aug 1957	Sold to Turkey as Terme in 1957.
Ungava	MCB 148	Davie Shipbuilding, Lauzon	17 Dec 1951	20 May 1953	4 Jun 1954	23 Aug 1957	Sold to Turkey as Tekirdag in 1957.

References

Citations

References

• Bay class - hazegray.org