HMCS Esquimalt (J272)
HMCS Esquimalt
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| History | |
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 Canada
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| Name: | Esquimalt |
| Namesake: | Township of Esquimalt |
| Builder: | Marine Industries Ltd., Sorel |
| Laid down: | 20 December 1940 |
| Launched: | 8 August 1941 |
| Commissioned: | 26 October 1942 |
| Out of service: | 16 April 1945 |
| Identification: | pennant number: J272 |
| Honours and awards: |
Atlantic 1943–44, Gulf of St. Lawrence 1942. |
| Fate: | Sunk 16 April 1945 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type: | Bangor-class minesweeper |
| Displacement: | 592 long tons (601 t) |
| Length: | 162 ft (49.4 m) |
| Beam: | 28 ft (8.5 m) |
| Draught: | 8.25 ft (2.51 m) |
| Propulsion: | 2 shafts, 9-cylinder diesel, 2,000 bhp (1,500 kW) |
| Speed: | 16 knots (30 km/h) |
| Complement: | 83 |
| Armament: |
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HMCS Esquimalt was a Bangor-class minesweeper that served in the Royal Canadian Navy during the Second World War. She saw service in the Battle of the Atlantic and in the Battle of the St. Lawrence. She was sunk in 1945, the last Canadian warship to suffer that fate. She was named for Esquimalt, British Columbia.
The Bangor class was initially to be a scaled down minesweeper design of the Halcyon class in Royal Navy service. However due to the difficulty procuring diesel engines led to the small number of the diesel version being completed. The ships displaced 592 long tons (601 t) standard and 690 long tons (700 t) fully loaded. They were 162 feet (49.4 m) long with a beam of 28 feet (8.5 m) and a draught of 8 feet 3 inches (2.51 m). However, the size of the ship led to criticisms of their being too cramped for magnetic or acoustic minesweeping gear. This may have been due to all the additions made during the war with the installation of ASDIC, radar and depth charges.
The Bangor class came in two versions. Esquimalt was of the diesel-powered version, being equipped with a 9-cylinder diesel engine driving two shafts that produced 2,000 brake horsepower (1,500 kW). This gave the ship a maximum speed of 16.5 knots (30.6 km/h). The vessels carried 65 long tons (66 t) of oil. The vessels had a complement of 6 officers and 77 ratings.
The Canadian diesel-powered Bangors were armed with a single quick-firing (QF) 12-pounder 12 cwt gun mounted forward. Initially the design called for a 4-inch (102 mm) gun, however these were replaced with 12-pounder guns. The ships were also fitted with a QF 2-pounder Mark VIII gun aft and were eventually fitted with single-mounted QF 20 mm Oerlikon guns on the bridge wings. For those ships assigned to convoy duty, they were armed with two depth charge launchers and two chutes to deploy the 40 depth charges they carried.
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