HMCS Galt (K163)

HMCS Galt circa August 1944, after completion of the foc'sle extension undertaken in New York that started in May 1944.
History
Canada
Name:	Galt
Namesake:	Galt, Ontario
Ordered:	1 February 1940
Builder:	Collingwood Shipyards, Collingwood
Laid down:	27 May 1940
Launched:	28 December 1940
Commissioned:	15 May 1941
Out of service:	paid off 21 June 1945
Identification:	Pennant number: K163
Honours and awards:	Atlantic 1941-45
Fate:	scrapped 1946.
General characteristics
Class and type:	Flower-class corvette (original)
Displacement:	925 long tons (940 t; 1,036 short tons)
Length:	205 ft (62.48 m)o/a
Beam:	33 ft (10.06 m)
Draught:	11.5 ft (3.51 m)
Propulsion:	Single shaft 2 × fire tube Scotch boilers 1 × 4-cycle triple-expansion reciprocating steam engine 2,750 ihp (2,050 kW)
Speed:	16 knots (29.6 km/h)
Range:	3,500 nautical miles (6,482 km) at 12 knots (22.2 km/h)
Complement:	85
Sensors and processing systems:	1 × SW1C or 2C radar 1 × Type 123A or Type 127DV sonar
Armament:	1 × BL 4 in (102 mm) Mk.IX single gun 2 × .50 cal machine gun (twin) 2 × Lewis .303 cal machine gun (twin) 2 × Mk.II depth charge throwers 2 × depth charge rails with 40 depth charges Originally fitted with minesweeping gear, later removed

HMCS Galt was a Flower-class corvette of the Royal Canadian Navy that served during the Second World War. She saw action primarily in the Battle of the Atlantic. She was named after the city of Galt, Ontario.

Flower-class corvettes like Galt serving with the Royal Canadian Navy during the Second World War were different from earlier and more traditional sail-driven corvettes. The "corvette" designation was created by the French as a class of small warships; the Royal Navy borrowed the term for a period but discontinued its use in 1877. During the hurried preparations for war in the late 1930s, Winston Churchill reactivated the corvette class, needing a name for smaller ships used in an escort capacity, in this case based on a whaling ship design. The generic name "flower" was used to designate the class of these ships, which – in the Royal Navy – were named after flowering plants.

Corvettes commissioned by the Royal Canadian Navy during the Second World War were named after communities for the most part, to better represent the people who took part in building them. This idea was put forth by Admiral Percy W. Nelles. Sponsors were commonly associated with the community for which the ship was named. Royal Navy corvettes were designed as open sea escorts, while Canadian corvettes were developed for coastal auxiliary roles which was exemplified by their minesweeping gear. Eventually the Canadian corvettes would be modified to allow them to perform better on the open seas.

She was ordered 1 February 1940 as part of the 1939-1940 Flower-class building program. She was laid down by Collingwood Shipyards at Collingwood, Ontario on 27 May 1940 and was launched on 28 December 1940.Galt was commissioned on 15 May 1941 at Montreal, Quebec.

During her career, Galt had three major refits. The first began in February 1942 at Liverpool, Nova Scotia and took until May of that year to complete. Her second began January 1943, this time begun at Liverpool, but completed at Halifax in mid-April 1943. Her final refit, begun in March 1944 at New York saw Galt's fo'c'sle extended. This took until May 1944 to complete.