HMCS Chignecto

There have been three vessels named Chignecto in the Royal Canadian Navy.

HMCS Chignecto  (1st of name) (J160) / Bangor-class Minesweeper

Built in Vancouver, Chignecto spent her whole career on the west coast, alternating between Esquimalt Force and Prince Rupert Force. She was paid off on 3 November 1945 at Esquimalt, BC, and sold in 1946 to the Union Steamship Co., Vancouver, for conversion to a coastal merchant ship. The conversion was not proceeded with, and in 1951 a San Francisco firm offered to purchase her.

• Builder: North Van Ship Repairs Ltd., Vancouver, BC
• Date laid down: 11 September 1940
• Date launched: 12 December 1940
• Date commissioned: 31 October 1941
• Date paid off: 3 November 1945
• Displacement: 682.8 tonnes
• Dimensions: 54.9 m x 8.7 m x 2.5 m
• Speed: 16 knots
• Crew: 83
• Armament: one 4-inch, one 3-inch or one 12 pdr., two 20-mm

HMCS Chignecto  (2nd of name) (156) / Bay-class Minesweeper

In 1951 and 1952, fourteen replacements were laid down for the aging minesweepers of wartime construction. Six were transferred to the French Navy in 1954, but were replaced by six of the same name in 1956-57. These ships were very similar to the Royal Navy’s Ton Class of the same vintage.

The second Chignecto was built by Marine Industries Ltd., Sorel, and commissioned on 1 December 1953, and paid off on March 31 1954, the day of her transfer to the French Navy. Renamed La Bayonnaise, she served until 1976.

• Builder: Marine Industries Ltd., Sorel, QC
• Date laid down: 4 June 1951
• Date launched: 13 June 1952
• Date commissioned: 1 November 1953
• Date paid off: 31 March 1954
• Displacement : 396.3 tonnes
• Dimensions: 46.3 m x 8.5 m x 2.4 m
• Speed: 16 knots
• Crew: 38
• Armament: 1-40 mm

HMCS Chignecto (3rd of name) (160) / Bay-class Patrol Vessel

Built as a replacement for the second Chignecto by G.T. Davie & Sons, Lauzon, she was commissioned on 1 August 1957. Built as a Bay-class minesweeper, she and five of her sister ships were re-classed as patrol escorts in 1972.  She served as a member of Training Group Pacific providing ship-handling for junior officers, until paid off on 19 December 1998.

• Builder: George T. Davie & Sons Ltd., Lauzon, QC
• Date laid down: 25 October 1955
• Date launched: 17 November 1956
• Date commissioned: 1 August 1957
• Date paid off: 19 December 1998
• Displacement: 396.3 tonnes
• Dimensions: 46.3 m x 8.5 m x 2.4 m
• Speed: 16 knots
• Crew: 38
• Armament: 1-40 mm (removed 1972)