HMCS Comox

There have been 2 vessels named Comox in the Royal Canadian Navy.

HMCS Comox (1st of the name) (J64)

Commissioned on November 23, 1938, the Fundy class minesweeper HMCS Comox was stationed at Esquimalt, British Columbia, at the outbreak of war, and carried out local patrol duties until March 1940, when, with HMCS Nootka, she was ordered to the east coast. Arriving at Halifax, Nova Scotia in April, she spent the entire war on local minesweeping duties with Halifax Local Defence Force. On January 15, 1945, with HMCS Fundy, she rescued survivors from the United States liberty ship Martin van Buren, torpedoed off Halifax. She was paid off July 27, 1945, sold for commercial purposes in 1946 and converted to a tug, the Sung Ming.

  • Displacement: 460 tons
  • Dimensions: 49.7 m x 8.4 m x 4.4 m
  • Speed: 12 knots
  • Crew: 38
  • Armament: one 12-pound (5.45 kg) gun

HMCS Comox (2nd of the name) (146)

In 1951 and 1952, the Royal Canadian Navy ordered 14 Bay class ships as replacements for the aging minesweepers of wartime construction. Six were transferred to the French Navy in 1954, but were replaced by 6 of the same name in 1956 to 1957, and 4 were transferred to the Turkish Navy in 1958. These ships were very similar to the Royal Navy’s Ton Class of the same vintage and had a wooden hull. They were re-classed as patrol escorts in 1972. The 6 survivors soldiered on until the 1990s, providing junior officers training as members of Training Group Pacific.

Built by Victoria Machinery Depot, the Bay class minesweeper HMCS Comox was commissioned on April 2, 1954, and paid off on September 11, 1957. On March 31, 1958, she was transferred to the Turkish Navy, which renamed her Tirebolu.

  • Displacement: 390 tons
  • Dimensions: 46.3 m x 8.5 m x 2.4 m
  • Speed: 16 knots
  • Crew: 38
  • Armament: one 40-mm gun

Motto:Ut habeas da” (Give that you may have)

Battle honours

  • Atlantic 1940-45

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