HMCS Hochelaga

There have been three vessels and establishments named Hochelaga in the Royal Canadian Navy.

HMCS Hochelaga (1st of the name)

When war broke out in 1914, small patrol ships were required and until built, vessels were acquired and converted to perform these duties. The yacht Waturus was purchased in the United States in 1915 and commissioned HMCS Hochelaga. The ship was based in Halifax and Sydney, Nova Scotia, and, throughout the war, patrolled coastal waters. After 1918, she was fitted out to serve as a yacht for the Governor General. She was paid off early in 1919 but re-commissioned on July 26, 1919, in connection with the arrival of His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales at Québec City in August. The winter of 1919 was spent keeping Shelburne and Sheet Harbour, Nova Scotia, free of ice. In January 1920, she was based in Canso, Nova Scotia, to assist fisherman off that port in case of distress. She was paid off on March 31, 1920, and served with the Canadian Coast Guard. Sold in 1923, she spent many years as a ferry between Pictou, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island ports. She was sold in 1942, and reappeared four years later when she was seized by the Royal Navy as an illegal Israeli immigrant ship.

HMCS Hochelaga (2nd of the name)

On the outbreak of war in 1939, in order to control the movement of merchant ships, it was necessary to set up Naval Control Service centres in Canadian ports. A control point was set up at Montréal, Quebec, Naval Officer in Charge (NOIC) Montréal. During the winter of 1940-1941, a citizen offered the navy the use of his cabin cruiser Margo V for the duration of hostilities. The offer was accepted and the craft allocated to NOIC Montréal was commissioned HMCS Hochelaga. Her main tasks included performing general harbour duties, conveying inspecting officers to Halifax-bound corvettes, degaussing as well as Naval Control Service. One of the responsibilities of the NOIC was to provide crews for the corvettes. In 1943, NOIC’s main establishment became HMCS Hochelaga and a separate accounting base that handled the manning depot was set up and known as HMCS Hochelaga II. In August 1945, the motorboat HMCS Hochelaga was considered surplus and turned over to the Royal Canadian Naval Volunteer Reserve. HMCS Ships Hochelaga and Hochelaga II were both paid off September 30, 1945.

HMCS Hochelaga (3rd of the name)

The third HMCS Hochelaga was a large shore establishment located in Ville de La Salle, near Montréal, Québec, was commissioned October 1, 1955. Its functions were to provide training facilities for the Supply and Secretariat Branch of the Royal Canadian Navy and to be a huge storehouse for naval stores, supplying the 2 coasts and ships of the fleet. With the unification of the Canadian Forces, the base was closed and the school moved to Canadian forces Base Borden, in Ontario.