HMCS Quinte

There have been two vessels named HMCS Quinte in the Royal Canadian Navy.

HMCS Quinte (1st of name) (J166)

Commissioned at Vancouver, British Columbia on 30 August 1941, the Bangor Class minesweeper HMCS Quinte left Esquimalt, British Columbia, 10 October for Halifax, Nova Scotia and arrived there on 14 November. Assigned to Western Local Escort Force, she completed a six-week refit at Lunenburg, Nova Scotia in June 1942 but soon after ran aground and sank at the entrance to St. Peter’s Canal, Cape Breton. She was later re-floated and, on 25 April 1943, HMCS Quinte arrived at Pictou, Nova Scotia, for repairs, which were not completed until June 1944. She was then sent to HMCS Cornwallis as a training ship, arriving at Digby, Nova Scotia on 21 August. She remained there until the end of 1945, and was employed with the Naval Research Establishment at Halifax the following year. Paid off on 25 October, HMCS Quinte was broken up at Sydney, Nova Scotia, in 1947.

• 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 (102-mm) gun, two 20-mm guns (2 x I) and depth charges.

HMCS Quinte (2nd of name) (149)

In 1951 and 1952, fourteen Bay Class ships were ordered by the Royal Canadian Navy as replacements for the aging minesweepers of wartime construction. These ships were very similar to the Royal Navy’s Ton Class of the same vintage. 

Built by the Port Arthur Shipbuilding Co. of, now Thunder Bay, Ontario, the Bay Class minesweeper HMCS Quinte was commissioned on 15 October 1954 and served from Halifax. HMCS Quinte was paid off on 26 February 1964, and declared surplus the following year.

• 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 gun

Battle honours

Atlantic 1941-1942