HMCS Summerside

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

HMCS Summerside (1st of name) (K141) / Flower-class corvette

Commissioned at Québec City, Quebec, on September 11, 1941, HMCS Summerside arrived at Halifax, Nova Scotia, on September 25. She was assigned to local escort duty out of Halifax and later Sydney, Nova Scotia. In December, she made one trip to Iceland, acting as an ocean convoy. In July, she was transferred to Gulf Escort Force until, earmarked for duties in connection with Operation TORCH (the invasion of North Africa), she left Halifax for the United Kingdom in October. For the next 4 months she was employed on England-Mediterranean convoys, returning to Canada in mid-March 1943 for a major refit at Saint John, New Brunswick. Her forecastle was extended in the process. Afterwards, she joined Escort Group C-5 and in April 1944, after 7 transatlantic trips, was assigned at Londonderry, Northern Ireland to Western Approaches Command for invasion of France duties. She was employed in British waters until returning to Canada for 2 months’ refit at Liverpool, Nova Scotia. After further repairs at Halifax were completed on January 18, 1945, she proceeded to Bermuda for 3 weeks workups. In March, she sailed for England to serve with the Royal Navy out of Plymouth, England, until the war’s end. She returned to Canada at the end of May, was paid off at Sorel, Quebec, on July 6 and broken up at Hamilton, Ontario, in 1946.

HMCS Summerside (2nd of name) (711) / Kingston-class coastal defence vessel

In May 1992, a contract was let to build 12 Maritime Coastal Defence Vessels (MCDV) of the Kingston class. They were designed to commercial standards and intended to conduct coastal patrols, minesweeping, law enforcement, pollution surveillance and response as well as search and rescue duties. The last of her class, HMCS Summerside launched on September 26, 1998.  On July 18, 1999, she was commissioned in her namesake city in Prince Edward Island and based out of Halifax – she is crewed almost entirely by naval reservists. Over the next few years the ship conducted junior officer training, fisheries and sovereignty patrols, route surveys and bottom inspection deployments. In 2002, she sailed north on Exercise NARWHAL RANGER (one of the first navy ships in Nunavut); and,  2007, she participated in Operation NANOOK, a sovereignty operation in Arctic waters, designed to train personnel in the conduct of domestic operations in support of other government departments. In 2008, HMCS Summerside was present in the naval review in Québec City for the city’s 400th anniversary. HMCS Summerside continues to conduct operations in support of Canada’s domestic and international policies.

Motto: “Spem Successus Alit” (Success Nourishes Hope)

Battle honours

• Atlantic 1941-1944
• Gulf of St. Lawrence 1942-1944
• Normandy 1944
• English Channel 1944-1945