HMCS SACKVILLE (K181)
HMCS SACKVILLE
The History of HMCS SACKVILLE
Commissioned on December 30, 1941, at Saint John, N.B., Sackville arrived at Halifax on January 12, 1942. She joined NEF after working up, and on May 26 left St. John's to escort HX.191 as part of the newly formed EG C-3. In April, 1943, she transferred to C-1, and that September briefly joined EG 9 in support of the beleaguered combined convoy ONS.18/ ON.202, which lost six merchant vessels and three escorts. In October Sackville transferred to C-2 for the balance of her war career. She underwent two major refits: at Liverpool, N.S., and Halifax, from January 14 to May 2, 1943; and at Galveston, Texas, from late February to May 7, 1944, when her fo'c's'le was extended. Upon her return from working up in Bermuda, in June, 1944, she made a crossing to Londonderry. Soon after leaving for the westward journey she split a boiler and had to return to 'Derry for repairs. She left again on August 11, to limp home as escort to ONS.248, refitted at Halifax and, in September, briefly became a training ship at HMCS Kings. In October she began, at Halifax, refit and reconstruction to a loop-laying vessel, and work was still in progress by VE-Day. The ship was paid off on April 8, 1946, but re-commissioned August 4, 1950, as depot ship, reserve fleet. She was refitted in 1950 but remained inactive until 1953, when, as a Canadian Naval Auxiliary Vessel (CNAV), she began a survey of the Gulf of St. Lawrence that was to last several years. She also carried out a number of cruises to the Baffin Island-Greenland area. Extensive modification in 1968 reflected Sackville's new status as a research vessel, and she is currently operated by the Department of National defence on behalf of the Bedford Institute of Oceanography. The Maritime Museum of the Atlantic hopes ultimately to acquire her for re-conversion to her original appearance, as the last surviving corvette.
HMCS SACKVILLE Statistical Data
- Pendant: K181
- Type: Corvette
- Class: FLOWER Class 1939-1940
- Displacement: 950 tonnes
- Length: 205.1 ft
- Width: 33.1 ft
- Draught: 11.5 ft
- Speed: 16 kts
- Compliment: 6 Officers and 79 Crew
- Arms: 1-4" Gun, 1-2 pdr, 2-20mm, Hedgehog
- Builder: Saint John Dry Dock and Shipbuilding Co. Ltd., Saint John, N.B.
- Keel Laid: 28-May-40
- Date Launched: 15-May-41
- Date Commissioned: 30-Dec-41
- Paid off: 08-Apr-46
Remarks
Focsle Extended, Galveston, TX, 7 May 44