HMCS FORT WILLIAM (J311)
HMCS FORT WILLIAM
The History of HMCS FORT WILLIAM
Commissioned at Port Arthur on August 25, 1942, Fort William arrived at Halifax on September 24 with a good many defects, and did not commence working up until mid-October. A month later she was assigned to Halifax Force for local convoys. On January 11, 1943, she suffered considerable damage in collision with the government vessel Lisgar at Halifax, and was under repair there for a month. In June, 1943, she was transferred to Newfoundland Force. She returned to Halifax in February, 1944, for a short refit, and on February 20 left with Blairmore, Milltown and Minas for Plymouth via the Azores, arriving on March 8. Assigned to the 31st Minesweeping Flotilla, she was present on D-Day. Fort William refitted at St. John's March, 1945, rejoining the 31st Flotilla in July and remaining until September 21, when she left Plymouth for Canada. She was paid off on October 23, 1945, at Sydney and was placed in strategic reserve at Sorel in 1946. Reacquired in June, 1951, and extensively modernized, she lay in reserve at Sydney until November 29, 1957, when she was transferred to the Turkish Navy and renamed Bodrum. She was removed from service in 1971 and broken up.
HMCS FORT WILLIAM Statistical Data
- Pendant: J311
- Type: Minesweeper
- Class: BANGOR Class (41-42 Programme)
- Displacement: 672 tonnes
- Length: 180 ft
- Width: 28.5 ft
- Draught: 8.3 ft
- Speed: 16 kts
- Compliment: 6 Officers and 77 Crew
- Arms: 1-4" Gun, 1-3" Gun, 2-20mm
- Builder: Port Arthur Shipbuilding Co. Ltd., Port Arthur, Ont.
- Keel Laid: 18-Aug-41
- Date Launched: 30-Dec-41
- Date Commissioned: 25-Aug-42
- Paid off: 23-Oct-45
Remarks
After 1949 Recommissioned as Pendant 195.