HMCS Fundy (J88)
HMCS "Fundy" was a that served in the Royal Canadian Navy from 1938 to 1945. The minesweeper was the first warship built for Canada since 1918. She saw service in the Atlantic Ocean during the Second World War. The vessel was named for the Bay of Fundy. After the war she had an extensive civilian career. Design and description. In 1936, new minesweepers were ordered for the Royal Canadian Navy. Based on the British , those built on the east coast would cost $318,000 per vessel. At the outbreak of the Second World War, the Royal Canadian  Navy considered constructing more, but chose to build s instead upon learning of that design due to their oil-burning engines. The "Fundy" class, named after the lead ship, displaced . They were long, with a beam of and a draught of . They had a complement of 3 officers and 35 ratings. The "Fundy" class was propelled by one shaft driven by vertical triple expansion engine powered by steam from a one-cylinder boiler. This created between and gave the minesweepers a top speed of . The ships were capable of carrying between of coal. The ships were armed with one QF  Mk IV gun mounted forward on a raised platform. The minesweepers were armed with two 20 mm Oerlikon anti-aircraft cannon. They were later equipped with 25 depth charges. Service history. "Fundy" was ordered on 23 August 1937 as the lead ship of her class of four minesweepers built in Canada. The ship's keel was laid down on 24 January 1938 by Collingwood Shipyards Ltd. at Collingwood, Ontario. The warship was launched on 18 June later that year. "Fundy" was commissioned into the Royal Canadian Navy on 1 September 1938 at Collingwood. After commissioning, "Fundy" was one of two  of the "Fundy"-class minesweepers assigned to the East Coast of Canada. She was stationed at Halifax, Nova Scotia when the war broke out. At the onset of war, "Fundy" and sister ship were the only warships available to patrol the entrance to Halifax's harbour. "Fundy" saw continuous service in the Second World War as a minesweeper and harbour defence vessel for Halifax Harbour. In July 1942 she escorted a convoy to Boston and one back to Halifax. Along with her sister ship , "Fundy" rescued 66 survivors of the torpedoed Liberty ship SS "Martin Van Buren" on 15 January 1945 . "Fundy" was decommissioned on 27 July 1945 and laid up. Commercial service. "Fundy" was sold in 1947 to Marine Industries Limited and converted for mercantile service with a gross register tonnage of 419 tons. The ship was refitted with a diesel engine giving the vessel a maximum speed of . The ship was initially renamed "Aigle Marin" in 1967, owned by Les Chargeurs Unis Inc. The merchant vessel was sold to Niquelay Incorporated and renamed "Anne R.D." in 1977. The vessel was broken up at La Malbaie, Quebec in July 1987. Her bell is preserved at the Maritime Museum of the  Atlantic in Halifax.