HMCS Sackville (K181)

History of HMCS Sackville (K181)

By the end of June 1940, the German war machine had occupied Poland, Denmark, Norway, the Netherlands, Belgium and France, leaving Britain to fend for itself in the canal waters between it and German-controlled territories. From Germany's point of view, if enough damage was done to British merchant ships from the United States and remote areas of the Empire, it might be forced to surrender. Since the beginning of World War II, the German Navy (Kriegsmarine) has implemented a policy of unrestricted submarine warfare. Thus, anti-submarine warfare submarines threaten the mid-Atlantic, a region so far from land that conventional aircraft cannot cover escort routes. In addition, so far, the Allies have not adopted a policy of armed escort convoys.

Instead, the strategy was to simply hunt down enemy submarines using anti-submarine means and set up patrol boat "traps" in areas where German U-boats had to pass to enter the dead zone in the Atlantic. However, this strategy ultimately proved unsuccessful, and it turned out that all Allied convoys required armed escorts as they crossed the Atlantic.

The

Flower class frigates were built to rescue Atlantic frigates. In 1939, the Smith Wharf factory in England accepted the government's low-cost proposal. They started with the latest designs for Arctic whaling ships, and then increased the overall length of the ships by 30 feet to 205 feet. They are small warships with minimal weapons, depth charges and the latest sonar, with cramped and uncomfortable crew conditions.

A large number of ships were required, approximately 288 were built to meet escort needs. The Allies did not have enough trained seamen, so the crew consisted mainly of reserve naval personnel.

The Flower-class ships are small enough to be built in civilian shipyards in Canada, France and the United States. Even the German Navy used some classes when they were captured in French ports because they were under construction and could not be evacuated in time.

The HMCS Sackville is a Flower-class frigate built in the early 1940s by the St. Johns Shipbuilding and Drydock Company of St. Johns, New Brunswick. She is listed as "Patrol Boat 2" and is the second boat to be built in St. John's.

During World War II, a total of 288 Flower-class frigates were built. She served in the Royal Canadian Navy, protecting convoys between Canada and the United Kingdom. Convoys to and from the East Coast of the United States were also protected after the December 1941 attack on the United States.

Sackville only draws 11.5 feet of water, so her design is ideal for submarine patrols operating off the coasts of the UK and Canada. She also has a range of 3,500 nautical miles (6,482 km) when traveling at 12 knots (22.2 km/h), which allows her to scan tankers and cargo ships from the UK to Canada with ample fuel.

Sackville was equipped with a 4-stroke triple-expansion reciprocating steam engine that was proven to produce more steam with less coal, necessary to reduce the weight of coal carried on long voyages.

Due to her small size, crew members had problems living and working with the Flower class, as she rolled and floated in rough seas, causing many crew members to become seasick. Although they are small, flower grades can cross rivers leading to the Great Lakes, where some of them were built.

They were equipped with a magnetic compass, which was reliable in bad weather or in deep attack by German submarines. The first ships were equipped with older outdated fixed-sensor sonars.

This arrangement is second-rate because if the depth charge were to detonate underwater, the sonar contact with the submarine would be lost due to vibration.

To locate enemy submarines, HMCS Sackville was later equipped with an improved Type 144c sonar and Type 271 SW2C surface radar. When in contact at the surface, the boat will attack using a 4" BL (101.6 mm) Mk. IX monolayer gun in the bow. Contact is usually made while the submarine is below the surface.

Sackville will walk over sonar touchpoints to determine the submarine's location and depth. When the sonar detected a large metal object, they began dropping depth charges from two depth charge rails in the stern. The ship was built with a total of 40 depth charges, increasing to 70 over time. A Mk 3 Hedgehog anti-ship mortar launch system was placed on board and could fire six smaller depth charges in a dispersed mode to offset the loss of submarine contact.

Added the Hedgehog Mortar, which allows the ship to lift off when the mortar depth charge is fired, keeping the sonar in contact with the submarine. To deter aircraft, the ship is equipped with 1 x 2lb single-barrel anti-aircraft mount, 1 x QF Mk. VIII gun, 1 x twin-barreled 20mm Oerlikon gun, and 2 x Lewis.

303 caliber machine guns - one on port and the other on starboard.

During the war years, classes had a number of improvements, some based on the theater they were assigned to. Initially, entire classes were equipped with mine-clearing equipment, but most classes performing escort work in the Atlantic had their equipment removed to improve range. Many moved the galley from stern to midship to allow for additional depth charge storage racks.

When the Atlantic runway needed to increase the number of depth charges, they were stored on the runway. The fore and aft have been lengthened to provide more crew space and give the vessel better seakeeping stability in rough seas. Sea state stability has also been improved as the bow becomes more pronounced. With the removal of the existing twin towers, the bridge was lowered and lengthened.

Due to the need for anti-aircraft protection, additional twin Lewis guns were mounted on top of the bridge. Typically 2 Oerlikon 20mm guns are mounted on the bridge wings, but as many as 6 guns are deployed in areas where the enemy poses a significant threat.

HMCS Sackville is used for Atlantic Runs and Canadian Coast Patrol. From February 1942 to July 1944, she protected 30 convoys of 1,380 merchant ships manned by 90,000 sailors, losing only 9 ships sunk by enemy U-boats. Instead of sinking any U-boats herself, she fought 4 U-boats, either garrisoning them and keeping them away from merchant ships, or damaging them and forcing the U-boats out of combat. During World War II, 36 "Flower" class frigates were sunk by Axis U-boats or planes, some sunk by collisions with Allied ships.

The class sank or participated in the sinking of 47 German and 4 Italian U-boats, mostly in the Atlantic Ocean.

In 1945, after the war, most of the "Flower" class frigates were either scrapped or sold to friendly governments. Sackville was retained for seven years before being reactivated in 1952 when Canada's Department of Oceans and Fisheries needed a boat. Sackville was chosen because of her size and shallow draft, which would allow her access to shallow Canadian waters. Her weapons were removed and she was rebuilt as a research vessel. She received a new flag number, 532, painted on the fuselage, which was changed to 113 in 1958.

In 1964, a laboratory was established on the stern superstructure so that marine life and water samples could be studied at the source. Today, Flag 113 served in rivers and coastal waters along Canada's east coast until her retirement from the Navy and Fisheries Department in July 1982.

In October 1983, it was decided to keep her as a protected museum ship. HMCS Sackville was assigned to the Canadian Navy Corvette Trust to restore her 1944 appearance, including the original Dazzle camouflage, while reusing the hull number K181.

Her weapons were found and modified with crew quarters and fake ammunition. Today, she acts as a museum ship next to the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic in Halifax, Nova Scotia, and is open to visitors during the summer.

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